Peanut butter lovers will be delighted with a peanut butter cup s’more. Photos: Chris Emeott
Enjoy traditional and creative takes on the bonfire staple.
The s’more—an ooey gooey melty combination of roasted marshmallow, chocolate and graham cracker, of which its ability to make a sticky mess is eclipsed only by its ability to delight taste buds. The bonfire staple takes center stage on August 10 for National S’mores Day.
So what is it about the s’more that keeps us clamoring for s’more? “The obvious answer is chocolate,” says Rachael Perron, culinary and branding director for Kowalski’s Markets. “Melted chocolate.”
Perron is an admitted lover of s’mores. “There’s a pure outdoorsy, nostalgic part of it,” she says. “It’s the campfire and the people and the whole thing that goes along with it.” Another thing to love? The textural combination. “You’ve got the gooey marshmallow, the melty chocolate and the crispy cracker that wraps around it,” she says.
A Better Mallow
Mike Nelson loves s’mores so much that he started making his own marshmallows for fun. Mike and his wife, Christine Nelson, now own North Mallow, a small s’mores and hot cocoa gifting company based in Long Lake—with products sold in Kowalski’s Markets—that specializes in flavorful marshmallows with cleaner ingredients. “I bring marshmallows everywhere I go,” he says. “Everyone knows I’m the s’mores guy.”
North Mallow flavors include Caramel Swirl, Chocolate Chip and Vanilla Bean.
A decade ago, Mike started tinkering with a recipe for marshmallows with a goal to take out ingredients like high fructose corn syrup as well as artificial flavors and colors and replace them with “actual ingredients,” Mike says, like agave and organic vanilla bean. After three and a half years of experimenting, Mike had his perfect marshmallow. “Our marshmallows are always light and fluffy,” he says. “You can taste the vanilla, and they roast much better. They actually caramelize instead of burn.”
North Mallow offers six flavors of marshmallow, including Caramel Swirl, Chocolate Chip and Vanilla Bean, alongside seasonal offerings like Gingerbread Spice and Mocha Chip. It also makes graham crackers as well as s’mores kits featuring their creations. The s’mores kits launched five years ago and has made its way to be the company’s No. 1 selling product.
Enjoy the delicious taste of a s’more wherever you are with the Travel Campfire by North Mallow.
In addition to selling their products online and in select grocery stores like the Woodbury Kowalski’s Markets and Whole Foods, Mike says they also offer business gifts and catering. North Mallow puts together s’mores bars each year for corporate events, grad parties, mitzvahs and weddings. To say the team knows how to dress up a s’more would be an understatement.
The Travel Campfire lasts for 6–8 hours and is perfect to bring to a campsite, an outdoor park, in your backyard or on-the-go.
Unique Flavor Combinations
“You can pretty much make a s’more out of anything,” Mike says. “You just have to have a marshmallow.” Basic variations start with the chocolate, swapping out the tried-and-true basic chocolate bar for something else. “I love using Ghirardelli chocolate,” he says.
Consider leveling up your average s’more with decadent sea salt caramel chocolate.
“With chocolate, there are so many things you can do there,” Perron says. “A darker chocolate can help balance the sweet and give an elevated flavor experience. Or you can try a chocolate with other flavors in it—pretzels, crispy rice, peanut butter or caramel.”
The two agree that peanut butter cups are a good starting point for playing with s’mores ingredients. “They are always delicious,” Mike says. He also likes to experiment with alternatives to the graham cracker, including chocolate sandwich cookies, crispy cookies or pretzel crisps.
Perron likes to play with fillings, testing out various spreads like hazelnut spread, jam or peanut butter. “I like adding fruit into s’mores,” she says. “Raspberry jam with chocolate, orange marmalade, bananas.” Her current favorite is a lemon meringue s’more using lemon curd with the marshmallow and graham crackers.
Playing around with different ingredients quickly becomes half the fun of making s’mores. And the combinations are endless. “It’s hard to mess it up,” Mike says. “I love the challenge.”
Lemon Meringue S’mores
Recipe courtesy of Kowalski’s Markets
- 24 graham cracker squares (12 sheets, broken in half)
- 8 oz. lemon curd
- 12 jumbo marshmallows
Preheat a broiler. Arrange 12 graham cracker squares on a rimmed baking sheet; top each with a spoonful of lemon curd and a marshmallow. Place under preheated broiler until marshmallows are golden, puffed and toasty (about 1 minute). Top s’mores with remaining graham cracker squares or serve open-faced.
North Mallow
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Instagram: @northmallow
Kowalski’s Markets
8505 Valley Creek Road; 651.578.8800
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