Biscuit S'more Shortcakes = S'morescakes?

How on earth. How on earth. How on EARTH have 33 years passed in my life before I did this?

I am talking, of course, about taking your favorite recipe for strawberry shortcake, saying "screw you, health food!" to the strawberries and whipped cream part, and swapping it out for the makings of s'mores. 

Naturally, it will be a biscuit version of a shortcake because "short" means (I am paraphrasing) "buttery" and therefore, angel food cake has no part in an honest shortcake. 

S'mores between biscuits. It's a glorious moment to be alive!

Oh my god. If you haven't tried it, please promise you will do it right now? I'll wait while you assemble your ingredients. 

S'morescakes

• Biscuits
• Hershey's chocolate (can be plain, or be a rebel like me and use the kind with almonds)
• Marshmallows

(the quantity of latter two ingredients can be tailored to your taste)

 Procedure

1. Start by baking up some biscuits. Can I suggest this recipe, which only employs three ingredients? Yes, I thought so. 
2. Once the biscuits have cooled so they are warm-hot, rather than hot-hot, remove from the pan. Split the biscuit you want to make a s'more with in half, so that you have top and bottom. 
3. Now, break a jumbo marshmallow in half. Place on half on top of the bottom of the biscuit. Place as many squares as you like on the bottom half. Place the remaining marshmallow bit (btw, homemade would be awesome, but store bought will do; this can also be done with minis) on top of that Once melted, this will help everything adhere. Place the top of the biscuit over it.

4. If the residual heat doesn't do the trick in terms of making things melty, help out matters by placing your sweet stack in the microwave for just a short time, like 10 seconds. The marshmallow might puff and make the top fall to the side; it's ok. I know you can put the top back on once it's out of the microwave.

5. Enjoy. Marvel at how on earth this has never happened in your life before. 
6. Repeat as desired. 

Psst! If you liked this, you might also enjoy these tasty vittles:

Doughnut strawberry shortcakeS'moreos!

S'more pop-tart s'moresS'more brownies

What's your favorite non-graham cracker way to sandwich s'mores? 

Sweet Sleuth: Who Invented S'mores?

Is this how the S'moreo was born?Today, while eating a delicious s'more, I found myself thinking that if I could go back in time, at that moment my destination would be to visit the person who invented the s'more so I could thank them. With emotion and enthusiasm.

It was with deep sadness that I realized I would not know who that person was, so I hit the books to find out more about this sweet treat.

This s'more was made using a portion of Snickers Bar.The name seems self-explanitory enough: a slurring of "Gimme some more" would naturally become S'more. Why did it settle on this particular sweet treat? No idea, but I have the thought that it is like a nickname: this one just stuck.

As for who invented it? As What's Cooking America advises,

No one is really sure who invented S'mores, because the recipe has basically been passed around by word of mouth since then. The first known recipe appeared in the 1927 Girl Scout hand book called Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts.

The recipe is credited to Loretta Scott Crew, so happily I would at least have a person to go back in time and thank, because while she probably didn't invent the confection, hers is the first known published recipe for the delicious triple-threat of graham cracker, marshmallow, and chocolate.

So how did this trinity of awesome come together?

What seems pretty reasonable (to me, anyway) is that what really kept this treat going was the producers of the products. Concurrently, marshmallows were becoming commercially available for the first time; Graham crackers had gained much popularity after their invention by Sylvester Graham (described as "a New England health advocate with a passion for temperance and fiber"), and the recipe had been picked up and gained popularity (as well as evolving into a sweeter, more cookielike cracker) after being mass-produced by Nabisco. I must make a side note to wonder "What would Sylvester Graham think of S'mores?". Somehow I don't think it's what he envisioned his legacy to be.Sta-Puft could make so many S'mores.

But I digress. My theory about products coming together in the right place at the right time is supported by an article on Slashfood, which also brings up an interesting point on other popular confections which debuted in the same era:

The true origin of the snack is unknown, as camping recipes tended to be passed from person to person and family to family - often over the campfire itself. The first recipe for s'mores was published in 1927 in the Girl Scout Handbook and the event marked the official introduction of the s'more into popular culture.

The publication of the s'more recipe was not the first pairing of chocolate, marshmallow and cookies. In 1913, the Mallomar cookie was introduced to market, followed in 1917 by the Moon Pie. Both products have a graham cracker-like base - a sandwich, in the case of the Moon Pie - and are topped with marshmallow and a layer of chocolate.

 so, maybe it was a Girl Scout reaction to popular treats around the time, which themselves were the result of these new products?

As for their enduring popularity? As Liesl Schillinger (a documented s'more hater) says,

they're easy-to-make, guaranteed nostalgia-inducers, well within the reach of any parent's budget. Others may disagree, but I suspect that most us don't eat them for the taste. We eat them to relive our first s'mores experience, back when our taste buds were so rosy new that any sugar was ecstasy; back when our parents were the age we are now … and younger. S'mores take us back in time. You don't have to like them to love them.

Well put.

Want s'more? You may enjoy:

• Peeps S'mores Pie
• S'moreos (featured in CakeSpy Presents Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life )
• S'more Brownies
• S'more Pop-Tart S'mores
• S'more Pop-tart drop cookies
• S'more Gelato Sandwiches

Gimme S'more: S'more Gelato Sandwiches by Ciao Bella Gelato

As I have mentioned, I've been pretty obsessed with gelato as of late. And while I'm not boarding a plane to indulge in a Gelato Diet in Italy (yet), recently, some sweet treats (packed in dry ice, natch!) hopped a plane right to my house, directly from Ciao Bella Gelato.

