S'mores Petite!

Sweets for the Home & Campsite

Finger food

A coworker did something nice last week: she brought in homemade S'more cookies for everyone to enjoy. What she didn't know is she would create a at-home S'more addict!

Ok fine, I'll admit I never really liked S'mores round the campfire. Due to numerous rules in the backcountry, fires are often not allowed at sites, so we always bring campstoves. And hiking in New England, you can't depend on dry firewood most of the time. If I'm car camping, which isn't often, I don't think to bring them, I don't even bother with a fire most times. But if someone makes a fire and has the ingredients, I'm happy to engage my sweet tooth with some toast/burnt mallows, throw some undercooked, cheap milk chocolate rectangles on it and leave the graham crackers out... because I don't really like grahams.

BUT, my co-worked changed everything with her thick, homemade marshmallows, sandwiched between 2 mini rectangles of grahams and dipped in luscious dark chocolate, which was key (I added with smear of hazelnut chocolate spread inside and used cinnamon grahams). Homemade everything, including marshmallows, are all the rage, and I would bet these little suckers could sell for $5 a pair at my local artisan food store! So good... and sooo bad.

So I made a batch, brought them into work and watched as they disappeared a few hours...thankfully, because I still have another batch at home!

Makin' the morning sweet

They were quite easy to make actually, especially if you have a stand-up mixer (I used a hand-held type). Add a dusting of cocoa or cinnamon, nuts or whatever you like - the possibilities are endless. Here's how it's done:

S'Mores Petite Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3 packages unflavored gelatin
• 1 cup ice cold water, divided
• 12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Nonstick spray
• 1 box of graham crackers
• 2 cups dark chocolate (chips or bars)
• 2 tablespoons of vegatable shortening (Crisco)
• hazelnut-chocolate spread, nuts, cinnamon, cocoa... whatever extras you want!

Directions:

The night before: Make your marshmallows. I used Alton Brown's recipe and watched the helpful video: Homemade Marshmallows

Day 2:

1. Break open a package of grahams and cut each one on the dotted lines. Each cracker should cut into 4 pieces, 1.0" x 2.5" each. Stack and set aside.
2. Cut up your marshmallows into the same size strips and place one on a graham and top it with another graham. (If your mallows are really thick, cut them in half and use the fresh-cut side, the sticky side, to stick in place. Or use a little hazelnut chocolate spread, or better yet, some of the dipping chocolate, see below)
3. After you've made your little sandwiches, set aside and follow directions for the Ghiradelli Dipping Chocolate. Once ready, take off the heat and begin dipping your sandwiches, about 1/3 or 1/4 in length. (This will help glue the sandwich together too.) You could alternatively drizzle it with chocolate on top, or douse the whole thing! Once your done dipping, place on a plate and into fridge to set, 30 min-1 hour. Devour and share!