She Eats: 5 Tips for Upping Your S’mores Game

As any doNorther knows, campfires are perfect in any season. The smell of burning wood, smoke and ash floating up to the stars, and the enjoyment of family and friends gathered around mesmerizing flames is truly a wonder no matter how many times you experience it. The only thing that can enhance such a scene is the perfect campfire treat. Of course, we’re talking about s’mores.

According to Wikipedia (don’t judge; there’s not a lot of info out there…), the first instance of a s’more was found in a cook book in the 1920’s. Allegedly, we have Boy and Girl Scouts to thank for this delightful concoction. These goodies have stood the test of time and are truly an outdoors(wo)man’s snack. And, while delightful in their original form, there are several ways to enhance this tasty treat:

1. Trick out your chocolate. S’mores, of course, generally have a piece of milk chocolate adding to the ooey gooey-ness, but we occasionally like to make it interesting and swap out a solid piece of chocolate for something more. Our personal favorites include a Reese’s cup, a Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie or a Ghirardelli square filled with caramel.

2. Swap out the sandwich. Instead of substituting the chocolate component, try changing out the sandwich ends. Use Ritz or saltine crackers instead of Graham crackers for an added dash of saltiness.

3. Create a s’mores cone. This is one of our newfound favorite ways to change up s’mores. Instead of making the traditional s’mores sandwich, add the elements of a s’more to a waffle cone. The sky’s the limit with this iteration! Add fruit, other types of candy and various spreads to suit your taste. Charlotte’s favorite is a peanut butter chocolate combo while Mara goes for bananas and caramel chips.

To make:

• Fill the bottom of the cone with something that will keep the rest of the ingredients from melting out the bottom. Peanut butter, Nutella or marshmallows will do the trick.
• Fill it up! Add chocolate chips or pieces, bananas, strawberries, peanuts or peanut butter, Nutella, caramel or butterscotch chips, etc.
• Wrap your cone in tinfoil.
• Place the wrapped cone in the fire close to, but not on, the flames. Just like roasting a marshmallow, getting close to the ashes is key.
• Let the ingredients melt inside the cone for a few minutes until gooey and delicious
• Enjoy!

Pro tip! Stuck inside? Placing the foil-wrapped cones in the oven for a few minutes works just fine!

4. Make “S’mores Krispie Treats”: If you use Golden Graham cereal in place of Rice Krispies and drizzle chocolate over the top, you get the effect of a campfire s’more in a larger and easily shareable quantity.

5. S’mores Indoors: We don’t think s’mores should be limited to whenever you can build a campfire, so we’ve found ways to create them inside to enjoy at any time! Building your basic s’more and tossing it in the microwave for a few seconds works just fine.

CAUTION: When using the microwave, pay close attention! If you let it go too long, the marshmallow will explode and make a sticky mess. Learn from us…

To achieve the crispy outer shell of a fire-roasted marshmallow, hold the marshmallow (on a stick of some sort) over the flame of your gas stove. Cook as you would over a fire and enjoy your indoor s’more in no time!

S’mores, while fun and delicious, also immediately send us back to childhood and summer lake days. We can all use some youthful reminders in our lives, so stock up (don’t forget the roasting sticks!) and create some original or imaginative versions of this campfire favorite.

How do you do s’mores? Comment below or tag #howidonorth on your Instagram photos!