National S'Mores Day

Happy S'mores Day to You!

There seems to be a lot of attention to S'mores this year. At the supermarket, there is an entire section devoted to marshmallows for S'mores. There is another section close by the marshmallows dedicated to all things S'more. S'more flavored candies, equipment for making your own S'mores and of course, the necessary ingredients(in addition to marshmallows) that make the S'more.
I had my first S'more at summer camp about 200 years ago when we were using fire to cook our food on a regular basis. We had walked close to 500 miles,it seemed, up a rocky path to a beautiful vista called Goat something or other and dangled our tiny legs over a deep ravine while our counselors made a giant fire in the middle of the woods. So wholesome.  They doled out the graham crackers, hershey bars and marshmallows. We had to find our own stick to toast the marshmallows. The S'mores were messy but chocolaty so I fell in love with them.
I have not had S'mores since that day but after enough trips past the S'more section of the supermarket, the marketing strategy reeled me in.
I wanted to make a less messy S'more however. I wanted it to be compact like a sandwich and easy to  serve  guests. I thought the main effort should be toasting the marshmallow followed by the big S'more reward.

I played around with a few recipes online for a chocolate chip graham cracker cookie. Then I toasted a few marshmallows and sandwiched them between two cookies. Delightful!!

The cookies, on their own are really tasty. With the toasted marshmallow, the smoky flavor comes through and elevates the cookie sandwich to nirvana. I recommend eating the cookie sandwich soon after smashing the marshmallow between two cookies. This is not a make ahead dessert or snack or breakfast item..whatever you want to label it. The marshmallow does not improve when it cools down to room temperature and the warmth of slight melting of the chocolate chips is lost. So toast up, and eat up!
Happy National S"more Day to you!

Chocolate Chip Graham Cracker Cookie
                                                      Yield: 24 cookies or 12 S'more sandwiches
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
Blend in egg and vanilla. Add combined flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda and salt.
 Mix well. Stir in chocolate chips
 Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets about 3 inches apart . Press to flatten slightly.
Bake in pre-heated oven 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on sheet about 3 minute and remove to wire racks. Cool to room temperature.

To make a S'More sandwich:

Stick a marshmallow on the end of a skewer or a stick if you're at Goat something gulch and toast the marshmallow over an open flame being careful not to toast yourself.
Set the marshmallow on the flat side of one cookie. Lay another cookie on top sandwiching the marshmallow as you remove the skewer so you won't burn your fingers on the hot mallow. Wait a minute to eat your treat so the hot marshmallow does not singe the roof of your mouth because that is a pain that no one deserves. You can use that time to get yourself a cold glass of milk.
Enjoy!