Gimme Gimme S'mores

Zach Wood

Zach Wood is a public information officer in the DNR’s Office of Communications.

What could possibly top a night sitting around a campfire? A night spent around the fire enjoying some delicious s’mores! No campfire is complete without this famous sweet treat.

Believed to be a contraction of the phrase “some more,” s’mores are indeed irresistible. The invention (or at least popularization) of the ubiquitous camping dessert sandwich is credited to Loretta Scott Crew via the 1927 publication of “Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts.”

From there, this warm, gooey, chocolatey treat has become a staple of camping trips, bonfires and backyard hangouts across the country. And for good reason — s’mores are delicious, require only a few basic ingredients and are incredibly simple to make.

Assembling a perfect s’more involves nothing more than a graham cracker base, half a chocolate bar and a marshmallow toasted to perfection (in the eater’s opinion — there’s no right or wrong), then topped with another section of graham cracker.

Next Level Treats

Although the combination of graham cracker, chocolate and marshmallow is unquestionably the default for s’mores, campers need not be bound by convention. Feel free to experiment with different ingredients and flavors.

Here are just a few creative s’mores variations to try this summer.

Door County Dark Cherry S'more: graham cracker + ripe Door County cherries + dark chocolate + marshmallow

Birthday S'more: sprinkled toaster pastry + milk chocolate + toasted pink marshmallow + rainbow sprinkles

Spicy S'more: graham cracker + chili powder + marshmallow + cinnamon + chocolate sauce

Sunshine S'more: lemon cookies + white chocolate + marshmallow + lemon curd

Sugar Maple S'more: pretzel chips + caramel + marshmallow + crispy bacon + maple syrup

Cheese S'more: butter cracker + your choice of cheese + your choice of jam + marshmallow

Caramel Apple S'more: graham cracker + apple slices + marshmallow + a chocolate-covered caramel

Time spent relaxing around a campfire can be hard to beat — especially when you add a few sweet treats.

iStock/BHOFACK2

Send Us Your Combos

The possibilities for s’mores are as endless as your imagination. Get creative with it! After all, s’mores are meant to be fun.

What’s your go-to s’more? Let us know at DNRMagazine@wisconsin.gov. Your recipe just might be shared on the DNR’s social media pages!