sandyconrad Cooking

Jet Puffed StackerMallows

I decided to post this blog again because it had the highest readership of any of my articles all year. I wanted to see if it was a fluke and if lots of people would read it again, or for the first time.

Plus I am feeling kind of lazy and don’t know what to write today. So here goes: A rerun.

I am sure glad that these square flat marshmallow were invented in my lifetime. I have many fond memories of making smores and this would have been so nice to have in the ‘olden’ days.

As a Brownie we used to make smores on our little ‘stove’s. These stoves were large pineapple juice cans, with the juice gone and the top cut off. The open top became the bottom of the stove and the remaining lid was the cook surface.

We made holes on the sides, around the new top (bottom of can) with a pointy can opener so the smoke could escape. Then we rolled up newspaper into little logs and put them in the can.

Light with a match and you have a little stove perfect for making one smore. You also cut a hole near the bottom, so when the fire goes out, you can relight it without burning your hands.

When I got older, I just put a marshmallow on a long kitchen fork and toasted it on the gas flame of my stove. Then I put it on top of a graham cracker square that was topped with four squares of a Hershey bar. Then the top graham cracker and you have a Smore.

These were the smores my children grew up with. If you want to get fancy, you can even make your own marshmallows. I did this once and the recipe is large and a huge mess.

There are make your own marshmallow recipes online. I made the toasted coconut ones. I think they were by Martha Stewart (or was it Ina Gartner, the Barefoot Contessa?)

This involved boiling a sugar syrup and pouring this mixture over beaten egg whites and beating in an electric mixer for about ten or fifteen minutes. Then pouring into a large pan, sprinkling with toasted coconut and letting it sit uncovered overnight.

This makes about fifty marshmallows and you can cut them in any shape you want. For smores I think I would use two large pans so they would be thinner.

As it was, I wound up eating three and since I was the only one eating these, decided to use the rest to make fantasy fudge. (Chocolate chips/marshmallows/canned milk/sugar). Recipe is on Marsmallow cream jar or on bag of chocolate chips.

Or you can just buy a bag of Jet Puffed Marshmallows and you won’t have all those dirty dishes to wash.

For the marshmallow recipe above there is the pot you boil the sugar syrup in, the electric mixer bowl and beater, the pan you toast the coconut on, the measuring cups and spoons, the one or two 9 x 13 pyrex pans and of course the knife you have to cut these with.

The other day I noticed that there is now a contraption called a Smore Party Maker. They have these at Bed Bath and Beyond and are $34.99. They come in a set of three and each one holds three so you can make nine at once over your campfire or bar b que.

Or if you just want one, you can order it from Amazon for only $15.75.

These look like double metal long flyswatters with long handles. And I think this would be fun for a smores party. On a simpler note, also at BB and B is their Micro Smores kit at $9.99.

At Amazon they have the exact same micro kit for $6. Plus they have many other smore products ranging from $6 all the way up to their super deluxe Casa Moda smore maker at $129.98.

Hershey even came out with an indoor/outdoor one for $45. And spin master has one for $59.50. Ridiculous!

I opt for the micowave kit from Amazon. Now this is something I would buy. It is a domed plastic thingy that you put the smore into and something inside presses down on the top graham cracker with just the right amount of pressure.

All you have to do is microwave for ten seconds and you have the perfect smore. Now that even beats a pineapple juice can stove.

Jet-Puffed StackerMallows – More proof that it’s hip to be square… or even just rectangular. These are flat marshmallows designed for optimum s’mores making, formed to fit graham crackers much better than their cylindrical counterparts. A serving of 6 StackerMallows has 100 calories, 0g fat, 15mg sodium, 24g carbs, 0g fiber, 18g sugars, and <1g protein (PointsPlus® value 3*). BTW, this does not mean you need to consume six s’mores in a single sitting. These are stacking up on market shelves now! (Bonfire not included.)