S'mores Pie
4 graham crackers
8 oz. mini marshmallows
1 15 oz chocolate bar
Fill an enamel or foil pie pan with pieces of graham crackers, chunks of chocolate and mini marshmallows. Place on grill while fire is dying down but still hot. Cover for 1 to 2 minutes or until marshmallows melt. Let pan cool before serving.
They also include a nutrional analysis, but we all know that s'mores are not exactly endorsed by Jamie Oliver so no point in me listing it here.
And as long as we're being honest, I think it makes more sense to name this a S'mores Casserole than a pie, don't you? I mean, there is no crust.
So obviously we didn't have the grill fired up. The oven would have to do. I turned it on low and let the oven heat up while we created the casser-pie.
She is already quite familiar with graham crackers, or "big cackers" as she calls them, because they are bigger than a saltine.
So, of course, there was no having graham crackers out and not having one in Elli's possession. As I broke off pieces of cracker into the foil pie pan, Elli munched.
Then, with a big cacker still in one hand, Elli sprinkled in the marshmallows. She attempted to count them, but her sprinkling never quite caught up with the cadence of her counting.
"Marsmedows" were also already on her friend list, as she met them back in the winter, during hot chocolate season. This time, perhaps because she was occupied with the big cacker, she did not eat them. And just as I began to take pride in my daughter's abstinence from pure sugar, she spied the Hershey's bar. This was one friend she had not yet met. It was love at first sight.
I did manage to get her to help break apart the chocolate squares and scatter them among the marshmallows and cracker pieces, all with only one or two squares disappearing.
"Very nice, Elli! Look, we made a S'mores Pie."She smiled and nodded. We admired our artwork for a minute, then agreed it was time for it to go in the oven. As I busy cover the pie pan with foil, I heard a strange wooshing noise, like the rush of rain down a drain. At first, that's what I thought it was. Wondering why I was hearing rushing water in my house, I looked over at Elli. Good news: It wasn't water. Bad news: Half the marshmallows are scattered on the floor around her steps.
She had grabbed the marshmallow bag at the wrong end, and the tiny puffed sugar pellets had rushed out toward the source of gravity. Quickly I grabbed the bag and set it on the counter.
I pointed down at the soiled marshmellows. "Oops."
Elli looked down and then up at me with those big blue saucer eyes and said sweetly, "I soddy, Mommy."
Who could be upset with that? "It's all right, sweet girl. It was an accident." And so began another lesson in the other vital part of cooking: proper cleanup.
All in all, the S'mores Pie was pretty good. I definitely had to leave it in longer than a couple of minutes, taking it out when the chocolate melted (the marshmallows never quite did, though...and they certainly didn't get nice brown corners like the picture in the cookbook showed). Someday, though, Elli will know the true American classic that is a first-born s'more!
Overall S'mores Pie Rating (5 being the best):
Elli-friendly cooking: 5
Elli-friendly eating: 5 (did you expect anything less?)
Simple: 5 if there ever was one
Fast: 5
Frugal: 5 (save leftovers for when you really do have an open flame)
Question for you: What is your favorite American summer classic, food or otherwise? (If you do not say baseball, I will not like you any less)
