How to get outside s'more this summer
Memorial Day weekend reminds us that the days continue to pass by, even if it's hard to keep track. The unofficial start of summer is here, and we can still take joy in the traditions of years past, just a little closer to home. Get outside even if it's just to your local park, camp ground or your backyard. Enjoying the afternoon in your backyard or at a local park is a great way to burn off some energy and get some space when it seems like you haven’t left your house in months.
Spending time outside breaks up the monotony of the week and helps me keep my head on straight. Now that we can engage in small gatherings of less than 10 people, a campfire is in order! S'mores are one of my favorite parts of summer. Really, I like roasting marshmallows to golden brown perfection so much that I volunteer to keep roasting them for others after I've had my fill of s'mores. The only flame-ups you'll see from me are accidental--I think it's lazy to just light your mallow on fire to get it melty. Low and slow, using the embers instead of the showy flames, that's my M.O. Of course, the classic s'more is some milk chocolate and a roasted marshmallow sandwiched between graham crackers.
There are so many easy ways to change it up though!
Instead of a plain graham cracker, go for the cinnamon ones. Cookies, thin brownies and crispy rice treats can also work as the ‘bread’ of your s’more.
Speaking of chocolate, don't feel constrained to do the classic milk chocolate. Go decadent with super dark, try a mint chocolate, or maybe toffee almond, white chocolate with raspberry, oh my! Don't even limit yourself to chocolate bars; peanut butter cups make excellent s'mores.
I learned something called the dirty pillow from a 4 year-old. You stuff the chocolate square into the marshmallow before roasting, so you get perfectly gooey messy s'mores.
Add a swipe of nut butter, cookie butter, chocolate hazelnut spread or even jelly to your graham. I would do this in addition to the chocolate, but maybe this will help bring s'mores to those people who just aren't into chocolate.
Use a chocolate that has caramel, and add shredded coconut for a familiar girl scout cookie twist!
Peanut butter and banana are a natural pairing, with or without the chocolate.
Skip the chocolate, a toasted marshmallow and graham cracker plus some lemon curd makes for the cutest single serve lemon meringue pie!
Even if you're not camping out or grilling this Memorial Day, you can still make s'mores! In fact, when you want to serve a group of people and only have one or two good mallow sticks, your broiler is your friend! I line up pairs of graham crackers on a baking sheet, half get marshmallows and the other half get chocolate. Pop them in your oven on a rack at the tallest setting for a couple minutes (closely watched!) and you get some of the best s'mores for the least amount of work. Everyone gets to dig in at the same time, the chocolate is nice and melty, and the graham crackers have gotten nice and toasty.
Cheers to the three-day weekend in a world where many of us have trouble keeping our calendar straight!