Tipsy S’mores Bites

Have those backyard cookouts fired up in your neck of the woods yet? They are in full swing around here and I found just the perfect little dessert to bring along to them. Tipsy S’mores Bites – Tiny bite sized s’mores infused with marshmallow vodka! Everyone loves S’mores and these little devils take it up a notch, primarily due to the addition of the booze, but they are not nearly as messy as an actual s’mores and you don’t have to work over the grill or fire pit to make them. They are ready to go. Just grab ’em and pop ’em right into your mouth!

Of course this also means you can serve them inside if your party has gotten rained out. They are quite easy to make. In fact I usually make them over a couple of days. The first day I make the graham cracker cookie cups. Once your graham cracker crust is mixed up, fill each mini muffin well nearly to the top. Pat the filling down into the cup. And then use your fingers to shape the cup portion which will hold the chocolate. Or use a wine cork as I do. Once baked, you just fill them with that scrumptious boozy chocolate.

Making Graham Cracker cookie cups using my special wine cork shaping technique!

Now truth be told, you don’t really need a whole lot of that Marshmallow Vodka. My advice would be to try to get ahold of one of those little airplane bottles of the stuff. If you can’t find that, I suppose you could just use regular old vodka, or heaven forbid, eliminate the booze altogether. I will say that if you do buy a bigger bottle of the stuff, mixing it with root beer gives you something tasting real close to a good old-fashioned root beer float. Always a good thing in my book.

Anyway, once the graham cracker cups and chocolate are finished, I store them in the fridge for 1-2 days. On the day I want to serve them, I whip up that marshmallow frosting and pipe it onto them. Then it is time for all the fun with the kitchen torch. Folks really do seem to love them. Have some ready for your next get together!

Tipsy S’mores Bites

recipe inspired by: Teach Eat Love, My Baking Addiction, and Martha Stewart

yield: 36 mini s’mores cookie cups

Ingredients:

For the cookie cups:

• 4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup butter
• 6 Tablespoons sugar
• splash of milk (I used about 4 1/2 Tablespoons)

For the chocolate filling:

• 6 ounces high quality semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/6 cup heavy cream (1.3 ounces, or 5 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon) heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Fluffed Marshmallow Vodka

For the marshmallow topping:

• 4 egg whites
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Begin with the Graham Cracker Cookie Cups:

Stir together graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar. Add milk a little at a time until the crumbs stick together just slightly. You don’t want a wet dough, so don’t add much more than a few tablespoons of milk. I ended up using about 4 1/2 Tablespoons. You are going to need to kind of “eye-ball” the amount because it will vary based on the brand of graham crackers and even the weather that you’re experiencing. The mixture will be crumbly but just moldable.

Scoop the crumbly graham cracker mixture into an ungreased mini muffin tin and pack each s’more down with your fingers, making a little indentation in the middle to hold the chocolate.  I used a small cookie scoop to fill the muffin wells, then patted the graham cracker crumb mixture flat. Finally I made a little well in the center of the graham crackers with the cork from a bottle of wine. Bake at 350° F for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack and then carefully remove each graham cracker cookie cup from the muffin tin to continue cooling on the rack.

Now for the tipsy marshmallow vodka infused chocolate filling:

 In a large pyrex measuring cup combine chocolate, butter and heavy cream. (You can use any microwave safe dish you prefer, but I like the pyrex measuring cup because it allows the melted chocolate to be easily poured into the cookie cups.) Place cup in microwave and heat for 20 seconds at a time until chocolate is melted. You do not want the chocolate boiling, just warmed enough to melt. Stir until you have a smooth mixture. Whisk in the vanilla and the Marshmallow Vodka. Pour the melted chocolate into the graham cracker cookie cups, filling to the top. You will likely have a bit of chocolate left over. Make sure you gather it all up and save it for later. Let me tell you, it is great re-warmed and  poured over ice cream!

Allow cookie cups to cool completely before adding the Marshmallow topping. I usually make the chocolate filled graham cracker cups the day prior to the day I need them and place them in the refrigerator to cool overnight. You just don’t want warm chocolate to melt your marshmallow frosting, so make sure they’re cool before you proceed.

Toasted Marshmallow Topping:

Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.
Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low-speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined.

Place frosting into pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip.  Pipe frosting onto each cooled chocolate filled graham cracker cup. Use a kitchen torch to lightly toast the frosting.

Enjoy!