SMORES with Homemade Marshmellows and Graham Crackers
CAMPFIRE S'MORES
I made this dessert for a camfire theme meal at Bible Study. They were not difficult to make and tasted great! We just placed them under the broiler for one minute watching very carefully.
For homemade graham crackers
8 tablespoons softened butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons honey
1 cup flour
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
For marshmallows
3 envelopes of Knox gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Chocolate
High-grade bittersweet or milk chocolate (Valrhona, Cacao du Barry, Callebaut, Scharffen Berger)
Make graham crackers
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Cream the butter, sugars, and honey in a mixer on medium speed until soft and fluffy. Sift together the flours, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon, and pour into the mixing bowl. Mix on slow speed until just combined. Turn out the mixture onto a clean surface. Press the crumbly looking dough together with your hands until it just holds together.
Press the dough onto a 12 x 16-inch piece of parchment paper. Shape the dough into a rectangle and cover it with another 12 x 16-inch piece of parchment. Roll the dough out very thin by rolling from the middle of the paper outward. If the dough is difficult to roll, add a tiny bit of flour between the parchment and the dough on both sides. Transfer the dough onto a baking sheet, patching it to make an exact rectangle.
Bake the dough until the top is golden brown, slightly blistered, and dry-looking, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Use an angel food cake cutter or a fork to mark rows of holes, 1/4 inch apart, all over the dough.
Trim the rough outside edges and cut the dough into 14 to 16 squares, about 3 inches each. Use a ruler to make straight cuts and work quickly — the crackers become difficult to cut when they cool. Bake until the cut crackers are a deep golden brown, another 2 to 4 minutes (they will burn quickly, so take care at this stage). Cool them and store them in an airtight container.
Make marshmallows
In the bowl of an electric mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water. Soak for 10 minutes. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute. Pour boiling syrup into gelatin and mix at high speed. Add the salt and beat for 12 minutes. Add vanilla and incorporate into mixture. Scrape into a 9 x 9-inch pan lined with oiled plastic wrap and spread evenly. (Note: Lightly oil hands and spatula or bowl scraper). After pouring marshmallow mixture into the pan, take another piece of plastic wrap and press mixture into the pan.
Let mixture sit for a few hours. Remove from pan, dredge the marshmallow slab with confectioners' sugar and cut into 12 equal pieces with scissors (the best tool for the job) or a chef's knife. Dredge each piece of marshmallow in confectioners' sugar. Broil the marshmallows until brown, or toast over campfire or hot coals.
Assemble
Place a cooked marshmallow on top of a graham cracker. Top the marshmallow with shaved bittersweet or milk chocolate and place another graham cracker on top of the marshmallow to make a sandwich. Garnish the sandwich and plate with a bit more shaved chocolate.
Makes 6 servings.
No comments:
Post a Comment