Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Indoor s'mores

I had lofty dessert visions for the baby shower. It had a beach barbecue theme, so I wanted to try a riff on s'mores, which are one of my favorite summer treats.

I considered - learning how to temper chocolate, making chocolate ganache, mastering homemade graham crackers, incorporating digestive biscuits instead of graham crackers, subbing fancy chocolate for the standard Hershey's for improved flavor,  keeping the standard Hershey's for the sake of nostalgia, finding a recipe for homemade marshmallow fluff, making a boiled icing that would be reminiscent of marshmallows without being too obvious, purchasing a kitchen torch for artistic toasting of either icing or marshmallows ...

And then suddenly it was Friday and I was out of time and slightly embarrassed by how much mental energy I'd given to the s'mores issue. 

Quick solution - le petit ecolier cookies, which have a nice biscuit base covered in chocolate + marshmallows, toasted.  I did make the marshmallows, so that I could cut them into heart shapes.

indoor s'mores, prep
{indoor s'mores, prep}

If making marshmallows sounds unbearably unnecessary to you, I think you could cut regular marshmallows in half  to make them thinner and then cut them with a cookie cutter. But really, once you get your hands on Deb's recipe for fluffy marshmallows you'll realize that making them is faster than running out to the store to buy them. I put them in a larger pan, so that they were a bit thinner and easier to cut into shapes.

After cutting, I arranged a few marshmallows on top of each cookie, then popped them in the broiler briefly (watch the entire time - do not step away from the broiler!) and pulled them out once they were golden. After they cool, they're easily transportable and the whole process takes very little time.

indoor s'mores, toasted
{indoor s'mores, toasted}

I think these fall into the better in my head category. Don't get me wrong - they're perfectly tasty and fairly cute and certainly time efficient. But the hearts puff up enough that you can't really tell what they are and the chocolate melts a bit more than you'd like because the broiler is so darn hot. I'm thinking this actually is one of those rare occasions where a kitchen torch would really have come in handy, but I can't quite justify purchasing something I would only use once or twice a year.

I love s'mores so much that I'll probably keep trying to find a dessert that does them justice. In the meantime, I have lots of leftover marshmallow scraps to nibble on and add to hot cocoa, and that is good enough for me.

31 comments:

  1. Bakerella has a recipe for smore cupcakes that is amazing! Sorry I do not have the link handy, but you can easily find it on her site. I think you will love them!!

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  2. i think these are adorable friend...and totally inspired ;-)

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  3. what an awesome (and darling) idea! i like how your mind works. and i can see the hearts!

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  4. i recently had a similar experience! i'm obsessed with s'mores and spent days thinking up a s'more recipe... i made s'more brownies, and they weren't as brilliant as i had hoped, but still delish. because really, how could anything s'mores be less than amazing?

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  5. they look awfully cute to me!

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  6. These look delicious. And they are a lot cuter and fancier than my "bodega s'mores."

    http://www.oldsweetsong.com/2010/04/bodega-smores/

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  7. i want s'mores right now....sounds delicious. I think I know what I'll be doing with my wednesday night and my chiminea!!! I've also been wanting to make marshmallows, thanks for the recipe!

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  8. I love Martha Stewarts Smores cupcakes- give em a try!http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/delicious-chocolate-graham-cracker-cupcake-with-toasted-marshmallow

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  9. genius idea! so cute, i heart s'mores so much...i may need to give this a try.
    xo, anne

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  10. those are hands down my favorite kind of cookie and the homemade marshmallows really bring it home. they look incredible!

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  11. yum these look so good! puffy as they are, i love them!

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  12. Unfortunately, it's still hot cocoa weather in Northern Virginia, so your idea for the marshmallow leftovers sounds great right now. But when it warms up, I'd love to make the homemade marshmallows to take on my first camping trip of summer!

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  13. Adorable just as they are! Perfect hearts are overrated anyways :)

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  14. this is such a great idea! we don't have graham crackers or hersheys in england but we do have those biscuits. yum yum.

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  15. What a fun idea. I had been told it was easy to make marshmallows, but have never had a recipe so thank you for sharing it!

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  16. i think this totally justifies the buying of a kitchen torch!

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  17. We are our own biggest critics, obviously, because these are SO cute! You're a master of the kitchen, girlfriend.

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  18. So cute! Thanks for sharing. I would never have considered homemade marshmallows.

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  19. P.S. A hand held torch is so worth it. $20 at World Market. You'll be amazed at how much you'll use it once you have it.

    Cheers.

    Janice (Couture & Crayons)

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  20. can you pleeeeease tell me which cookie cutter you used on those teensy hearts?? please!

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  21. Mouth watering. What a creative delicious treat!

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  22. mmm totally cute and so very tasty looking!

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  23. Wow, I'm nearly drooling, these look so good. Seriously.

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  24. They look amazing! I can totally see the heart shapes.

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  25. um you are a genius and my hero!
    this is brilliant!

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  26. i've never had smores before, maybe this is a good reason to try it!

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  27. Wow, so pretty. I don't know if I'd go through all the trouble making this, but my sister mentioned that she wanted to make marshmallows, so I may follow that link.
    Thanks!

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  28. Gracious! So cute... I could totally tell they were hearts.

    Do continue to keep us updated on your quest for more s'mores recipes. I know I'd be interested. I've been so desperate before I've used Golden Grahams cereal and chocolate frosting before.

    Clearly, I love s'mores! (Just did a post about them yesterday on my blog, in fact... www.sweeticedtea.net.)

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  29. hi !!
    i love your blog :D
    Kisses From Brazil

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