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So much more to s’mores

Casandra Andrews Newhouse News Service

A s’more isn’t just a s’more anymore.

While the gooey campfire treats made from marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers have been around for at least 80 years, a new book offers up dozens of different ways to enjoy the family favorite.

Lisa Adams, who wrote “S’mores: Gourmet Treats for Every Occasion” (Gibbs Smith, $16.95), swears she isn’t a cook. That didn’t stop her from coming up with more than 65 unique ways to embellish the staples of summer that originally began life with the moniker “some more.”

As in, “I’d really like some more of those sticky treats, please.”

Her recipes include ingredients as varied as apricots, green apples, biscotti, waffles and macaroons.

Adams, a former Girl Scout, said she’s been making and eating s’mores since childhood when her family camped in the California woods. As the years passed, she created dozens of ways to alter the original recipe.

The Girl Scouts are credited with first publishing a recipe for s’mores, called “some mores” in their 1927 handbook “Tramping and Trailing.”

Molly Smart, who works for the Girl Scouts of the Deep South Council in Mobile, Ala., found guidebooks dating back to the 1940s that carry the recipe. She said by the 1950s, some of the camping primers suggested using apples or pineapples in place of the graham crackers and peanut butter instead of chocolate for a different spin on the dessert.

Adams has similar suggestions in her book, along with full-color photographs illustrating how she combines the ingredients. One of her favorite ways to enjoy s’mores is to create a party buffet with dozens of different elements so her guests can come up with their own creations.

“People can be creative and there’s this novelty aspect,” she said.

For recipes involving melting, Adams suggests lining baking sheets with parchment paper and leaving the treats in the oven at 350 degrees for no longer than 5 minutes at a time.

The recipes she likes best include fresh fruit.

Her best tip for preserving the integrity of a s’more?

“Advise people not to put too much on any one s’more,” she said. “You end up not tasting anything that way. The great thing about the recipes is you can isolate a particular flavor.

“Keep it simple,” Adams said. “The simplest ones are usually the best.”

The Patriot

Milk chocolate

1 graham cracker, broken in half

Fresh blueberries

1 marshmallow

1 thick strawberry slice, or 2 to 3 smaller slices

Arrange the chocolate on half of the graham cracker. Set blueberries atop chocolate and melt, being careful not to lose the blueberries in transport. Roast the marshmallow. Once chocolate has melted, remove graham cracker from heat and lightly tap blueberries to secure. Top with the strawberry slices, roasted marshmallow and remaining graham cracker.

Cookie Dough

1 marshmallow

2 soft chocolate chip cookies

Chocolate chip cookie dough (homemade or store bought)

Roast the marshmallow and warm the cookies to soften, if desired. Spread a layer of cookie dough on one cookie (1/2 inch should be perfect for most, but hard-core cookie dough lovers may prefer to use more). Top with marshmallow and remaining cookie.

Tracy’s Caramel Apple

1 marshmallow

2 chewy caramels

2 green apple slices, about 1/2 inch thick

Skewer the marshmallow followed by the two caramels on the same roasting stick. Roast the marshmallows and caramels. When the caramels have melted over the top of the marshmallow, and the marshmallow is cooked to your liking, slide the concoction onto one of the apple slices. Top with remaining apple slice.

Simple Mint

3 to 4 Andes mints

1/2 graham cracker

1 marshmallow

1 crispy mint cookie (Thin Mint, Mint Oreo, Mint Brussels, etc.)

Unwrap mints and melt them on the graham cracker. Roast the marshmallow. Once the chocolate has melted, remove graham cracker from heat and top with roasted marshmallow and mint cookie.

Some Mores

From the 1953 Girl Scouts Handbook

4 squares plain chocolate (thin)

1 marshmallow

2 graham crackers

Toast a marshmallow slowly over open coals until brown. Put chocolate on graham cracker, then the toasted marshmallow on top, then another graham cracker. Press gently together, then eat. Makes you want “some more.”