It's National Marshmallow Toasting Day!

In celebration of National Marshmallow Toasting Day, I've put together marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate otherwise known as S'mores! I wanted to reinvent the classic American treats  while delivering the same chocolaty taste everyone grew up loving. 

 

 To make the batter, use a stand mixer to  beat 1 egg, and combine 20 oz of sweet cream butter, 1/4 cup of yogurt, 1 tsp of sugar, 3 chocolate bars (melted), and 2 tbs of unsweetened cocoa. 

To make the crust, you will need to grind about 9 whole graham crackers and 1 tbs of brown sugar in a food processor. Using a blender was inefficient, so I had to manually smash it in a plastic bag and blend the rest.

 

Use 1/2 a stick of melted butter and mold the crumbs with your hands or pulse it in a food processor until it looks like wet sand.

 

Using a mini cupcake pan, spoon one tablespoon of crumb mixture in each cup. Press crumbs with spoon or fingers to form shallow cups. Scoop 1/4 cup of the batter to top the crust then spread the mixture finely over it.

 

Top the smores cup with a couple of mini marshmallows. Preheat the oven to 350°F and bake for 4-5 minutes. Allow for them to cool then  run a butter knife around the edges of the crust to loosen them up. 

If you want to have the campfire-charred marshmallows, I used a wooden skewer to slightly torch them for a few minutes. 

Rice Krispies Lollipops

Special occasions always inspire creative creations in the kitchen or elsewhere. While I was planning my birthday celebration, I knew I was going to feel appreciative towards the people that showed up to my party. As a nice gesture, I wanted my guests to take home something special. The heart and circle shaped cookie cutters that I found lying in my mom's pantry was a fine discovery and the best tool to use when you don't want your hands to be doing 100% of the work.

Serves 25: 2 large boxes of rice krispies cereal, 4 bags of marshmallows, 2 sticks of butter.

I have grown very fond of microwavable chocolate chips. Due to many failed attempts to melt regular chocolate chips in a pot over boiling water, I needed a quick and simple alternative solution. Using a butter knife and small spoon, the melted white chocolate is spread over the heart-shaped rice krispies after a 2 minute cool down. I carefully dipped one side of the remaining circle-shaped rice krispies halfway into the melted milk chocolate and sprinkled finely chopped peanuts for an added crunch.

Skewers came in handy when making these treats resemble a lollipop. It is recommended to insert the skewers or lollipop sticks before refrigeration or else it would be tougher to get them in when it hardens.

I made a stop to the craft store and found candy wrappers to cover the finished treats. The candy wrappers came with wire twist-ties, which was useful and easy for unwrapping the treats. Lastly, ribbons are always a great touch to the complete look!