It’s fall, y’all! Cooler weather is on the way, so it’s time to start planning for crisp evenings spent outdoors with friends and family – and all the fun and food that come along with it. Whether your backyard features a fire pit, fireplace, or built-in grill, a fire-roasted s’more is the perfect dessert to finish off a beautiful outdoor evening.
Take your treat-making to the next level with these ooey gooey s’mores ideas:
Mix Up the Ingredients
It’s hard to beat the classic combo of toasted marshmallow, melty milk chocolate, and warm graham cracker, but consider offering guests a few options to keep things interesting:
- Marshmallow: offer flavored ‘mallows like coconut, strawberry, and pumpkin spice – or make your own!
- Chocolate: set out a variety of choices like dark and white chocolate, and bars with mix-ins like caramel and nuts (this is a great opportunity to offload all of those Halloween miniatures.)
- Graham cracker: sub in any sturdy cookie like shortbread, chocolate/cream sandwich, vanilla wafer or gingerbread.
- Add-ons: a smear of peanut butter or jam, a sprinkle of crushed pretzels, or a strip of crispy bacon can all be welcome (if unexpected) additions to a standard-issue s’more.
And don’t let the typical sandwich-style construction limit your creativity: there’s more than one way to build a s’more! Try one of these outside-the-graham-cracker-box methods:
Cast-Iron S’mores Dip
This recipe turns your s’mores into a frontier style treat, all cooked in one cast-iron pan and with minimal prep time. Letting guests dip their own graham cracker ensures that everyone gets their perfect chocolate-to-marshmallow ratio!
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- One 12-ounce bag mini chocolate chips
- 3 cups mini marshmallows
- Graham crackers, broken into squares, for dipping
Method:
- Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat.
- Melt the butter in the skillet, add the nuts and toast until fragrant.
- Remove from the heat and sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the nuts.
- Spread the marshmallows over the chocolate chips. Place the skillet under the broiler until browned on top.
- Serve in the skillet and use graham cracker squares for dipping.
S’mores in a Cone
Throw it back to summertime with this ice cream lookalike. This fun recipe swaps the graham cracker for a crunchy ice cream cone stuffed with fillings, wrapped in foil and slow cooked over an open fire.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips, or more to taste
- 12 ice cream cones
- 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows, or more to taste
- 12 12×12-inch squares of heavy-duty aluminum foil
Method:
- Place about 1 teaspoon chocolate chips into an ice cream cone, followed by a layer of mini marshmallows. Continue layering chips and marshmallows into the cone until full. Repeat with remaining chips, marshmallows, and cones.
- Wrap each cone tightly in aluminum foil.
- Heat the foil-wrapped cones in a campfire until chocolate and marshmallows are melted, 3 to 5 minutes.
Cinnamon Swirl S’mores Sandwich
This recipe combines the crispy goodness of cinnamon toast with the melty goo of chocolate and marshmallow. Keep an open mind on the mayonnaise: it crisps up like butter, but provides the bread with a better level of protection against the grill’s open flame.
Ingredients:
- 8 slices cinnamon swirl bread (with or without raisins)
- Mayonnaise
- 4 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate bars, broken into roughly 1-ounce pieces
- 8 marshmallows, torn in half
- Flaky or kosher salt
Method:
- Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for medium-low heat (between 250 and 325 degrees).
- Thinly spread one side of each piece of bread with mayonnaise. Place the bread slices on the grill mayo-side-down. In the center of half the slices, add 1 ounce chocolate to each. To the other half, add the marshmallows. Cover and cook until the bread is toasted, the chocolate is starting to melt, and the marshmallows are swelling, 4 to 6 minutes. Check on the bread often, moving slices around the grill as needed to prevent burning. If the chocolate is melted before the bread is crisp, increase the heat to medium.
- Flip the marshmallow slices onto the chocolate slices. Transfer to plates, press down slightly to meld (chocolate and marshmallow will ooze out), and sprinkle with salt.
Sheet Pan S’mores
Dessert for a crowd? No problem. Make more than a dozen servings in one go with this easy sheet pan method studded with unexpected add-ons.
Ingredients:
- 30 whole graham crackers
- One 13-ounce jar chocolate spread
- 16 ounces marshmallow cream
- 8 ounces mini marshmallows
- One 10-ounce bag caramel chips
- 12 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
- 8 ounces toffee bits
Method:
- Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat and line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.
- Spread 15 graham crackers with chocolate spread and line them up on the prepared sheet pan. These will be the sandwich bases.
- Using 2 spoons, dollop the marshmallow cream evenly on the chocolate-spread graham crackers. Sprinkle the mini marshmallows evenly across the graham crackers. Do the same with the caramel chips, chocolate chips and toffee bits. Top each bottom cracker with a top cracker to create a sandwich.
- Place the sheet pan on the grill. If your grill has a lid, close it. If your grill does not have a lid, flip a second sheet pan over and rest on top of the pan of s’mores to create a lid. Cook until everything is deliciously melted, about 25 minutes. Serve warm.
Adults Only
Finally, for an after-dinner drink your guests won’t soon forget, combine a classic s’more with a tot of Irish Cream liqueur. Just soak the toasted marshmallow in a small bowl of the liqueur before loading it onto the graham cracker and chocolate sandwich for a drippy, gooey, boozy s’more.
We’ve come a long way since the Girl Scouts first popularized the s’more in the 1920’s, with the simple 3-ingredient treat becoming a staple fireside dessert. No matter what your spin is on the classic recipe, you can rest assured that it’ll pair perfectly with a roaring fire, crisp fall air, and a crowd of sticky-fingered friends and family.