S’Mores Rice Krispie Treats

This edition of Wayback Wednesday is a bit different. This recipe was not first published ‘Wayback When’ but it’s about S’Mores and talk about something that goes WAY back, they do. I’m sure I probably had S’mores treats with my family while growing up but for me the most significant remembrance I have was enjoying them when I went with friends to Girl Scout Camp. Of most significance was just getting away; as the oldest girl of a family of 5 kids, I sometimes got tired of being ‘Mommy’s little helper.’ You know, those times when it felt more like ‘Mommy’s little slave!’ Leaving for a weekend to my Grandma’s was pure heaven so there were almost no words for getting to escape for a full week of FUN and with my BFF’s at that. With S’mores. And a boys camp nearby. Ahh…such sweet memories.

S’mores still bring sweet memories. While maybe not the same as a campfire, we’ve had them with marshmallows roasted over a firepit in recent years and I’m sure in desperation we’ve used our gas grill too. What could make us THAT desperate? In Colorado it’s called ‘Fire Restrictions’ when the weather has been too dry and it’s illegal to have a fire outdoors. Those are the years when it seems our lovely state is burning to the ground for the fools that forget to take the necessary precautions and an errant match or cigarette blazes the trail for ruining thousands of acres of woodland and in the past couple of years hundreds and hundreds of houses. So I take those restrictions seriously and these S’mores are my answer to not being able to do them outdoors.

I’ve seen copious recipes for S’More’s over the years and most are lacking an element I think crucial. That toasty almost burned marshmallow taste. S’Mores with marshmallow creme or any form of marshmallow that has not been singed can not legally be called S’Mores. OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration but come on…really? A graham cracker with a non melted piece of a Hershey candy bar and some marshmallow fluff will simply not take me back to any memory at all except maybe an aisle in the grocery store. It HAS to be ‘burn, baby, burn!’

While these ‘oh so good and really taste like the real deal’ treats are called S’Mores Rice Krispie Treats I should really reconsider that name. I wanted graham cracker flavor in the mix so my first go around I added some graham cracker crumbs. Just meh…sort of made the mix too dry without adding enough flavor. Making the base with half Rice Krispies and half crushed Golden Grahams cereal made all the difference.

I seldom take the time for multiple attempts at anything. The truth is that first attempt tasted OK but I gave them to the boy next door; not so much because of the base results but because my attempt to brown them resulted in flames in my oven that must have been 6 inches tall! I had to scrape off the marshmallow mess and start again. I love having a gas range but I learned an important lesson that day. Broiling something as sugary and light as marshmallows in an oven with a flame needs precautions to be put in place. Simple precautions as in WATCHING THEM EVERY SECOND!! I did not, hence flame and smoke detectors livened up my day. The second attempt at finding true S’Mores Rice Krispie Treats was more successful in multiple ways. The addition of the graham cracker cereal worked well to flavor them with a bit of that graham oomph and yes, the ‘not burning the marshmallows’ worked better too. I divided them up and gave a lot of them away too but it was hard; I really think I could have eaten the whole thing!

Keep the fires in your oven and make these for your Fourth of July celebration and summer cookouts. We liked them warmed just a bit in the microwave but I would wrap them in foil and put them on the grill for a few minutes too…a bit softened and melty and you will be taken back to those campfires of your youth too. Sounds good huh?