Marshmallow Sandwiches

A two-line assembly from the sweet end of the sandwich chapter, closer to what we would now call a s'more than to anything on a lunch plate. Everything depends on catching the marshmallow at the moment it slumps but before it runs.

• "Run in stove" means the ovenIn this book the stove is the range and its oven; the instruction is to heat briefly, not to cook. No temperature or time is given: a moderate oven for a short spell, or a moment under a broiler with your eyes on it, is the sort of heat meant.
• Chocolate wafersThin, crisp, unsweetened-tasting chocolate cookies of the Nabisco Famous Wafer type, not a soft chocolate-chip cookie and not a chocolate bar. Any thin, snappy chocolate biscuit works; something soft will go limp under the melting filling.
• Marshmallows have changedCommercial marshmallows of this period are generally described as firmer and drier than today's. Modern ones slump fast, so watch the heating time closely; the recipe says "marshmallows," plural, per sandwich, but one sliced flat will do.
• The butterMelted or well-softened butter, brushed thinly. On the top it gives the ground almonds something to stick to; too much and the wafers go greasy and soften.
• Finely ground almondsAlmonds ground to a coarse flour rather than slivered; the recipe does not specify whether they are blanched. Toasting them lightly in a dry pan first improves the flavor, since they get almost no heat on the sandwich.
• Assemble hot, serve warmThese are at their best within a few minutes of leaving the oven. Once the marshmallow cools it sets into a chewy sheet and the sandwich becomes difficult to bite through cleanly.
• YieldThe original gives no quantity. Figure two wafers and one marshmallow per sandwich, and count on two or three per person as part of a tea or dessert tray.