S'mores!

First, and this is true with broiling anything, you need to watch the marshmallows as they broil. Marshmallows can easily turn into tiny flaming pillows and, if you walk away for even a single minute, you might end up with an oven fire. The number one way to NOT have fun making s’mores is to set something ablaze that is not meant to be.

Second, test your broiler. A good way to do this is to fill a pan with marshmallows and place it under the broiler. Keep a close eye on it. After a few minutes you will clearly see the hot spots and cold spots based on the browning patterns on the marshmallows. You should keep those hot spots in mind when preparing your s’mores in the oven.

Third, place the rack as close to the broiler as it can go. This advice is the same whether you have a gas, electric, or drawer-style broiler.

Fourth, preheat the broiler. You may not think you need to preheat it, but just a few minutes of preheating with gas, and closer to ten minutes with electric, will help you get much better and more even results.

Fifth, again, depending on your oven, you might need to keep the oven door ajar. Some broilers shut off if the heat gets too intense in the oven; leaving the door cracked open will avoid this issue.

Homemade marshmallows are a different beast than their store-bought counterparts. If you have never made them, put this recipe on the top of your list. I am not saying you need to make them for every s’more—I absolutely don’t— but when you do use them, it makes everything that much more special. The best time to make them is near the holidays, since they keep well and are great to have on hand for hot chocolate. And if you are going through the effort of making them, why not add in flavors? I have given a few suggestions after this recipe, but the possibilities are endless.

1 Place ½ cup of the water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a large bowl. Add the gelatin and stir. Let the mixture sit so the gelatin can bloom, about 5 minutes. You’ll know it’s blooming when the water reaches a gel-like consistency.

2 Meanwhile, combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt, and remaining ¼ cup of water in a small saucepan. Stir well to mix. Place the pan over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.

3 Attach a candy thermometer to the saucepan (do not let it touch the bottom) and turn the heat to high. Cook, undisturbed, until the temperature reaches 245°F, or the soft-ball stage (meaning if you were to squeeze the syrup mixture when cool, it would be only slightly pliable). Remove from the heat.

4 Using the stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer, whisk the gelatin mixture on medium speed. Slowly pour the hot sugar mixture down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Once added, turn the speed to high and whisk until the mixture is light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. In the last minute of mixing, add the salt and vanilla.

6 Grease a deep 8-by-8-inch baking pan with a thin layer of butter. Coat it with ½ cup of the cornstarch mixture, knocking out any excess.

7 Pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan. Top the marshmallows with another ½ cup of the cornstarch mixture. Let the marshmallows sit, uncovered, on the counter to set, at least 6 hours.

8 Lightly dust your work surface with some of the cornstarch mixture. Turn the marshmallows out onto the dusted surface.

9 Grease a knife with butter. Cut the marshmallows to make 6 rows of 6 marshmallows, a total of 36.

10 Coat each marshmallow one more time in the cornstarch mixture. Place the marshmallows in an airtight container until ready to use. They will keep at room temperature for at least a month.

2000 BC

Egypt

Mother of Marshmallows!

Ancient Egyptians extracted mallow sap from the root of the marshmallow plant (Althaea officinalis), and mixed it with nuts and honey. The result was a treat so delightful it was reserved as a delicacy for the pharaohs and the gods.

1900 BC

South and Central Americas

Drink of the Gods

The indigenous peoples of South and Central America are believed to be the first to discover that the beans of the cacao (or cocoa) plant could be harvested and made into liquid gold—chocolate. The various drinks made from the cacao bean were used in ritual celebrations and as currency.

4th century

Greece

Mallow as Herbal Remedy

Mallow sap is found in the fourth-century medicinal recipes of Hippocrates for relief of swelling and inflammation.

19th century

France

The French Find a Way

Marshmallow as candy resurfaced in nineteenth-century France, when confectioners took a mixture of the sap, syrup, whipped egg whites, and orange flower water, and turned it into a treat closely resembling the distinct cube-like shape of today’s marshmallow. Surprisingly, the modern, store-bought marshmallow contains no mallow sap. Extraction proved to be too expensive and laborious, so gelatin became a worthy substitute.

1837

Connecticut

Graham’s Moral Cracker

A radical New England reverend, Sylvester Graham, blamed the carnal appetites of Americans on white flour. He encouraged his followers to grow their own wheat and developed a process for making his own flour. That flour was used to make Graham bread and the more well-known Graham cracker.

1847

Bristol, England

The Molten Liquid Cools

The Fry brothers of J. S. Fry & Sons—a family owned chocolate producer in England—are believed to have invented the first mass-produced chocolate bar. They created a paste of cocoa powder, sugar, and cocoa fat that could be formed into a bar. Prior to their invention, chocolate was only consumed as a drink.

1893

Hershey, Pennsylvania

Chocolate Made Accessible

We can thank the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago for Hershey’s chocolate. Formerly a producer of caramels, Milton Hershey was awestruck by a demonstration of German chocolate manufacturing machinery, declaring “caramels are a fad but chocolate is permanent.” Hershey’s was the first to mass-produce chocolate bars in the United States, adding milk from local dairy farms to give it a smooth, creamy taste.

1925

USA

May I Have Some More?

The earliest known version of the s’mores recipe was printed in a 1925 issue of Girl Scout Leader magazine and then again as “Somemores” in a 1927 Girl Scout publication called Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts.