Paper Palate

Make this year’s Fourth of July campfire, bonfire at the beach, or even backyard barbeque, more special (and more fun) by serving homemade S’Mores from Martha Stewart. Not at all difficult to make, these easy treats will please and impress your guests. These homemade s’mores are so yummy and delicious, and everyone loves eating warm cookies, with gooey chocolate and melted marshallows. S’mores may be messy, but that’s the fun part. So go ahead and get messy!

S’Mores
(recipe courtesy Martha Stewart Living, July 2006)

Ingredients:
20 ounces bittersweet or milk chocolate bars, broken into 2-ounce pieces
(or simply melt some bittersweet baking chocolate and cool in molds, as I did)
20 Homemade Graham Crackers (recipe follows)
10 Homemade Marshmallows (recipe follows)

Preheat a grill to medium (if you are using a charcoal grill, coals are ready when you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill for just 5 to 6 seconds.) Place a piece of chocolate on each of 10 graham crackers; set aside. Press each marshmallow onto the tip of a skewer. Cook marshmallows, turning occasionally, until toasted to desired doneness.

Using a fork, push each marshmallow onto a chocolate-covered graham cracker. Sandwich with remaining graham crackers. Serve immediately. Makes 10.

“You can toast marshmallows over an open fire, hot coals, or a gas flame. If you are using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them thoroughly in water first to prevent them from scorching.”

Homemade Graham Crackers
(recipe courtesy Martha Stewart Living, July 2006)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for working
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup untoasted wheat germ
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 tablespoons high-quality honey

Preheat oven to 350°. Whisk flours, wheat germ, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside.

Put butter, brown sugar, and honey into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl, as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture, and mix until combined.

Turn out dough onto a floured surface, and quarter. Roll out each piece between 2 sheets of floured parchment paper to 1/8 inch thick. Stack on a baking sheet. Refrigerate until firm, about 20 minutes.

Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, transfer to work surface, and remove top parchment. Cut into 4-inch rounds with a fluted cutter. (I simply used a round cutter.) Gather scraps, refrigerate 30 minutes, reroll, and cut.

Pierce crackers using the tines of a fork. Transfer to baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 1/2 inch apart. Bake, rotating halfway through, until dark golden brown, 8 to 9 minutes. Let cool on sheet 5 minutes; transfer cookies to wire racks to cool completely. Crackers can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.
Makes 20.

Homemade Marshmallows
(recipe courtesy Martha Stewart Living, July 2006)

Ingredients:
Vegetable oil, for brushing
4 envelopes unflavored gelatin (3 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons)
3 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Brush a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with oil. Line with parchment, allowing a 2-inch overhang on long sides. Brush parchment with oil; set aside.

Put granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 3/4 cup water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook, without stirring, until mixture registers 238° on a candy thermometer, about 9 minutes.

Meanwhile, put 3/4 cup cold water into the bowl of an electric mixer; sprinkle with gelatin. Let soften 5 minutes.

Attach bowl with gelatin to mixer fitted with whisk attachment. With mixer on low speed, beat hot syrup into gelatin mixture. Gradually raise speed to high; beat until mixture is very stiff, about 12 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Pour into prepared dish, and smooth with an offset spatula. Set aside, uncovered, until firm, about 3 hours.

Sift 1 cup confectioners’ sugar onto a work surface. Unmold marshmallow onto confectioners’ sugar; remove parchment. Lightly brush a sharp knife with oil, then cut marshmallow into 2-inch squares. Sift remaining 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl, and roll each marshmallow in the sugar to coat. Marshmallows can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days. Makes 24.

Martha Stewart Living, July 2006.