S’mores only have three ingredients, but that doesn’t mean you can’t customize.
The weather's finally cooling down, which means the time is ripe to sit around a fire with a bag of marshmallows: enter s'more season 2.0. Popularized by Loretta Scott Crew and the Girl Scouts, this classic outdoor snack brilliantly utilizes an open flame and is more than worth your fingers getting temporarily stuck together. Just because the s'more might be perfect doesn't mean it can't be improved, however. Utilize the following cooking and flavor customizations to make your gooey treats even more irresistible.
Gooey marshmallows pair nicely with room-temperature chocolate and graham crackers, but what if the whole thing was warm and squishy? Set your graham crackers and chocolate on a piece of foil by the edge of your fire while you work on setting your mallow aflame, effectively softening your chocolate and making for an entirely toasty s’more. You can also roast your marshmallows and warm your chocolate and graham crackers in the oven if you’re nowhere near a fire and would rather do without burner fumes.
I personally believe that Hershey’s milk chocolate bars are meant to go in s’mores (and perhaps nothing else), but you, reader, can use whatever brand or variety of chocolate you like. Expensive, affordable, caramel-filled, bitter, white, flavored, vegan, what have you. Additions like sea salt, nut butter, nuts (try chopped pistachios!), and fruit will play up certain notes. Or, forgo the bars and spread Nutella on your crackers.
No reason to order a fancy metal stick or look around outside—straighten out a wire hanger, then adjust it to your liking. This lengthy DIY roasting stick offers some flexibility for anyone who wants a toasted mallow without having to smell (as much) like a campfire.
These days, just about every popular supermarket snack food has a bougie counterpart. This is especially true for marshmallows, which now come in more varieties than regular, jumbo, multicolored (and possibly toxic), and freeze-dried miniature. Gourmet brands like SmashMallow produce an array of flavors including mint chocolate and cinnamon churro. Or, you could even make your own marshmallows.
Cinnamon and chocolate graham crackers exist for a reason: experimentation. If you're looking for something a little saltier, try Ritz crackers or saltines. Or, forgo the cracker altogether and try pastries like Keebler Fudge Stripe Cookies, biscuit cookies, or Pop-Tarts (Kellogg even recommends using the s’more-flavored Pop-Tarts instead of graham crackers for the ultimate sugar rush).