Meanderings In The Midwest

We went camping a couple of weekends ago at Mille Lacs State Park to check camping off my list of “Things to Do in Summer 2013.” It wasn’t my first time camping, but my first time really using my new backpack. We had a 3/4 mile hike out to our campsite on a small lake, beautiful, quiet and not too far for my first time backpacking. I loved it! Packing everything in the pack was a struggle for me trying to fit everything, (note to self, I need a better sleeping bag! One that is meant for backpacking.) but we planned ahead with clothes and meals so we had the right amount of food and all our supplies fit just perfectly. Maggie came along too and got to experience her first weekend camping. Being a beagle, she LOVED all the new smells and that we went on lots of long “walks.”

I insisted that we bring stuff to make s’mores, even though we were trying to save room in our packs. I love roasting marshmallows over the campfire, trying to get them perfectly toasted. I end up burning the marshmallow most of the time though. Plus, s’mores have chocolate so they’re an automatic delicious treat in my book!

Since we don’t have a fire pit to roast s’mores at home, Jason found a recipe to satisfy my s’mores craving…no bake s’mores! Making these were so easy and quick; it took about 30 minutes total, including the time the s’mores spent in the freezer. Here’s what you’ll need:
Graham crackers
Marshmallow fluff/creme
Chocolate to melt
Sprinkles or chopped nuts to add as a topping (optional)

1. Take the graham crackers and break them into quarters.

2. Using a knife or spatula, spread about a tablespoon of the marshmallow fluff/creme onto one graham cracker. Set aside on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper.

3. Top with another graham cracker quarter. The fluff was a little runny, so we put them in the freezer for about 10 minutes.

4. Melt your chocolate. We used about 3/4 of a bag of Toll House’s milk chocolate chocolate chips. They melted fairly quickly, and were ready when we pulled the graham crackers out of the freezer, but you could use whatever chocolate you prefer. We used our “double boiler” set up, a metal mixing bowl over a pot of boiling water.

 

5. Dip half to 3/4 of the graham crackers in the melted chocolate. Leave some plain graham cracker so it’s easier for people to pick them up and eat!  The bowl was deep enough that it worked out easily for us to just dip the s’more and put it right back on the cookie sheet. The trick to this step is to dip as quickly as possible. The heat from the chocolate will start to soften the marshmallow fluff, and we didn’t want it dripping into the chocolate.

6. Sprinkle your desired topping onto the chocolate. (Totally optional!) We were hosting a game night and wanted to be festive. Do this while the chocolate is still soft so the topping sticks.

7. Put the cookie sheet back into the freezer for about 10 minutes. This will help the chocolate harden and the marshmallow re-harden if it started to melt.

8. Enjoy! Everyone at game night LOVED them and by the end of the evening they were all gone. If you do have any leftovers, I would suggest storing them in the fridge, the marshmallow fluff started to run again as they sat out during the evening.
I might have to make some more of these soon to re-live our camping weekend!