Less Mess = More Fun

One summer tradition in our household is camping. We load up the truck, head to the woods, and pop up the tent trailer to have uninterrupted family time. The last thing we want is a weekend filled with stress.

With traditions, we bring our childhood memories to pass on to the next generation. Who doesn’t remember as a child stabbing a marshmallow and holding it over the fire until it was engulfed into a towering inferno? The only thing keeping us from shoving the fireball into our faces and burning off the top layer of our mouthes was the promise of squishing it between graham crackers and chocolate.

Now being the adult, I hate smores. First, they’re dangerous. I don’t know how our parents casually sat back while we shoved our hands into the fire. I watch my kids circle the fire ring and I become an instant nerve ball. Then even if they do get it to a golden brown, I’m having them blow to cool it off for a good five minutes before even thinking about eating it. This is only met with a frustrated “Awww Mom.” If we make it to the smore building, the whole thing is a gigantic sticky mess. Did I mention I hate smores?

This dessert is a great compromise to the smore problem. I got the idea from Pinterest and decided to make some alterations to the recipe*. Now it ranks with the best problem solver for our outdoor desserts when we go camping. It has the classic taste without the mess. A mother’s delight.

Ingredients:

3 cups crushed graham crackers
1/2 cup of sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
Your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe (better if you substitute bittersweet chocolate for the semisweet)
1 1/2 cups of mini marshmallows
3 Hershey bars

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press into a large cookie sheet. I lined mine with parchment, but I think you’ll be fine if you don’t. The crust has enough butter to keep from sticking. Put it in the fridge until your cookie dough is ready.

Make your favorite cookie dough recipe. You probably could cheat here and use store bought to make it easier. Add half of the marshmallows to the cookie dough mixture. Scoop out dough and drop all over the crust sheet. Press the dough down to evenly distribute it over the area. If you like a thicker bar, double your cookie dough recipe. The small pockets should fill in when baking.

After baking for five minutes, pull out and top with the remaining marshmallows and press the Hershey pieces all over. Put back in the oven and cook for another 7-10 minutes until the marshmallows are a golden brown. Let cool and then cut. Enjoy camping without the marshmallow mess.

*If you want a definitive, structured, full-proof recipe, go to the original link above.