One of my favorite memories growing up was me, my family and my friends all sitting around a campfire during the summer, making s’mores. I loved it so much that I wanted to continue these memories during the winter as well. Most people think that making s’mores is only a summer thing, but I beg to differ.
Over the years, my dad and I have gone through numerous different ways of making our favorite summer night treat during the winter while staying warm. I have continued these culinary experiments during cold State College winters and probably will throughout my entire adult life.
- S’mores Bars
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One of the best ways to make s’mores during the winter is s’mores bars. When I was younger and did cheer, we had a team bonding party, and one of my teammates brought s’mores bars — I have been obsessed ever since.
When I got home that night, I made my dad look up the recipe, and we made them not long after. All you need is butter, cinnamon toast crunch, marshmallows and chocolate chips. There is no baking involved.
After you melt and mix all of the ingredients together, you put them in the fridge for around one to two hours, depending on how gooey you want them.
They are the perfect party snack and super easy to make.
- A Deconstructed S’more
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Next up is a deconstructed s’more. It’s like a s’more trail mix that can have a bunch of different ingredients. My perfect deconstructed s’more entails mini graham crackers, mini marshmallows, M&M’s and maybe even mini white chocolate chips.
I like deconstructed s’mores because everyone can have their own spin on it, and there isn’t one right or wrong way to make or eat them. They remind me of a sweet treat I would eat during the holidays and something everyone would enjoy.
- Oven S’mores
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One of my favorite childhood memories includes sitting in the kitchen during the time of year when it gets dark at 5 p.m., with the lights glowing from the Christmas tree and wanting a sweet treat. So, my dad and I would take out the tinfoil, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and get a graham cracker, a regular marshmallow and a Hershey’s chocolate bar.
To assemble an oven s’more, start by simply making a regular s’more. Then, take your s’more and wrap the tinfoil all around it.
You can plop your s’more right into the oven for around three to five minutes. After taking it out, you can unwrap your s’more, let it cool off for a minute or two and dig into the perfect s’more.
- Stovetop S’mores
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Just like the oven s’mores, you can set up your s’more as normal. Get out a plate, set up your graham cracker and your chocolate. However, you should set your stovetop to low or medium heat and put your marshmallow on a skewer.
This way, if you’re the type of person who loves a burnt or golden marshmallow, you can still get that result without having to go outside and freeze. When your marshmallow is toasted to your liking, you can just put your roasted marshmallow on your setup s’more and enjoy!
As it’s fall now and winter is quickly approaching, I’m getting more and more excited to finally make my favorite summer and winter treat. All of the ways I have listed above are arguably better than just making a s’more over the campfire during the summer.
I hope I can encourage people to maybe try to make s’mores during the winter and that they enjoy these ways as much as I do. Although I do wish I had ways that made s’mores less messy to eat.