Summertime brings thoughts of camping, picnicking, beach-going, and vacations. And for us, it is time for S’mores. But the kids don’t want to wait for a family camping trip, they want S’mores whenever they can get them.
Years ago, I had a pizelle maker. I LOVED making pizelles for the kids to snack on – and honestly, they loved it when I made them pizelles. One other benefit of this occasionally used piece of kitchen equipment was that I could transform the pizelles into a S’mores dessert. Two prepared pizelles would sandwich a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which I would then top with chocolate sauce. It was my at-home version of their favorite camping snack.
But alas, my waffle/pizelle maker bit the dust and when I bought a new waffle maker, and I didn’t have the ability to switch heating plates from waffle to pizelle. Consequently, the kids have been S’more-less for some time.
Last weekend, I finally pulled out The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee, which includes a collection of inventive recipes from Caitlin Freeman, the Blue Bottle pastry chef. The recipes included are delicious when paired with coffee, but don’t let that dissuade you from enjoying them anytime you want.
The Brooklyn Bootleg S’mores immediately gained entry into my arsenal of DIY favorites. Albeit not as easy to make as the campfire versions — or it’s pizelle counterpart – they are deliciously addictive (especially since I used Oban Scotch in the marshmallows), and worthy of making several times this summer.
What I like about it, is that everything is homemade — graham crackers, marshmallows, and ganache. Instead of the ganache recipe in the book, I used a homemade chocolate sauce recipe from David Lebovitz that I had left-over from a recent birthday celebration:
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup, agave nectar, or glucose
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-processed)
2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the water, sugar, corn syrup (or agave or glucose), and cocoa powder.
Bring to a boil over medium heat. Once it’s just begun to simmer and boil, remove from heat and stir in the chopped chocolate until melted.
Let the Chocolate Sauce stand for a few hours before serving, which will give it time to thicken a bit.
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The fact that I had never made marshmallows or graham crackers before, coupled with the swarm of kids that found their way into the kitchen asking to help make S’mores, I was a bit apprehensive about what I was embarking on. But I had already declared that I was making S’mores, so I couldn’t back down . . . the drool from my kids’ mouths was already dripping on the kitchen floor.
It was late in the day, so I thought I would only conquer the marshmallows and save the graham crackers for the following day. Addie washed her hands and pulled the stool over to help me make the marshmallows. It was like a little science experiment, as everyone wondered what Mom was going to use to make marshmallows.
But I had to concentrate and read the recipe, which was nearly 3 pages long, so I banished them all from the kitchen (except Addie), and took to reading the recipe.
