August 10 is National S’mores Day. Now THIS is a holiday I can really get behind!
In case you were abducted by aliens for 100 years and don’t know what a S’more is, I will explain: a S’more (short for “some more”, as in I want some more) consists of a roasted marshmallow with a layer of chocolate bar sandwiched between two pieces of Graham cracker. Yum! The Girl Scouts are commonly credited with this campfire treat, but there is at least one other person, a Presbyterian minister, who contributed to the treat because of his moral crusade.*
*Little known fact: Graham crackers were originally invented to curb sex drive. Sylvester Graham, an early 19th century Presbyterian minister from New Jersey believed that humanity, as Atlas Obscura reports, was on its way to moral collapse due to an obsession with carnal desires, including food. So, he promoted a special process of baking using only “finely ground, unbleached wheat flour, wheat bran and coarsely ground germ.” Out of this, came a bland, dry cracker that he – modestly – named after himself: The Graham cracker.
This dessert version dates back to my childhood. In the summer, we would make a 9×13 pan of this as a frozen torte, and eagerly anticipate dinner every night just to get to dessert! Since I am not feeding a bunch of farm kids, I decided to reduce this to a 9” pie size. It fits a little better in my freezer that way. To make a 9×13 torte, just make a Graham cracker crust to fit a cake pan and double the filling. 😋
One thing that threw me with this recipe is the first ingredient: it calls for a large (8oz) Hershey Bar. Guess what? They don’t make Hershey Bars that size anymore! Everything is getting packaged into smaller and smaller portions, and the “Giant” Hershey Bar is no exception: it is now 7oz. This left me with a dilemma: make the recipe with slightly less chocolate, or buy a regular bar to supplement? You know the answer, right? OF COURSE, more chocolate! A regular Hershey Bar is 1.55oz. Add that to the 7oz bar and you have a little more than needed. So go ahead and take a bite and use the rest for the pie. Another option is to buy the 6-pack of regular Hershey bars, which total 9.3 ounces. Again, take a bite or just put all of them in the pie. It’s delicious either way.
The recipe includes instructions for making the Graham cracker crust. This crust yields the best crumbly Graham cracker texture for sure, but in a pinch I have also used a prepared crust. #nojudging.
The old-fashioned way to make this was to melt the milk, marshmallows and chocolate in a double boiler. Now we have microwaves, which makes things even easier.
Once those ingredients are melted and mixed, they need to cool down – place the bowl in the refrigerator until cold.
Then, whip up the cream, which is folded into the cold chocolate-marshmallow mixture.
This filling is poured into the crust and placed in the freezer for at least 6 hours to freeze solid.
My Favorite!
Frozen S’mores Pie
Ingredients
- 8 oz Hershey bar up to 9oz
- ½ cup milk
- 20 marshmallows
- 1 cup whipping cream
- ½ stick butter
- 7-8 Graham crackers
Instructions
- Break the chocolate bar into pieces. Place the marshmallows, chocolate and milk in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 2 minutes and then stir. If needed, microwave an additional 30 seconds and stir until the mixture is fully melted and smooth.
- Place the bowl in the refrigerator until COLD.
- Crush the Graham crackers in a food processor or by placing in a Ziploc bag and crushing with a rolling pin. Melt the butter and pour into the pie plate. (If using a microwave-safe pie plate, use this for the microwave step). Add the crushed Graham crackers and stir to coat.
- Press the mixture evenly onto the bottom and sides of the pie plate. Place in freezer to cool.
- Once the chocolate mixture is cold, whip the cream until stiff.
- Fold the whipped cream into the cold mixture.
- Pour into the Graham cracker crust and freeze at least 6 hours.
Nutrition
Now, go put on your Girl Scout uniforms and start your campfire!
OMG!OMG!OMG! S’more anything is the BEST!!! Can’t wait to make this pie (vegan version)! Thanks for the suggestion!
I would love hear how you vegan-ize this! Coconut milk for whipped cream perhaps? https://www.thespruceeats.com/vegan-whipped-cream-1001555
Whoa…….this is possibly the best dessert ever….s’more pie? Cannot wait to make!!