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Heavenly Crisp
(Also known as "S'mores") 8 BARS OF PLAIN CHoc- OLATE 16 GRAHAM CRACKERS 16 MARSHMALLOWS Toast two marshmallows over the coals to a crisp, gooey state and then put them inside a graham cracker and chocolate bar sandwich. The heat of the marshmallow between the halves of chocolate bar will melt the chocolate just enough, and the graham crackers on the outside are nice to hold on to, as well as tasty. Though it tastes like "some more," one is really enough.
DREAMS Slip a pitted date onto a thin, green pointed stick, then a marshmallow, then a date until you have three or four of each. Toast over the fire until the marshmallows are golden brown, and eat.
A campfire standard, written down at a point when the name "s'more" still needed explaining. The quantities are for a patrol, not a person.
- YieldEight plain chocolate bars, sixteen graham crackers and sixteen marshmallows make eight sandwiches — two toasted marshmallows between the halves of one chocolate bar, with a graham cracker on each side. Standard modern practice is one marshmallow per sandwich; here two are used, and the recipe says their heat is what melts the chocolate.
- "Plain chocolate"In American usage of this period this generally meant a sweet eating bar with nothing in it — no nuts, no fruit, no crisped rice. It is unlikely to mean unsweetened baking chocolate, which would be unpleasant here. A segmented bar snapped in half is probably what is intended, though the recipe does not say milk or dark.
- Graham crackersThe count of sixteen suggests full rectangular crackers rather than the double-square sheets sold today. One modern sheet snapped along its scored line gives the two pieces needed for one sandwich.
- Coals, not flameThe instruction to toast over the coals is the hinge. A marshmallow held in flame chars on the outside while the centre stays cold and firm; over settled embers, turned slowly, the sugar caramelises through and the interior liquefies, which is what melts the chocolate on contact.
- Assemble fastThe chocolate is melted by residual heat alone, so the sandwich has to be closed the moment the marshmallow comes off the stick. Have the crackers and chocolate already paired and waiting on a plate before anyone starts toasting.
- Green sticksThe date version calls for a thin, green pointed stick, conventionally chosen because green wood is slower to catch fire. Cut from a wood you can identify as non-toxic — willow, maple, birch — and never from yew, oleander, buckeye or anything with milky sap. Metal skewers or long forks avoid the question altogether.
- The date versionAlternating pitted dates and marshmallows on one skewer relies on the dates being soft. Dried-out supermarket dates will scorch before they warm through; steep them briefly in hot water and pat dry first. Dates hold heat well and burn the mouth, so let them stand a moment off the fire.