Baking is a sign of thanking

Baking+is+a+sign+of+thanking

Briana Osuna, Features Editor

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and what better way to show your loved ones you care than to bake them a delicious treat?

If you want to make something for multiple people at a time, then cupcakes are the way to go. Love is in the air, and soon the smell of cupcakes will be too.

One recipe in particular is the Smore’s Cupcake found on Pinterest. This cupcake has a graham cracker based bread, its center is filled with pieces of milk chocolate Hershey bar and is topped with Marshmallow buttercream.

For the cupcakes you will need:

1 and ½ cups of graham cracker crumbs

½ a cup of whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

¼ teaspoon of salt

½ a cup brown sugar, packed

¼ cup of granulated sugar

½ cup of unsalted butter, softened

2 large eggs

½ cup of milk

½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 Hershey bars

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Next you will combine the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder and salt. If you don’t pre-ground graham cracker crumbs, you can achieve this by sticking 10 full sheets of graham crackers in a food processor until they are a powder-like consistency.

Set aside your dry mixture and grab an additional bowl and combine the cream, butter and sugar with an electric mixer until it is fluffy. Beat in the egg on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Add in the milk and vanilla and beat until combined. Lower the mixers speed and slowly add in the dry mixture. Beat until mix is fully combined.

Line a cupcake pan with liners and fill about ¾ full. Stick a square of Hershey chocolate in the middle of each cupcake. It is acceptable if the chocolate sticks out. Put in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges begin to brown.

While you are waiting for the cupcakes to bake, you can start on the frosting.

For the frosting, you will need the following:

1 cup of unsalted softened butter

1 seven ounce container of Marshmallow cream

1 and ½ cups of powdered sugar

Start off by creaming the butter until light and fluffy. Add in the marshmallow cream, and beat on medium speed until smooth. Lower the mixing speed and add in the powdered sugar. Beat in the sugar until mixture is fully combined.

Allow your cupcakes to cool completely before piping off your frosting. After frosting, you can take your cupcake game to the next level and top them with additional graham cracker crumbs, a piece of chocolate and chocolate drizzle like pictured above.

Those dearest to you are sure to appreciate the fact that you took the time to make them something. Plus you can brag that you made cupcakes from scratch.