Buzz
When summer rolls around, it's common for people to encourage others to enjoy a meal outside, or as the Italians say, 'al fresco.' And while I’m not one to turn down a Taco Bell feast in the rose garden (which is exactly what I did last night!), I do believe there are certain 'outdoor foods' that taste just as delightful, if not better, when cooked indoors. S’mores are a prime example of this.
As an adventurous and forward-thinking person, I’ve always believed that s’mores shouldn’t be limited to summer – they can be enjoyed on any regular Tuesday. I’ve also always appreciated cooking indoors for one simple reason: it’s free from bugs and dirt—two things I prefer to avoid when preparing and eating food. But even if pests and soil weren’t a concern, your indoor kitchen holds one key advantage when it comes to making s’mores: the broiler.
Cooking over an open campfire can be fun and enchanting, but it lacks precision. The wild flames make it difficult to control the toasting of your marshmallow, and melting the chocolate—which can’t be speared on a stick—is a challenge (although placing a graham cracker with a piece of chocolate near the fire can help melt it).
Under the broiler, your marshmallow toasts at a steady and even pace while your chocolate slowly melts. The broiler even adds a nice crispness to the edges of the graham cracker. For the perfect combination of crisp and gooey, I recommend cutting your marshmallow in half lengthwise before placing it—sticky side down—onto the cracker.
A word of caution: constant vigilance is key. Depending on how high your broiler is set, and how close your s’mores are to the heat source, the browning and melting process can happen in an instant, usually within minutes. As someone who likes to control everything, I tend to stand by the oven and pull them out the moment they reach that perfect just-beyond-golden-brown stage, but feel free to take your own approach.
Simple Indoor S’mores (makes four, but adjust as needed)
Ingredients:
4 graham crackers
1 Hershey’s chocolate bar, broken into 4 pieces, each containing 3 segments
4 marshmallows
Instructions:
Break each graham cracker in half, and slice each marshmallow in half lengthwise. Place the marshmallows on four cracker halves, and top the remaining halves with chocolate pieces. Arrange everything on a sheet pan, then place it on a rack a few slots away from the heating element. You want it close, but not too close. Close the oven, turn on the broiler, and keep an eye on it. Once the marshmallows are toasted to your liking and the chocolate is gooey, pull the pan out, sandwich everything together, and enjoy. You can even take them outside, if that’s your thing.
