S’more Stout Cupcakes

~ SL

Shopping local is always important, but now, more than ever, Winnipeg small businesses need our support. These cupcakes echo all of the smore-like flavors of the Kilter S’more Scout with the crispy texture of a toasted marshmallow, a gooey marshmallow centre and a fluffy subtly chocolate buttercream on top.

Jump to Recipe

My friend Pat from the Bros, Bumps & Beers podcast gifted me this Kilter S’more Scout to try. As soon as I read the description on the can, I knew I had to use it in a cupcake, which I in return shared with the guys at the podcast. You can also listen to the Bros, Bumps & Beers’ review of the Kilter S’more Scout here.

S’morey goodness

This stout tasted exactly as described. Chocolately, marshmallowy and sweet with a subtle hint of cinnamon and campfire. I savoured every drop like I savored every crumb of this cupcake. If you aren’t into cupcakes, this beer will make the perfect dessert substitution. And if you like the best of both worlds, crack the can, make the cupcakes and drink the rest.

Layers of s’more flavour

These cupcakes highlight several dimensions of smore-like flavors. The tops bake up crispy and chewy like a perfectly toasted marshmallow. The centre oozes with a gooey marshmallow fluff filling. I made the marshmallow fluff from the Jenna Rae Cakes and Sweet Treats book (another amazing local Winnipeg business and a must-have for your cookbook collection if you like to bake). You could substitute it with a store-bought jar of fluff. Finally, these cupcakes are topped with a fluffy buttercream, subtly flavored with cocoa and cinnamon. I didn’t have any graham wafers when I made these, but a crumble on top the of icing would be delicious too.

Substitutions

The Kilter S’more Scout is a limited edition beer and may not be available when you want to make these cupcakes. You could also use another stout. May I suggest exploring the options available from some other local Winnipeg breweries such as Half Pints, Sookrams, or Barnhammer to shop local. If you’re not into baking with beer, you could also substitute it with milk or black coffee. The texture of the cupcake may change, depending on the substitution you choose, however you’ll still have a delicious cupcake.

The perfect accompaniment for any meal

Enjoy these s’more cupcakes any time, as a dessert or snack. Sourcing local ingredients for your meals is an easy way to support local Manitoba businesses. Try these Lemon Basil Chicken Burgers (made with local Manitoba chicken) or this mac & cheese (made with local Bothwell cheese) to start shopping local.

Print

S’more Stout Cupcakes

The flavors of Kilter's S'more Scout beer are all echoed in cupcake form. Crispy, chewy toasted marshmallow, chocolate with a hint of cinnamon.

Course Dessert
Keyword beer, beer cupcake, cupcake, smore, stout, stout cupcake
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 24

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup canola oil
  • 1 tbsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 3/4 cup Kilter S'more Scout Can substitute with another stout, milk or black coffee.
  • 1 Tbsp White or Apple Cider Vinegar

Filling

  • 1 cup marshmallow fluff

Frosting

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 2 1/2 cup icing sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 tbsp cocoa
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1 pinch cinnamon

Toppings

  • mini marshmallows
  • mini chocolate chips
  • crumbled graham wafers

Instructions

  1. Combine dry ingredients. Set aside.

  2. Mix all wet ingredients except beer & vinegar.

  3. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.

  4. While mixing, gradually add beer, then vinegar.

  5. Scoop into muffin liners and bake at 350 degrees Farenheight for 20 minutes.

Frosting

  1. Soften butter using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer.

  2. Add vanilla, then the cocoa & icing sugar.

  3. Mix at low speed until combined.

  4. Gradually add the heavy cream and whip on high for 3 minutes or until fluffy.

Filling and Decorating

  1. Once the cupcakes have cooled, fill a piping bag fitted with a round tip with marshmallow fluff.

  2. Plunge the piping tip into the centre of the cupcake and squeeze out a small amount of fluff into each cupcake.

  3. Fill a second piping bag fitted with a 1M tip with icing and place a swirl of icing on each cupcake.

  4. Sprinkle the tops with crumbled graham wafers, mini chocolate chips and mini marshmallows, as desired.

Recipe Notes

If substituting the beer with milk or coffee, the texture of the cupcake may change slightly. 

Crispy Parmesan Chicken Strips – Cooking with kids

~ SL ~ Leave a comment

This is part two of a two-part series and a paid partnership with Manitoba Chicken Producers. As always, all opinions are my own and I only promote products that I use and love.

If you caught part one of last month’s Cooking with Kids post, we made Bruschetta chicken from the new Now You’re Cooking with Manitoba Chicken Youth Education Booklet.  Although my daughter had fun making that recipe, her request when we were done was to “just make chicken strips next time.” So that’s exactly what we did.

We made the Crispy Parmesan Chicken Strips, also from the Now You’re Cooking with Manitoba Chicken Youth Education Booklet.  The recipe comes together quickly (even quicker if you apply some meal prep strategies that I will fill you in on.) and is super simple for the kids to help with.

If you’re interested in receiving your own copy of this brand-new resource, contact Manitoba Chicken Producers at: consumerrelations@chicken.mb.ca Please provide your name and mailing address and they will be happy to send you one.

I knew that convincing my little helper to eat the chicken strips wasn’t going to be a challenge, so we focused on working together, learning and having fun.  I did however run into a few obstacles when she realized that we weren’t making “the ones we usually have.”

