S'mores Brownie Cups

​Inspired by...special requests by s'more lovers

I often ask my friends and family for new inspirations for my baking.  I love trying out new recipes and experimenting with different flavors.  One idea that I've been procrastinating on for a while was for a s'mores-related dessert.  I just couldn't think of a creative way to incorporate all of the elements while still making it different enough from the traditional treat.  But last night, after several days of being basically snow-bound, I finally realized that I had the perfect base recipe to work with!  I have adapted these brownie cups in the past with different flavor fillings and realized that graham crackers and marshmallows could be an equally delicious filling!  The original recipe is for peanut butter cup brownies.  I've adapted the recipe a bit to make the chocolate flavor a little richer and less sweet.  And then obviously for this recipe, I've changed the filling completely.  These brownie cups are so versatile and are always a crowd-pleaser.  Plus they're pretty easy to make! 

Recipe

Makes 12 brownie cups
Ingredients
Brownie cups​​

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon water
• 3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Graham Cracker Filling

• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 3-4 full-sized graham crackers - put them in a sealable plastic bag and pound them out with a rolling pin or any heavy kitchen tool)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

​Marshmallow Filling

• 1 cup marshmallow cream/fluff

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease or spray cupcake pan with cooking spray.
2. Melt butter and bittersweet chocolate with water in a saucepan over medium-low heat.  Cool slightly.
3. Mix sugar and chocolate mixture in a large bowl until blended.
4. Mix in egg and vanilla.  (Note: make sure your batter is close to room temperature at this point so that you don't scramble the egg by mistake!) 
5. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt. 
6. Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix until just incorporated.
7. Stir in semi-sweet chocolate chips.
8. Scoop into 12 cupcake cups.  (Note: make sure that you distribute your batter among all 12 cups, otherwise your brownies may overflow and make the next steps trickier)
9. Bake for 13-15 minutes until the centers are set.  It's hard to test these with a toothpick since there are so many melty chocolate chips inside.  If your batter doesn't jiggle when you move the pan and it looks dry on the top after the cooking time, then they are probably good to go. 

Assembly ​  ​

• Keep the brownies in the pan!  You will be putting them under the broiler soon.
• While the brownies are still warm, use a rounded tablespoon to press a dent into the center of each brownie.  I also used a rounded teaspoon to make the dent a little deeper in the center.  Check out the pretty measuring spoons that my sister gave me for Christmas!

• Slowly add the melted butter to the graham crackers while mixing.  You may not need all of the butter.  Just make sure that the crumbs are all slightly coated in the butter.
• Spoon about a teaspoon of the graham cracker mixture into each brownie cup.
• Then scoop about a tablespoon of marshmallow cream into each cup.  Note: spray two metal teaspoons with cooking spray and use those to scoop the marshmallow into each cup.  You can then spread the marshmallow with the back of your sprayed spoon.  If you don't spray the spoons, it will be really difficult to get the marshmallow off the spoons.  I learn from experience :)
• Now, put your brownies under the broiler for about 2 minutes.  Watch carefully to make sure they don't burn!  You just want to get a little bit of browning on the marshmallow.  If you have a kitchen torch, I bet you could use that instead of the broiler too!
• Garnish with pieces of graham cracker if desired.
• Enjoy!