One of my favorite things is a bonfire. I don’t know what it is, but there is something that just mesmerizes me when we get a good fire going. I mean a good fire that requires little work and will burn for a couple hours without needing much replenishment. I could (and have) sit for hours and stare at the flames of orange and yellow and blue in silence. It always soothes my soul. We had a fire this weekend and I didn’t get to enjoy it much, but I still stood there just watching it for a bit. This is a cooking column you say why would I speak about fires? One thing we almost always do around the fire is hot dogs and s’mores. A s’more is a traditional camping treat usually made by an open campfire. Many variations have been created over the years, but the basics are melty marshmallow, chocolate, and graham crackers. And really is there much better than that? Though it is believed s’mores have been eaten since the 1800’s, the first known recipe to be written was in a Girl Scout handbook published in 1927. The recipe was originally title “Some More”. It called for eight sticks, 16 graham crackers, 8 bars of plain chocolate (each broken in half), and 16 marshmallows. Nowadays alternative fillings for s’mores include everything from raspberry jam to peanut butter, hazelnut butter, Nutella, caramel, and lemon curd; substitutes for graham crackers include cookies and wheat crackers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, cautioning the traditional s’more is hardly a healthy snack, proposes substituting low-fat vanilla yogurt and strawberries for the chocolate and marshmallow. The graham crackers, says the government, are still OK. That doesn’t sound nearly as good as the original though. These days you see ‘s’mores’ everywhere. There are candy bars, cookies, snack cakes, donuts and Pop-Tarts, just to name a few, that are all s’mores inspired (flavored) concoctions. Fun Facts: Americans buy 90 million pounds of marshmallows every year. Additionally, during the summer it is estimated that 50 percent of marshmallows sold are used for s’mores. Presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham invented the graham cracker in 1829 in Bound Brook, New Jersey. He introduced this snack item as part of his then-radical vegetarian diet which eschewed white flour and spices. Why would he do this you say? He believed a vegetarian diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, limited dairy, and bland starches would result in an end to masturbation which he considered a scourge of his time. S'mores are so popular in society that some businesses exist entirely to sell s'more ingredients. For example, Stuff'n Mellows offers customers a chance to buy marshmallows with embedded chocolate chips. There are cookbooks dedicated to nothing but S’mores! The S’mores Cookbook, S’mores: Gourmet Treats for Every Occasion and Gimme S’mores are just a few of the ones you can find. Campers at Deer Run Camping Resort in Gardners, PA built the world’s largest s’more. Weighing in at 267 pounds. It comprised of 140 pounds of marshmallows, 90 pounds of chocolate, and 90 pounds of graham crackers. The Guinness World Record for number of people making s'mores at one time was 423, set April 21, 2016, in Huntington Beach, CA. Today is National S’mores Day and it made it an easy pick for today’s column. I love s’mores and am always looking for new ways to eat them. I have to admit, when looking for a s’mores recipe, it has to be melted marshmallow or marshmallow crème. There are no whole marshmallows that are unbaked in these recipes. One more thing to note, when using marshmallows that will melt into the recipe, make sure you either eat the whole thing or remelt in the oven. When it completely cools, marshmallows will congeal and it will not taste nearly as good. Make your grocery list this weekend and meet me in the kitchen for a twist on this campfire treat.

Indoor S’mores

This was one of my husband’s favorite treats. I made it several times throughout the year for him. He thought it was better than actual s’mores! 6 cups mini marshmallows 2 cups semi sweet or milk chocolate morsels 5 Tbsps. unsalted sweet cream butter 1 tsp vanilla bean paste 8 cups Golden Grahams cereal Butter a 9x13 pan and set aside. Pour cereal into large bowl and set aside. Melt marshmallows, chocolate and butter in medium saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. (If you want some whole marshmallows to add to the look of your S’mores, save one cup for adding later.) Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla. Pour chocolate mixture over cereal. Stir until evenly coated. If desired stir in remaining marshmallows now. Press mixture into pan with rubber spatula. Cool until as firm as you like. (My husband always started eating it before you could really cut it.)

Recipe adapted from the side of a box of Golden Grahams about 11 years ago.

