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Jun 2010  |  By Julie Chernoff  |  Comments

I Want S’Mores!

There were a lot of things I loved about summer camp, but probably nothing made as much of an impression as my very first S’more.  All I could think was, “Gimme some more of THAT!”

And there’s a reason we love this dessert classic: perfectly toasty and melty marshmallow and a Hershey’s milk chocolate bar sandwiched between two graham crackers. It’s hard to screw that up.

But time marches on, and tastes change. Still loving the marshmallow, of course, but now it’s dark chocolate that does it for me. And why a plain old graham cracker when you can use flavored grahams? Or maybe even a gingersnap to really mix it up? For a total game changer, there are all sorts of crazy-flavored marshmallows around these days (try Three Tarts, Foodstuffs and Whole Foods) – I’ve seen toasted coconut, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and even mango marshmallows.

We threw an impromptu S’mores party for a bunch of hungry and creative teens (not a tough audience, I confess) and let their imaginations run wild. Along with the cookies mentioned above, new options included Nutella, peanut butter, pumpkin butter and bananas; dark chocolate Ghiradelli raspberry squares and milk chocolate caramel squares and Andes mints. And yes, I am still buzzing.

Some favorite new combos:

• The Spicy S’more: Gingersnap, banana, pumpkin butter and marshmallow
• The Euro S’More: Cinnamon graham, Nutella, and marshmallow
• The Chilly S’More: Chocolate graham, Andes mints and marshmallow
• The Elvis S’more: Graham, peanut butter, banana and marshmallow (throw in a half strip of bacon if you have it…)

So don’t be afraid to experiment. The S’more isn’t sacred. It’s just damn tasty, no matter what form it takes.