S'mores Marshmallow Creme Brûlée

Summer is here! And that means camping! And campfires! And campfires mean s'mores!  I'm so excited about honest-to-goodness s'mores!  I know that for just about everything I share here, I gush how much I love it, but it's true.  Why would I share recipes with you that I don't love?  I can't trick you like that, it's just too mean!  And I know you don't need a recipe for s'mores, but my love of s'mores has led me to develop and sample several s'mores spinoffs that can be made sans campfire.  Of course, the original is the best, with the marshmallow toasted over glowing coals of an outdoor fire slowly burning out in the night.  But I crave gooey marshmallow and chocolatey goodness far more often than I have time to find a fire pit, gather wood, start a fire, and let it burn down to prime 'mallow roasting temps.   This is a fancy alternative nearly as delicious as the real thing, and you can serve it to guests without them feeling like they have to focus more on being neat than enjoying how delicious it is!

And did I mention how easy it is?  It takes about 5 minutes total to assemble and cook.

I frequently make s'mores in my oven by putting chocolate chips (or even a smear of Nutella) on the graham crackers and then marshmallows on top and sticking them under the broiler until they're appropriately toasted.  Sometimes I forego the oven and use my kitchen torch when I'm feeling a little dangerous, but this works better for mini marshmallows, because the torch doesn't get the inside of the big marshmallows gooey before the outside catches on fire.

But on my last box of graham crackers, I opened the packet of honey-graham goodness to find that all of the crackers were broken! And they weren't broken near the halfway line.  Some of them were in three or four small pieces.  I couldn't make s'mores with these! And then I remembered something I had seen on Pinterest:  a s'mores dip with chocolate in the bottom of a skillet and marshmallows on top, perfectly browned by what I assumed was a broiler, or else someone much more skilled with a kitchen torch than myself.  I tried this for myself in a small ramekin.  It worked pretty well, just using the broken graham crackers to dip the marshmallow and chocolate out.  But it was still pretty messy, and somehow messier than when I just make my usual indoors s'mores.  Back to the drawing board.

The next day I saw that I was out of marshmallows!  What was a girl to do?!  Ah, then things got interesting. I came up with this little number and immediately thought of sharing it with you. Don't you feel special? You should.

Here are your simple ingredients:  Graham cracker (crumbs), chocolate chips, marshmallow fluff.  I think you can buy graham crackers in crumb form, but why? Just put them in a plastic bag and run the rolling pin over them a couple times. Easy-peasy.

Gather your ramekins and sprinkle a layer of graham cracker in the bottom of each.  Follow that with a layer of chocolate chips.   Then the only tricky part - add a layer of marshmallow fluff.  Warm water on your spoon/fingers helps the fluff not stick to you/the spoon and makes managing the stuff a little easier.  Alternatively, if you're making this for your friends, assemble well ahead of time and place a dollop of fluff in the middle and let it spread on its own.  It will, it just takes a while (as in, a couple hours).  If marshmallow fluff is too difficult for you, you can also use marshmallows in their standard cylindrical form.  If you have the normal sized marshmallows, cut them in half around the equator (the equator of the marshmallow; you don't actually have to travel to Brazil to cut your marshmallows in half. That would make this recipe take a lot longer.).  Mini marshmallows should work, too, without the need to cut them in half.

When you're almost ready to serve, apply the final magic: the broiler.  Place the ramekins under the broiler under your oven and toast them.  Don't place them too close to the broiler, and be sure watch them closely, as they will catch fire if you don't pay attention.  And I can tell you from experience, opening your oven to a marshmallow inferno is not the kind of excitement you want for your dinner party.  You think I'm kidding. I'm not.  So watch them closely.  They'll turn a lovely golden brown and begin smoking slightly when they're ready.  Turn off the broiler and carefully remove them from the oven.

Allow them to cool just slightly before serving, and the marshmallow will form a perfect caramelized crust that you have to break through with your spoon, just like traditional creme brûlée!  Only this was way easier and is a little more fun!  And aren't they cute?! Plus, the risk of getting marshmallow in your hair is far, far lower (unless of course, you have a puppy who wants to see what that is you're eating and jumps in your lap as you go for a bite.  Then the risk is about the same.)  If you did use formed marshmallows instead of fluff, know that they will still be a bit messier because of the gelatin holding them in shape.  Also, I found that the marshmallows take about a minute less under the broiler than the fluff.   Going into a cold broiler, the marshmallow ones took right at 4 minutes, and the fluff ones took about 5 and a half.  Don't just cook them for a set amount of time, though, because that's how fires start.  Watch them.  All broilers are different. I don't want to lose any of my readership because they didn't listen to my PSA on marshmallow safety fire safety.

 A word about the beloved kitchen torch.  If you have one, you may be able to use it for this.  I know that I find my kitchen torch to be immensely fun.  I am not sure that it will be able to heat the whole dish thoroughly enough for the chocolate to get melty before the marshmallow is done.  If you are more skilled with your kitchen torch, give it a try and let me know how it goes.  It also may be a better tool if you (or one of your guests) prefers a s'more with a burned marshmallow (you know, the ones that, when cooked outside, are lit aflame almost instantly and then blown out.  If preparing for a guest, you may have them blow out their own fire, just for sanitation's sake.  And away from everyone else's dish.  And not directly under the smoke alarm.  I'm not responsible for any mishaps you have with this.

But all the same, whip these up for your next summer dinner party dessert, or just make one for yourself when you feel you need a little indulgence!

S'mores Marshmallow Creme Brûlée 

4 whole graham crackers, crumbed (or about 1/3 cup of crumbs)
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup marshmallow fluff (or 10 large marshmallows, cut in half)

Place approximately 1 1/2 Tablespoons of graham cracker crumbs in each of 4 ramekins.  Add a layer of approximately 1 Tablespoon of chocolate chips to each ramekin.  Using a spoon dipped in hot water, scoop approximately 1 1/2 Tablespoons of marshmallow fluff into each ramekin, spreading slightly.  Alternatively, create a top layer of 5 marshmallow halves.

Broil for approximately 3 minutes or until golden brown. Time will vary depending on your broiler.

Serves 4.