S’mores Cake

1 box yellow cake mix 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (14 squares) 1 cup water ½ cup sour cream 1/3 cup vegetable oil 3 eggs 1 16-17oz jar hot fudge or chocolate topping (not chocolate syrup) 1 7oz jar marshmallow crème 1 cup frosting (you can get the ready-made frosting or if you are like me you always have some leftover in the fridge from a previous cake and since you only need a cup, you can easily take from some on hand) Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Grease or spray bottom only of 13x9-inch pan. In large bowl, beat cake mix, cracker crumbs, water, sour cream, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan. Reserve 1/4 cup hot fudge topping. Drop remaining hot fudge topping by generous tablespoonfuls randomly in 12 to 14 mounds onto batter in pan. Bake 40 to 46 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Run knife around side of pan to loosen cake. Cool completely, about 1 hour. In medium bowl, stir together marshmallow crème and frosting. Frost cake with marshmallow frosting. Lightly heat hot fudge in the microwave for 15-20 seconds. Drop small dollops of hot fudge topping randomly over frosting. Swirl topping through frosting with knife for marbled design. Store loosely covered.

Recipe adapted from bettycrocker.com

S’mores Muffins

3 Tbsps. unsalted sweet cream butter, softened 1/4 cup packed brown sugar 4 tsps. sugar 1 large egg 1/3 cup sour cream 3 Tbsps. milk 2/3 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/8 tsp baking soda 1/3 cup milk chocolate chips 6 Tbsps. marshmallow crème Preheat oven to 400°F. In a small bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg, then the sour cream and milk. Combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and baking soda and beat into creamed mixture until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Coat six muffin cups with cooking spray or use muffin liners. Fill each cup one-fourth full with batter. Spoon 1 Tbsp. marshmallow crème into each muffin cup. Top with more batter to three-fourths full. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm.

Recipe adapted from tasteofhome.com .

S’mores Cheeseball

16 oz. cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup powdered sugar 1/3 cup marshmallow crème 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste Pinch kosher salt 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips 1/4 cup marshmallow bits 1/4 cup crushed graham crackers Whole graham crackers for serving In a medium bowl using a hand mixer, beat together cream cheese, powdered sugar, marshmallow crème, vanilla, and salt. Fold in mini chocolate chips, then place in refrigerator to firm up, 30 minutes. Meanwhile, make coating: Combine mini chocolate chips, marshmallow bits, and crushed graham crackers on a shallow plate. When marshmallow mixture is firm, shape into a large round ball and roll in coating. Serve with graham crackers.

Recipe adapted from delish.com

S’mores Martini

3oz marshmallow flavored Vodka 1.5oz Godiva chocolate liqueur 3oz half and half or milk 1 cup ice Garnishments: Graham cracker crumbs Chocolate syrup Marshmallows Prepare martini glass by dipping the rim in chocolate syrup and then graham cracker crumbs until thoroughly coated. Add Vodka, Chocolate Liqueur and Half & Half to a cocktail shaker with 1 cup of ice. Shake vigorously for around 30 seconds until cold. Strain into prepared martini glass and garnish with roasted marshmallows. Note: Marshmallows are easily roasted by placing them on skewer sticks and lightly browning them using a kitchen torch.

Recipe from 3yummytummies.com .

S’mores Bars

This is a recipe for those that are not a fan of chocolate. 1 box yellow cake mix 1 large egg 1/2 cup unsalted sweet cream butter, softened 4 1/2 full graham crackers 10oz bag white chocolate chips 2 cups mini marshmallows 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Make sure paper goes all the way up and over the edges but not too much, it is paper and will burn in the oven. You just need enough overlap to make it easy to pull the cake out of the pan. Place cake mix, egg, and butter into a large mixing bowl. Mix until a nice dough forms similar to a cookie dough. Press half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Layer with graham crackers, white chips, and marshmallows. Top with remaining half of dough pressing evenly. Lightly drizzle sweetened condensed milk over top. Bake for 28-33 minutes, until cooked through and golden brown on top. Remove from oven. Let cool for 10-15 minutes and serve.

Recipe adapted from juliaseatsandtreats.com