When it comes to camping, nothing is more classic than s’mores, cooked over an open fire while surrounded by family, friends, and kids. Popularized by the Girl Scouts in the late 1920s, the simple treat hasn’t lost public interest and, in fact, is constantly tinkered with, as evident by all the campfire variations developed by people like you.
National S’mores Day is annually celebrated on August 10, but let’s be honest: Every time you camp should be a day to celebrate and munch on these addictive treats — that’s why you always want “some more,” right?
Below is a short, (extremely) simple guide to some unique variations of s’mores cooked on the campfire.
The Classic
The 1927 recipe for s’mores, as written in a Girl Scouts guidebook (see it here), really hasn’t changed: toast marshmallows over a fire “to a crisp gooey state” and sandwich between two graham crackers and two pieces of a chocolate bar. The preferred chocolate bar is the Hersey’s bar (without the almonds). The marshmallow will melt the chocolate a little. Voila!
(Note: A lot of people only use one piece of chocolate, preferably placed on the bottom)
In books, however, does not give any tips on how to toast the marshmallows. The most classic way is to find a suitably sized stick or metal coat hanger to stab it with and roast over flames. Before you do this, make sure to know the local fire and firewood restrictions. Some places, namely national parks and federal & state wilderness areas, do not allow firewood collection, meaning you really shouldn’t even be burning a stick to cook your marshmallows. Like they say, leave no trace. (But if you get caught, we’re sure the only thing a ranger will do is ask you to cook them one).
Fire Sticks
Fortunately, like it or not, modern society has given us great campfire cooking tools. Amazon has lots of Marshmallow Roasting Sticks
As for how to best roast them, the type of fire can make a difference, according to REI. It’s easier to thoroughly melt the marshmallow to a hot and creamy state with a mellowed out fire of embers than a young fire with dancing flames, which is best for those who like the coating seared.
The Hybrid Classic
If your fire pit has a grill, you can heat the chocolate covered graham crackers while sticking the marshmallow directly over the fire. This melts the chocolate a little more, but be careful of burning the graham cracker — unless you like it that way! You can also do this by laying out foil on the grill, which leads us to our next s’mores technique…
Foiled
If you’ve camped enough, then you’ve probably done foil burgers. The same can be done with s’mores, but you won’t need 20 or so minutes. Make your s’more sandwich and tightly wrap it in the foil before placing it in the fire’s coals for just a couple of minutes, if that. Unlike the classic style, the chocolate melts with the marshmallow, so be prepared to lick your melted chocolate off of your fingers.
All that said, this technique is best used if you have that grill attached to the fire pit.
Coned
This take on s’mores is compliments of Bree Hester, who believes “s’mores are great, but campfire cones are better.” The concept is simple: Ditch the graham crackers for a sugar ice cream cone, stuff it with chocolate and marshmallows, and tightly wrap it in foil before placing it on the fire pit grill for a couple minutes. Hester takes it even further by encouraging your imagination. In a post at Taste for Adventure, she made a peach sauce at home and brought numerous toppings — sliced almonds, chocolate chips, crushed chocolate cookies, marshmallows, granola, whipped cream — to choose from.
Candy Crush
Whether you make s’mores traditionally or coned, adding and swapping ingredients is a fun variation worth experimenting with (and the more you experiment, the more you eat!).
Instead of a traditional chocolate bar, try a chocolate peanut butter cup, dark chocolate, Nestle Crunch, or any other chocolate bar. Spread nutella or peanut (or almond, sunflower, cashew) butter on the graham crackers, which you can purchase in different flavors like cinnamon or chocolate. Seriously, let your imagination go wild — because s’mores should never be taken seriously.
Make Them Minty
Anyone who loves the combined flavors of chocolate and mint will love this version. Simply replace the regular graham crackers with chocolate ones, and in place of the usual chocolate bars, use chocolate after-dinner mints.
Once you’re enjoyed your s’mores around the campfire, you just might start craving them at home. When you do, here’s a simple version you can make without a campfire. Melt 8 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips in a pan over low heat, and then add a 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk and one teaspoon vanilla, stirring until smooth. To assemble the s’mores, spread some of the chocolate mixture onto two graham cracker halves and sandwich a layer of mini marshmallows in between them. To store, wrap the s’mores individually in plastic wrap.
Well there you go. Many variations of the traditional favorite, s’mores. Let your imagination run wild and create your s’mores masterpiece.
