I love the flavor combination of molasses and chocolate together and that is one of the reasons why I simply love the flavor combination of a s’mores dessert. For me it evokes so many wonderful memories spent around the campfire with good friends sharing jokes and stories as we laugh the night away.
So when I began developing my list for the Lunch Box dessert series for last weekend’s radio segment, I had to have a new s’mores dessert that moms could enjoy making for their little and big kids alike…and this one turned out so very good.
As part of my regular work, I do a tremendous amount of research online, and always come across interesting recipes that I simply file away to use in the future and this graham cracker dough was one of them. I have come across this dough on many sites, but first saw it on a blog called Sprinkle Some Sunshine. In all of the recipes I’ve seen, the dough was filled it with some Hershey chocolate bars and some Marshmallow Fluff then baked until golden brown and gooey inside…sounds delicious but I wanted to do something different and non conventional.
I wanted to create something that could be used as both a lunch box dessert and also something that could be dressed up for something a little fancier. I also wanted both to stay true to the s’mores flavor combination, yet uniquely different in presentation.
Instead of baking the chocolate bars in the dough, I wanted to use my rich chocolate pastry cream instead. I wanted to bake the pastry cream in the tart shell which would be sealed with some more dough and then baked. For a prettier plated dessert, this could be topped with some Italian meringue and flamed then dusted with powdered sugar. The lunch box version would also offer the same chocolate pastry cream in the bottom of the tart dough shell along with some marshmallow fluff then sealed with some more dough before baking…creating a tidy little package for a brown bagged lunch.
I’m not a big proponent of buying ready made things because I prefer to make most of my fillings from scratch, but there are a few store bought items that are best to use for certain applications and marshmallow fluff is one of them. When making this type of dessert that requires the marshmallow to be baked inside the crust, the store bought marshmallow fluff won’t break down and dissolve into a puddle of sugar when baked. It is perfect for this type of dessert because it holds up better than anything else after being baked and also remains nice and soft after it cools.
The only choice you really have to make is whether you want to make the more dressed up version or the lunchbox version. This is also a great rainy day or snowy day activity to make with the kids, and I guarantee that they will have so much fun making and eating these delectable goodies, but I only have one piece of advice… Make sure to line up the list of people you will be sharing these with ahead of time because once you’ve tasted them, you may just change your mind.
Graham Cracker Dough
1 stick of butter
¼ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/3 cups flour
¾ cup graham crackers, ground
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
Add the butter, both sugars and vanilla to the bowl of your stand mixer and combine well until you no longer see clumps of butter, but do not mix this until fluffy. Only combine until the mixture comes together, and then add the egg and mix again until just combined. Next add all of the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together. Pour this out onto some plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
S’mores Tarts (makes about 1 dozen small tarts)
1 recipe Graham Cracker Dough (above)
Small jar of Marshmallow Fluff (if making the lunch box version)
½ recipe chocolate pastry cream
½ recipe Italian meringue (or you can use large marshmallows and flame)
Make the graham cracker dough the night before and refrigerate. Then make the chocolate pastry cream and refrigerate until cool and set. Decide which version you will make, then spray each tart mold with some good pan spray. I find that the thicker tart molds, like the brioche rims work best for this. Take some dough and flatten it between 2 pieces of plastic wrap simply by pressing down with your hands…you don’t really need a rolling pin. Take the dough and line the inside of the tart rim and make sure the entire shell is lined evenly. Repeat with the rest of the tart molds.
Then take a small spoon and add some chocolate pastry cream to each shell. If you are making the lunchbox version, make sure to save some room for the marshmallow fluff, but if you are making the fancier version, add the chocolate cream all the way to the top.
Whichever version you are making, top each one with a thin piece of dough and trim the edges, then poke a small slit in the center for any steam to escape during baking.
Bake these at 350°F for about 15 minutes until golden brown and allow them to cool slightly before removing from the rim. They are easier to remove when still slightly warm.
If you are making the fancier version, make some Italian meringue and pipe on top then flame. If you have made the lunch box version, allow them to cool and store in the refrigerator until ready to pack in your lunch box and then enjoy!
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