S'mores from Scratch
/
Making your own homemade graham crackers and marshmallows might seem like a long way to go to get everyone’s favorite campfire treat, but believe us, it’s worth it. With every bite you will wonder why you didn’t try it before!
GRAHAM CRACKERS
Ingredients
2 ½ cups whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting (not stone-ground or white whole white flour)
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Procedure
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
In a standing mixer fit with the paddle attachment, or with an electric hand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Reduce speed to low and add honey and vanilla until combined.
Increase speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until incorporated and a soft dough forms.
5. Scrape dough onto a work surface and knead gently to form a ball. Divide in half and knead each ball on a bare work surface until pliable and smooth.
6. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously flour your counter or a piece of parchment paper and place one ball of dough in the center.
7. Work from the center out and adding more flour as needed, roll the dough very thin (remember, it will puff up in the oven so make sure to roll it thinner than the desired end result!) and cut into square shapes the size you would want for each s’more.
8. Perforate with a fork then place onto an aluminum baking sheet with a spatula well coated with flour. Repeat with remaining dough.
9. Bake until crackers are firm and darkened, about 15 minutes. Transfer to cooling racks to cool.
roll out the dough thinly
cut into desired size
perforate with fork
lift with floured spatula onto baking sheet
MARSHMALLOWS
Ingredients
Vegetable oil for brushing pan
+/- 1 cup confectioners' sugar for coating pan and marshmallows
3 (1/4-ounce) envelopes powdered unflavored gelatin
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Procedure
Brush the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 inch or a 9 x 9 inch baking pan with vegetable oil. The size of the pan will dictate how thick the marshmallows are. A 9 x 5 pan will result in 2-inch thick marshmallows and a 9 x 9 inch pan creates 1-inch thick marshmallows.
Using a small, fine-mesh sieve, dust the pan generously with confectioners' sugar, knocking out any excess.
Put ½ cup water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Sprinkle the gelatin into the bowl and stir briefly to make sure all the gelatin is in contact with water. Let soften while making the sugar syrup.
In a heavy 3- to 4-quart saucepan, combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and ½ cup water. Place over moderate heat and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
Put a candy thermometer into the boiling sugar syrup and continue boiling (the mixture may foam up, so turn the heat down slightly if necessary), without stirring, until the thermometer registers 240°F (soft-ball stage). Remove the saucepan from the heat and let stand briefly until the bubbles dissipate slightly.
6. With the mixer on low speed, pour the hot sugar syrup into the softened gelatin in a thin stream down the side of the bowl.
7. Gradually increase the mixer speed to high and beat until the marshmallow is very thick and forms a thick ribbon when the whisk is lifted, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla.
8. Scrape the marshmallow into the prepared pan (it will be very sticky) and use wet fingertips to spread it evenly and smooth the top.
9. Let stand, uncovered at room temperature, until the surface is no longer sticky and you can gently pull the marshmallow away from the sides of the pan with your fingertips, about 3-4 hours.
10. Dust a cutting board with confectioners' sugar. Use a rubber spatula to pull the sides of the marshmallow from the edge of the pan (use the spatula to loosen the marshmallow from the bottom of the pan if necessary) and invert onto the cutting board. Dust the top with confectioners' sugar.
11. Brush a long thin knife or a chef's knife with vegetable oil and dust with confectioners' sugar to prevent sticking; continue dusting the knife as necessary. Coat marshmallows, one at a time, in confectioners' sugar, using a pastry brush to brush off any excess. Marshmallows can be stored, layered between sheets of wax paper or parchment in an airtight container in a dry place at cool room temperature, for 1 month.
ASSEMBLE S’MORES
Assemble the graham crackers with the chocolate bars broken to fit the size of the crackers
Skewer marshmallows onto the end of a fork or pronged skewer and toast over an open flame. This can be done over the flame of a gas stove, an outdoor grill, or campfire.
When marshmallow is browned to the desired color, sandwich between the crackers and use the crackers to pull the hot marshmallow off of the fork or skewer.
AND VOILA!
