More SMores Please
Column Summary
They say laughter is the best medicine. Add a campfire, a circle of friends and family, and Smores, and you have a prescription for a great evening of happiness.
I grew up camping. My family camped in a large canvas tent when I was a toddler. We graduated to a pop-up, and when our family grew to five members we packed our gear into hard top RVs. I have many fond and favorite memories as we camped our way through spring and summer, and some into the fall.
The important necessities of family camping; food (it went in first), then three bikes, and then firewood stacked in the doorway. We had to work before the bikes came out, convenience or plan?
The best food of camping only required three ingredients; graham crackers, large marshmallows, and Hersheys chocolate bars (really, isnt there only one milk chocolate bar?). This great camping dessert satisfied the sweet tooth over any other camping kibble.
Did you know the first official printed recipe for Smores was published in the 1927 Girl Scout Handbook? Prior Smores history dates back to the turn of the 20th century, but after the Girl Scouts, and the Boy Scouts, and the Campfire Girls, started making Smores an outdoor troop meeting staple the campfire treat was launched into pop culture history.
A faster way of making marshmallows was developed in the late 1800s.The first graham cracker was invented in 1829. The introduction of Hersheys first chocolate bar was in 1900. Most naturally the three were destined to melt up.
The popularity of the three blended flavors has moved beyond the outdoor campfire. Marshmallows for Smores are toasted over gas and charcoal grills, over stovetop burners and flame, and carefully puffed in microwaves. Some folks have even torched toasted their marshmallows on screwdrivers in dads garage.
Different forms of Smores are found on grocery store shelves; in cereal boxes, snack mix bags, packaged cookies, and in frozen foods, and of course on in-store bakery shelves. Smores can be enjoyed any time of year, even in the winter, holding your marshmallow hooked roasting fork just inside the woodburner.
The best Smores are the ones toasted while sitting around a campfire, using long twigs for toasting sticks, with friends and family sitting all around. The best Smores are when the marshmallow is a bit blackened or slowly, and perfectly toasted the most golden brown all around. The best Smores are the ones when you just have to lick your fingers to clean the sticky off.
The worst thing about Smores is keeping stock of the essentials. No matter where I hide the Hershey bars, they seem to quickly disappear before the campfire burns.
The sweet, sweet days of autumn are here, what are treating? Send recipes to Country Cupboard, 5973 Blachleyville Rd., Wooster, Ohio, 44691. Emails are always welcome; thewritecook@ssnet.com
SMores Cracker Dip
1 cup milk chocolate chips
2 tablespoons milk
1 1/4 cup marshmallows, divided
Graham crackers for dipping
Preheat broiler. In a medium sauce pan, add chocolate chips, milk and 1 cup of your marshmallows. Mix continuously over medium heat until melted and smooth. Using a rubber spatula, scrape chocolate mixture into a small casserole dish. Top with remaining marshmallows. Place dish under broiler for approximately 60 seconds or until the top has started to brown.
S'mores Dip
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup marshmallow cream
Graham Crackers, for serving
In a small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and condensed milk on High 1 to 2 minutes, stirring about every 30 seconds, until chips are melted. Mix well. Pour into a 9 inch glass pie pan, spreading evenly. Drop marshmallow creme by tablespoonfuls randomly over chocolate mixture. Microwave on High about 30 seconds or until marshmallow creme is softened. Immediately make several swirls through marshmallow and chocolate, creating a marbled appearance. Serve immediately with graham crackers for dipping.
SMores Cheesecake Bars
2 cups crushed graham crackers (16 to 18 crackers), plus a few coarsely chopped set aside
1/4 cup butter, melted
3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
8 ounces marshmallow cream
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 eggs
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, for top
1 cup mini marshmallows, for top
Spray a 13 x 9 baking pan. In a medium bowl, mix cracker crumbs, butter, and brown sugar. Press firmly onto the bottom of the pan and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and lower temperature to 300 degrees. Beat cream cheese, marshmallow cream, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Add flour and mix well. Pour over crust and bake for 50 minutes. Remove cheesecake from the oven and top with chocolate chips and miniature marshmallows. Under broiler toast the marshmallows and lightly melt the chocolate. Cool.
Chocolate Dipped Peanut Butter SMores
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
16 whole graham cracker squares (8 whole rectangular pieces still stuck together)
8 marshmallows
1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread
1 whole package melting chocolate
Chopped pretzels and chocolate sprinkles, to decorate
Spread dollop of smooth peanut butter onto one side of 8 of the cracker squares, and then spread the chocolate hazelnut spread onto one side of the other 8 squares. Thread the marshmallows onto 2 metal skewers and carefully toast over a flame on the stove top. Place 1 toasted marshmallow onto each of the peanut-butter-covered graham crackers. Top with the chocolate-hazelnut-spread-covered crackers and sandwich together gently. Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl, and then set aside to cool, stirring occasionally to keep the chocolate melted. When the chocolate is room temperature, one by one dip the sandwiches in the chocolate, allowing any excess to drip off. Work quickly, and then add on whatever sprinkles you'd like to use. Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Grilled Banana SMores
Medium ripe bananas
Brown sugar
Large marshmallows
Peanut butter or chocolate spread
Graham cracker squares
Heat a grill to 350 degrees... Leave bananas in peels and make 1 slit down the length of each banana. Pack the slits with brown sugar. Put the bananas on the grill and grill until soft and charred, about 5 minutes. Remove them to a cutting board and set aside to cool slightly. Peel the skins from the bananas and cut into 1/2-inch thick slices. Meanwhile, put the marshmallows on skewers and toast over the grill or stove top until brown and melty, about 2 minutes. To assemble, spread some peanut butter on graham crackers and top with bananas and marshmallows. Cover with another cracker and serve.
SMores Cookie Crumble Bars
8 sheets graham crackers, finely ground
1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
One 4.4-ounce bar milk chocolate, such as Hershey's, broken into pieces
1 cup marshmallow crème
Line an 8-inch square baking dish with aluminum foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the ends of the pan for lifting out the finished bars. Stir together the ground grahams, flour, sugar and salt in a small bowl. Cream the butter, egg and vanilla in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until creamy and combined. Add the graham mixture and continue to beat on low speed until just combined and large crumbles form. Place about 2/3 of the mixture in the prepared pan and firmly press down. Reserve a few pieces of the chocolate for garnish and then scatter the rest of the chocolate pieces over the base. Drop spoonfuls of the marshmallow creme over the chocolate, stretching the creme so it covers more of the base. Drop the remaining cookie batter in small clusters over the chocolate and creme so the creme is mostly covered. Bake at 350 degrees until the dough is golden brown and the cookie in the center of the pan feels firm, about 40 minutes. Cool in the pan at least 15 minutes. Using the foil overhang, lift the crumble bars out of the pan. Melt the reserved pieces of chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals until smooth, and then drizzle over the cookies. Cut into sixteen 2-by-2-inch squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Triple Chocolate SMore Pie
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
Spray the inside of a 9 inch pie pan with cooking spray. In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture firmly into sprayed pie pan, covering bottom and sides. Bake at 375 degrees for 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside to cool. For filling; combine milk chocolate chips, 1/2 cup condensed milk, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and melt in a double boiler. Stir until all chips are melted and pour into bottom of cooled crust. Set in refrigerator while preparing second layer. For second layer, repeat above process using the vanilla chips. Pour over milk chocolate layer. Set in refrigerator while preparing third layer. For third layer repeat above process using the dark chocolate chips. Pour over white chocolate layer. Preheat the broiler. Evenly cover top with mini marshmallows. Place under broiler for a few minutes just until marshmallows are lightly browned. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
