Take three readily available ingredients on a camping trip, add some inventive Girl Scouts and watch them create something sweet to eat.
That appears to be how s’mores were invented a century or so ago.
According to the food-history-rich website foodtimeline.org, the ingredients included graham wafers, marshmallows and chocolate bars — items the public could obtain by the late 19th century, and that became very popular in the early 20th century.
The website says the Girl Scouts of America are generally credited with first combining these three ingredients into a sandwich-like cookie.
In fact, the 1927 edition of a Girl Scout handbook called Tramping and Trailing With the Girl Scouts contained the first published recipe for the treat.
The recipe was called “some more” for what Girl Scouts would apparently scream after having one.
To make “some more,” the handbook says, you start by toasting two marshmallows over the coals to a crisp, gooey state and then put them inside a graham cracker and chocolate bar sandwich. The book says the heat of the marshmallow between the halves of chocolate bar will melt the chocolate a bit and the taste will make you want “some more.”
Over time, the name “some more” got shortened to s’mores and scores of others around the world began making and enjoying them while camping. The basic recipe hasn’t changed. Once you’ve made one, you don’t really need a recipe, as the method is short, simple and sweet.
You might need a recipe, however, for times when you feel like having s’mores but can’t have a campfire. With things being so dry in many parts of B.C. this year, that might even include a provincial park.
So, for those of you in that situation, today I present three ways to enjoy the taste of s’mores in a square and a cookie that you bake at home and take with you. I also have a recipe for skillet s’mores that you can cook on a camp or regular stove, not a campfire.
Skillet S’mores
In this version of s’mores, the marshmallows become gooey and melted in a skillet. That skillet could be heated on a camp stove, or a home stove, if you don’t feel like camping, but do feel like s’mores.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 4 to 6 minutes, per batch
Makes: 8 s’mores
8 graham wafers (crackers), each split in half
1 (100-gram) milk or dark chocolate bar, broken into 8 squares
8 marshmallows, each cut into 4 slices
Set eight half graham wafers on a work surface. Set a square of chocolate on each of those wafers. Top the chocolate on each wafer with four slices of marshmallow. Top marshmallows with the remaining half graham wafers.
Set a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Set four of the stuffed cookies in the skillet and cover.
Cook for 2-3 minutes; turn the cookies over and cook for 2-3 minutes more, or until the marshmallows and chocolate begin to melt and become gooey.
Cool slightly before devouring. Cook the remaining four stuffed graham wafers as you did the first four.
S’mores Squares
These squares sweetly layer together ingredients found in s’mores — graham wafers, chocolate and marshmallows.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 to 32 minutes
Makes: 16 bars
• vegetable oil spray
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup graham wafer crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
2 (100-gram) milk chocolate bars (see Note)
3 cups miniature marshmallows
Lightly spray an 8-inch square pan with vegetable oil spray. Cut an 8” by 12” piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom and up two of the four sides of the pan. (The parchment extending up the two sides of the pan will be used as handles to lift the square out when ready.) Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the butter, sugars and vanilla in a bowl and beat until well combined. Place the flour, graham wafer crumbs and baking powder in a second bowl and whisk to combine. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just combined.
Divide this cookie-like dough in half, and place half of it into the prepared pan. Set aside the rest of the dough for now.
Press on dough in the pan to create an even layer and crust for the square. Bake the crust 15 minutes, and then remove from the oven and set on a work surface.
Break each chocolate bar into dime- or nickel-sized pieces and distribute them in a single layer over the warm crust. (The chocolate does not have to completely cover the crust, as it will melt when baked in the oven.)
Evenly top the chocolate with marshmallows. Now top the marshmallows with the remaining dough, breaking off and dropping small nuggets of it on top of them.
Bake the square 15 to 17 minutes, or just until the topping is very lightly browned. Cool the square to room temperature on a baking wire rack. Now tent with plastic wrap and refrigerate and chill one hour to make it easier to slice.
Run a paring knife around the outside of the square to loosen it from the pan. Now grab the paper and lift the square out of the pan and on to a work surface. Cut the squares into 16 pieces.
Note: I used a Hershey’s brand milk chocolate bar in this recipe.
S’mores Cookies
Chewy, addictive and sweet cookies flavoured with chocolate, marshmallows and graham wafers.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes per sheet of cookies
Makes: 36 cookies
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (about 300 grams)
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 cup coarsely crumbled graham wafers (see Note)
1 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed golden brown sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Place an oven rack in the middle position. Line three large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Place the flour, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Stir in the chocolate chips, marshmallow and crumbed graham wafers.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugars and vanilla until well combined and lightened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
Using about 1 1/2 Tbsp amounts, roll the dough into 36 balls. Set 12 balls on each baking sheet, spacing each one about three inches apart. Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 12 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool on a rack, and then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
Note: The graham wafers were crumbled into dime-sized pieces. Christie brand graham wafers were used in this recipe. Four yielded the amount needed for this recipe.
Eric Akis is the author of The Great Rotisserie Chicken Cookbook (Appetite by Random House). His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
