Espresso S'mores Cupcakes

Graham cracker crust, moist espresso chocolate cupcakes, and a swiss meringue buttercream.

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a muffin tin with 6 parchment liners.
Crush the graham crackers or pulse them in a food processor until they are very finely crushed.
Melt the butter, then mix the butter and sugar into the crushed graham crackers.
Place 1 tbsp. of the graham cracker mixture into each parchment liner, and press it down.
Bake the crust for 8 minutes. In the meantime, make the cupcake batter.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and freshly brewed coffee.
To the cocoa-espresso mixture, whisk in the vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, and sour cream until well combined.
Add in the flour mixture, and whisk together just until no flour streaks remain.
Distribute the cupcake batter evenly between the 12 liners. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.

In a small bowl, beat together the butter and brown sugar until just combined.
Add in the flour and crushed graham crackers and beat until the mixture becomes a cohesive dough.
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out until it is ¼” thick. Cut out 1½” cookies, then re-roll out the dough and cut out more cookies.
Transfer the cookies to a parchment lined baking sheet and place them in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm up. Then, bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the edges turn golden brown.

In a small saucepan set over medium heat, constantly whisk together the egg whites and sugar until the mixture reaches 160°F / 71°C.
Once the mixture is hot enough, transfer it to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk the mixture on medium-high speed until it reaches soft peaks.
While the egg whites are whipping up, remove the butter from the fridge and slice it into 1 tbsp. slices.
Once the egg whites reach soft peaks, keep the mixer running. Add in the butter 1 tbsp. at a time, waiting at least 20 seconds before adding in the next slice. Continue until you have used all of the butter and the mixture is cohesive.
Beat in the salt and vanilla. If the buttercream seems runny, put it in the fridge in 10-minute intervals, beating the mixture after each interval until it’s firm enough to be piped on to the cupcakes.
Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your piping tip of choice. Pipe the frosting on to each cupcake, then garnish with a shortbread cookie, melted chocolate, crushed graham crackers and espresso beans. Serve and enjoy