Tip 1: Use cooking with your kids as an opportunity to learn and develop skills

We started by reading the recipe.  What better way to develop reading skills than with an authentic situation where they can apply their reading strategies?  It went something like this:

“Preheat oven to 425 F…What’s F?” Cue an additional learning opportunity that we applied later when we checked the temperature of the cooked chicken strips using our meat thermometer.

Food safety tip: The internal temperature of cooked chicken should read 165°F.

“1/2 cup mayo…Ewww I hate mayo!”  But guess what? The mayo is the best part of this recipe, because it does two things: 1) Allows the breading to stick to the chicken, 2) Crisps up the chicken strips without any additional oil or butter.  I took the opportunity to explain that mayo is made with eggs, and since we usually use eggs for chicken fingers, this time we are going to try eggs in a different way. She was sold and we moved on.

Tip 2: Teach about food safety

Before we got started, we washed our hands and talked about why that is important.  We also talked about how poultry and other meat can make you sick if it isn’t cooked so that we shouldn’t, for example, sample the breading while we’re making the chicken fingers. (This was important to mention because it almost happened!)  When we were finished, we made sure to put everything that came in contact with chicken in the dishwasher and used soap, water and antibacterial spray to clean out the sink and all surfaces, and of course, we washed our hands again.

Tip 3: Make it fun! Let them use all of the tools.

I’m pretty sure what my daughter liked most about making these chicken strips, was using all of the tools.  Whisks, tongs and spatulas are fun for kids so bring them all out, even if it means having a few extra dishes to do afterward. You can save time in other ways, with these meal prep tips.

Meal prep tips for this recipe

Slice, portion and freeze your chicken

When I did last month’s post, I bought a club pack of chicken, used four breasts for the Bruschetta Chicken and sliced the four remaining breasts for the chicken strips and froze them. That is one strategy that will save you at least ten minutes, because you won’t have to slice the chicken or have extra dishes to do.  If you were making this recipe with a new package of chicken, you could also consider cooking the remaining breasts in your slow cooker, shredding them and freezing them for other meals like I did in this Back-to-School Meal Prep post.

Reduce the number of steps in the breading process for the chicken strips

Another time-saver we discovered while making this recipe was to coat all the chicken in the mayo parm mixture, instead of dipping each strip individually.  Combine the ingredients, then pour over the chicken and toss with tongs until all the chicken pieces are coated.  That makes breading a one-step process.  (This is also great for when cooking with kids, because everything seems to take longer.)

Improvise and use what you have on hand

This recipe called for basil, but when I reached for it, I realized that the grocery clerk who assembled my order, had given me mint instead.  We swapped it out and used dill.  You can add any seasonings or spices to these chicken fingers.  Don’t have mayo? Use eggs, or mustard, or milk. Anything that will allow the breading to stick to the chicken. If you choose to use a liquid other than mayo, be sure to brush the breaded strips with butter or spray with canola oil to crisp them up.  No panko? Try corn flakes, breadcrumbs, potato chips or pretzels.  Anything to get that crispy texture.

There are so many great recipes on manitobachicken.ca that you can try with your kids and you can search them by cut or by preparation technique. There are a lot of basic recipes that call for ingredients you most-likely already have on hand under the Kid Friendly section of their recipe page.  You can also check out the chicken section of my recipe index for other great recipes using Manitoba chicken.  

What is your family’s favorite way to enjoy Manitoba chicken? Comment below and let us know!

Oatmeal Applesauce Muffins with Salted Caramel Chips

~ SL

Every summer my grandma and my friend give me apples from their trees, so I make my own applesauce and use it in my baking year round. I wanted to develop a muffin recipe that was low in sugar and used a good amount of applesauce. Also, a recipe that was filling enough that the kids wouldn’t ask me for another snack after having eaten.

These muffins are made with oats and whole wheat flour, which will give energy and satisfy hunger. I like to use almond milk, however, to keep them school-safe, use dairy, soy, or oat milk instead.

What you need to know about these muffins

  • My kids devoured these.
  • They don’t contain sugar (maple syrup and applesauce sweeten them up)
  • You don’t even have to use your mixer. A whisk or spoon will do.
  • You can freeze them for lunches or snacks.

*These school-safe energy bites also make a great lunch box snack!

Meal Prep Tip

In my Meal Planning for Busy Families Online Course, I mention baking muffins while you eat dinner as a strategy to save time. You can pre-mix the dry and wet ingredients when you do your meal prep for the week, then combine them and pop them in the oven while you’re eating. By the time you’re finished eating, the muffins are ready. Bonus points if your oven is already pre-heating from having cooked dinner!

Other great muffin recipes

I usually stick to a rotation of about 3-4 different muffin recipes. They’re all shared on my Tried & True Pinterest Board. Our go-tos are the Healthy Banana Muffins (with chocolate chips!) and the Healthy Double Chocolate Zucchini Muffins (again, with chocolate chips.)

Print

Double Batch Oatmeal Applesauce Muffins with Salted Caramel Chips

This low-sugar recipe is quick to whip up with a bowl and a spoon. No mixer required!

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Keyword applesauce, double-batch, muffins, oatmeal
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 28 muffins

Ingredients

  • 2 cups unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup
  • 4 tbsp canola oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup almond milk
  • 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1 bag Chipits Salted Caramel Chips can use butterscotch chips

Instructions

  1. Combine all wet ingredients.

  2. Add dry ingredients, except salted caramel chips and stir until combined.

  3. Add salted caramel chips.

  4. Use a triggered ice cream scoop to dispense in muffin liners.

  5. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.