Having visited their San Francisco and New York locations, naturally I was excited to see these sweet treats arrive at my doorstep: a pack of sorbet pops, S'more Gelato, and Gelato S'more Sandwiches.

The winner of the batch, for me? The S'morewiches. Filled with rich, creamy belgian chocolate gelato swirled with marshmallow, these two graham wafers acted like bookends to the most delicious story. A story that you'll want to eat up til the end.

The S'more gelato was also delicious, the same stuff used as filling in the sandwiches, but, you know, easily eaten by the pint (wait, there's more than one serving in that?).

The sorbet pops were tasty, but I'll admit: I was wary of their 70-calorie packaging. It made me feel like I was eating health food.

They also sent me a copy of their book, The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto: Bold, Fresh Flavors to Make at Home. I haven't tried anything from it yet, but people: there is a recipe for a tricolor gelato cake in it. NOM!

But I'd absolutely buy the s'more gelato or the sandwiches again!

For more information or where to buy, visit the Ciao Bella website!

Gimme S'more: S'more Pop-Tart S'mores Recipe

I'm just going to come out and say it: I am no stranger to S'more brilliance. After all, I am the inventor of the mystical and magical S'moreo (S'mores made using oreos).

And I do own this t-shirt (thanks Nicole):

But if you're seeking extreme S'more Flavor Overload, have I ever got a new sweet treat for you: S'more Pop-Tart S'mores. If you suspect that this masterpiece is comprised of s'mores made using S'more Pop-Tarts instead of graham crackers, you suspect correctly.

If your impulse is to protest "too much!", I must gently correct you: "just enough". The usual S'more is bookended by even more S'more, in this case deliciously gooey Pop-Tart form. Really, what you've got is cold, hard (or is that soft, gooey?) proof that if some is good, s'more is better.

S'more Pop-Tart S'mores

Makes one (easily duplicated)

• 1 S'mores Pop-Tart, lightly toasted (not all the way toasted; it will finish toasting with the rest of the ingredients) and sliced in half
• 1 or 2 jumbo marshmallows
• 6 squares from a Hershey's Chocolate bar
• 1 square, about 4 by 4 inches, of aluminum foil 

Procedure 

1. Place one side of the pop-tart, frosted side down, on the foil. 
2. Lay the chocolate squares on top, and then the marshmallows (or single marshmallow, torn in half) on top of the chocolate. Add the second half of the Pop-Tart on top, frosted side up.
3. Place in the toaster oven over medium heat for 1-3 minutes, until the edges of the pop-tart and marshmallows are are browned and the chocolate is looking melty on the sides. Remove carefully.

This can also be done in the microwave (don't use the foil!); place the ingredients on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 15 seconds.

Gimme S'more: Brownie S'more Pie in a Graham Cracker Crust Recipe

Problem: you're looking a little thin these days.

Delicious solution: Brownie S'more Pie in a Graham Cracker Crust. Yeah, you heard me.

This baby has the better part of a batch of brownie batter baked inside of a buttery graham cracker crust, and is crowned with a big, fat swirl of deep, dark, rich cocoa buttercream and topped with yet more chocolate and more marshmallows for good measure. It weighs many pounds, and each one is a pound of awesome.

While topping it with Hershey's Kisses (inspired by my current reading material, The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars) and a heart design is timely, what with it getting dangerously close to Valentine's Day, it's a pretty sure thing that this is what love tastes like all year round.

Brownie S'more Pie in a Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients

• 1 9-inch graham cracker crust 
• 1 batch your favorite brownie recipe
• 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
• Hershey's Kisses plus more mini marshmallows, to garnish

For the cocoa buttercream

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons milk 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 to 5 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Procedure

1. Have your graham cracker crust ready: if you are making your own from scratch, no need to pre-bake. If you're using a store bought variety, just leave it off to the side for the moment.
2. Prepare your brownie batter per the instructions in your favorite recipe, with one change: fold in the marshmallows once the batter is otherwise ready and mixed.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pie shell, filling it about 2/3 of the way full. You may have extra brownie batter; bake it up in cupcake cups, or, you know, lick the bowl clean.
4. Place the pie plate on top of a cookie sheet (just because brownie recipes can vary, and I don't want it to drip over the pie plate into your oven!).
5. Bake according to the brownie recipe instructions. Keep an eye on the bake time and check the pie about 5 minutes before the brownie bake time specifies, since you might be using slightly less batter. 
6. The brownies are done when a toothpick comes out mostly clean -- I would always err on under, rather than over-baking them.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
8. While it is cooling, prepare the cocoa buttercream: in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter. With the machine set at its lowest speed, add the cocoa powder and mix well. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Slowly beat in the confectioners' sugar, starting with 4 cups and adding more until it has reached your desired spreading consistency. Spread the frosting on top of the brownie pie, leaving a little bit of the brownie showing along the edges (pretty!). Top with your extra chocolate and marshmallows.

Note: Do make sure that the frosting is of an easily spreadable consistency. Because brownies have a flaky texture on top, you want to be sure that the frosting spreads with ease and won't bring up too many of the crumbs (that just looks messy!).