Recipe: Homemade Organic Campfire S'mores

I went camping recently and, for us, one of the great parts of camping is the food which can all be topped off around the campfire with a s'more. Being that we didn't have enough to do taking our three year old, one year and dog camping, I thought it would be a good idea to make my own s'mores from scratch. This is partly because I like a challenge and partly because I don't know where to find organic graham crackers or marshmallows (truth be told I didn't look, but i did find organic corn syrup!). When you are making s'mores I am not sure the first thing that pops to mind is organic but regardless they taste better anyways!

I also thought since this was my first time making graham crackers why not make them my own recipe! After a little research, I found a recipe on 101 Cookbooks and one from the Food Network by Alton Brown and decided that my twist would be making a chocolate graham cracker with white chocolate and homemade marshmallows (they also work great with milk chocolate). I decided not to change the marshmallow recipe as it had science involved and I didn't want them to fall flat. I used the a recipe from cooking for engineers for the marshmallows with a tip from Smitten Kitchen to dredge the sticky edges in cocoa powder (I also halved the recipe successfully). Let's get on to the good stuff...

The chocolate graham crackers turned out amazing for a first try and I would definitely make them again even just as a snack for around the house.

The Recipe: Chocolate Graham Crackers2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup of 1/2 inch cubed frozen unsalted butter
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup frozen brown sugar
1/3 cup of cold honey
3 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk

Using a food processor, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, sea salt and buzz until combined. Add the brown sugar and buzz again until combined. Add the frozen butter and buzz again until just evenly incorporated, it should look like cornmeal at this point. Combine the olive oil, honey, vanilla and milk separately and mix. Add this to the food processor and mix until the dough forms a ball. You can add more flour if the mixture is not forming a ball. Spread ball out in a 9 x 13 baking dish about 1/2 inch thick and place in the fridge.

Take your dog for a 30 minute walk.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Remove half the dough and place on a flour counter. Flour your rolling pin and roll the dough into a large perfectly square rectangle (just kidding trim the edges and through them into the freezer). Cut the dough into 2 x 1 1/2 inch rectangles using a pizza roller and place on a cookie sheet. Once on a cookie sheet, gently poke some holes in the top with a fork, about 4 sets for each. As always, I am using clay so that the bottoms do not burn but you could also use silpat. Be careful if you use a cooking sheet that you do not burn the bottoms! Leave a little space between the crackers as they will rise a bit when cooking. Place in the middle rack of the oven and cook for 16-20 minutes. The edges will start to blacken if you have cooked them too long. They will also finish hardening once they are removed from the oven. Place on a cooling rack. Repeat the process with the other half of the dough and cut-offs in the freezer. Place all the crackers in an air tight container after cooling to retain crispness!

Now to make the s'more, take one cracker and carefully break it in half. Place a piece of white chocolate on top of one half. Carefully roast a marshmallow on a campfire by finding some coals that are glowing but do not have a flame. Once the edges are bubbling, but not black, remove the marshmallow and place directly on the white chocolate. Using the other half of the graham cracker hold the marshmallow while the roasting stick is removed, squash and enjoy! Careful not to burn your tongue.

PS. Don't tell anyone but you can also make these easily over the stove top (especially using a gas burner).