There’s something magical about the combination of chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows. When you’re a kid, being allowed to make that much mess in the pursuit of sugar is the entire reason for going camping! As an adult, you figure out that you can upgrade the ingredients - getting rid of that waxy Hershey’s bar for something a bit more special for a start. This cookbook was a housewarming gift for my first house - it’s a beautiful combination of cooking, gifting, and crafts that, especially with a new baby, felt too fiddly for much perusal.
Now though, I have a mini kitchen helper who loves all things chocolate. Since seeing these recipes, she’s been talking about nothing else for several days. I hope her first s’more is magical for her!
Ingredients:
Marshmallows:
½ c. confectioner’s sugar
½ c. cornstarch
¾ c. warm water, divided
2 envelopes powdered gelatin
1 ½ c. granulated sugar
1 c. light corn syrup
½ tsp salt
¼ vanilla bean, scraped, or 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Graham Crackers:
1 ½ c. whole wheat flour + additional for working
1 c. all purpose flour
¾ tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
½ c. unsalted butter, cold
½ c. packed brown sugar
¼ c. granulated sugar
3 TB good quality honey [If your brother and sister in law are beekeepers too, now's the time to hit them up for some liquid gold!]
Note on timing: marshmallows need time to “cure” so I recommend making them the day before you want to toast them.
To prep for the marshmallows, sift the confectioner’s sugar and cornstarch onto a large plate. Next, coat a 10” x 8” baking dish with vegetable oil. Sift a few tablespoons of the sugar mixture into the baking dish and spread it around so the sides are dusted too. [Note: I used an 8x8 pan and next time would have been more liberal with the dusting]
Pour ½ cup of the water into the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Sprinkle the gelatin over and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and remaining ¼ c. of water. Heat the mixture over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the mixture to a hard boil. Cook for 1 minute, or until the mixture registers 240F on a candy thermometer [or, if you’re like me, a meat thermometer].
Lower the whisk attachment and turn the mixer on low. Carefully add the boiling liquid to the gelatin mixture. [Try to keep your kitchen helper far far away, unlike me...she got away from us and tried to “help” with the hot pan] Turn the mixer to high and beat for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the mixture has doubled in volume and holds stiff peaks. Add the vanilla bean or extract [I used part of a vanilla bean from my homemade vanilla extract, but it didn’t seem like much, so I added some extract too] Beat for an additional minute, until incorporated.
Pour the marshmallow into the prepared baking dish, smoothing out the top - it will be super sticky! Dust the top with the confectioner’s sugar mix [If you have excess, save it to toss the cut marshmallows in later]. Cover lightly with foil or plastic and allow to set for 4 hours or overnight.
While you patiently wait for the marshmallows to dry and cure, make the graham crackers.
In a medium bowl, mix together the whole wheat flour, AP flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon.
Using a box grater, grate the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the sugars and honey. Mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, or until pale and fluffy. (Scrape down the sides as needed) Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. [Note: This resulted in just sand for me - it wouldn’t even hold together. I added ⅓ - ½ cup cold water to the mix to get it to look like a rough dough]
Turn out the dough onto a floured surface, bring it together into a mass, then divide it into two pieces. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and rest in the refrigerator for one hour.
Remove the first half from the fridge and roll it out between 2 pieces of parchment paper. [There’s no detail about how thin - this is a problem later on. I’d suggest going pretty thin, mine puffed a bit vs spreading far] Cut the sheet into 3” squares [My rolling technique was haphazard, at best, so I cut pretty randomly - the parchment paper moves all over the place when rolling, even with 3 points held...admittedly by a bag of flour and my 68 year old mother] Don’t separate the squares - we’ll do that later, when they’re chilled. Transfer the parchment paper with the dough onto a baking tray and place in the freezer to chill for 5 minutes. Repeat with the other half of dough.
Preheat the oven to 350F. Separate the graham crackers and space a few inches apart on the baking sheets to allow for spreading. Transfer the crackers back to the freezer for 15 minutes, or until they are very hard. Bake for 10 minutes, or until edges are golden brown [Mine took 14 minutes]. Allow to cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack.
Flip the marshmallows onto a large cutting board - it's going to be messy! Cut them into whatever size suits you - I went large, but then cut them down a bit. Rub the cut edges in the excess cornstarch mixture to keep them from getting too sticky.
To assemble into s’mores, I went the lazy route to the broiler (not knowing if the marshmallows could handle being on a stick or if they’d melt off). I put a graham cracker down on a foil lined baking sheet, and topped it with good quality chocolate (Lindt Touch of Salt Dark Chocolate) and a marshmallow. They browned in no time!
The marshmallows are soooooo much more flavorful and pillowy than store-bought ones. I have made homemade marshmallows before and don't remember them being this amazing. The graham crackers were a bit of a disappointment - maybe because they were too thick so they are chewy like an oatmeal cookie. The thickness made it hard to fit the whole thing in my mouth. I might try standard grahams next time...but I'm never giving up these marshmallows! Friends, Family, prepare yourselves...a s'mores kit might be in your future.
If you got either the Gilmore Girls or the Funny Girl reference in the title, you are my people!!
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