Easy Vegan S'Mores 3 Ways
And we love it – not least because we get to indulge in one
of the favourite national pastimes of complaining about the weather in true
Goldilocks fashion, but also because we can finally eat our weight in
strawberries and get outside for a bit of fresh air - with some hot-footed
mavericks doing what they can to represent the sock-sandal combo community.
And this is largely what gave me the idea for these recipes
– getting outdoors, not the sock/sandal thing. There’s barely a day goes by in
summer as you’re walking along the street, that you don’t get the whiff of
charcoal (or the steam – if it’s raining) from a BBQ or a firepit in someone’s
back garden, and thanks to our American cousins over the pond, we know that there’s
no need to kill the grill just because the main course is over.
Now is the time for S’mores. For the uninitiated,
S’mores are a popular Stateside campfire treat traditionally made of Graham
Crackers (I’m reliably informed that these are an American sweet cracker –
anyone called Graham that’s reading this can relax), toasted marshmallow and a
piece of chocolate that’s sandwiched together and usually gobbled up before that
one enthusiastic soul (inevitably) with an acoustic guitar can even strike the
first chord of ‘Come By Are’.
So, I give all due kudos to the American Girl Scouts who
helped to popularise these little gooey pieces of crunchy, chewy, chocolatey
heaven as far back as the 1920s – after all, there’s no doubt in my mind that
preventing forest fires and generally doing good deeds in the community was
extremely hungry work. And now, because S’mores are so popular the world over,
people enjoy indulging in this delicious summer treat, irrespective of how
magnanimous they’ve been that day.
That said, sadly; with many mainstream supermarkets not
catering to sweet-toothed vegans looking for their toasted piece of marshmallow
action, some are having to look elsewhere to source the necessary ingredients
so as not to miss out.
I’m pleased to say though that with Treat Me Good, you’re
only a few clicks away from relishing these 100% plant-powered sweet ‘n’ smoky
beauties yourself. That’s because we stock a fantastic range of vegan
marshmallows and chocolate bars that are perfect for personalising your ideal
S’mores experience.
All of the below recipes use Freedom
Mallow’s Vegantic Pink & White BBQ Marshmallows, which are just as
sweet, light and fluffy as you could ask of any marshmallow, as well being on
the bigger side for toasting. Freedom Mallows,
who are a company local to us in Lancashire, also specialise in making delicious marshmallows
that aren’t just vegan, but are allergen free too - in fact, their vision
is “one mallow… one world” – an inclusive marshmallow suitable for everyone!
And at around 15 marshmallows per
bag, there’s more S’mores for everyone. But for anyone looking for an even
richer vegan marshmallow experience, I highly recommend these chocolate coated
ones from Mallow
Puff.
But, given I had to google what a Graham Cracker
actually is, I thought about ways to give this American classic a bit of a
British-Belgian twist by using a few easily sourced vegan biscuits that require
only a quick jaunt to the shop rather than forking out on import fees.
Our
first is the Party Ring S’mores – childhood birthdays and camping trips collide
in this extra crunch little number dripping with Moo
Free’s Dairy Free White Chocolate and generously sprinkled
with vegan hundreds and thousands.
Our second is the Love Raw’s Peanut Brownie Butter Cup S’mores, sandwiching deliciously toasted marshmallow topped with vegan friendly peanut butter and Montezuma’s Like No Udder Milk Alternative Chocolate. I admit, I am somewhat blurring the boundaries of biscuit-cake territory here but those super rich chocolatey, savoury-sweet nutty notes are not to be denied and happily, this one also pays dutiful homage to the timeless American blend of peanut butter and chocolate. If peanuts aren’t your jam though (…sorry), we also have Love Raw’s Hazelnut Butter Cups for you to dig into!
And finally, golden, caramelised Biscoff S’mores. These
wonderful biscuits are everywhere at the moment and have been transformed into
all sorts of desserts, so a S’mores option seemed like a natural step. With a
nod to those Belgian biscuit buffs at Lotus, this S’mores isn’t just comprised
of two Biscoff biscuits, it’s also drizzled with Biscoff spread and liberally
doused in Coco
Chocolatier’s Cold Brew Coffee dark chocolate! Decadent with
caramel and coffee flavours and aromas, this one is sure to get your heart rate
up.
Before I begin with the recipes though, a quick word of
warning to anyone who is still to pop their marshmallow-toasting cherry.
Because of the sugar content, marshmallows can burn and set alight very
quickly, whether or not you’re toasting them over a naked flame. So, it’s a
good idea to use a long skewer and to hold the marshmallow at the edge of the
heat source, turning it evenly until it turns a light golden brown colour.
Then, and I know that this is the difficult part; wait a good 10-15 seconds for
it to cool down enough to handle when placing onto the biscuits – or to eat of
course (testing food whilst cooking is not only essential, it’s a traditional chef’s
perk).
Personally, I prefer to toast mine over a barbecue like
the Girl Scouts of old, but if the weather really, really is against you and
you don’t have a lit candle or a gas hob to use instead, you can always put
them in the microwave for 5-10 seconds so they go extra gooey in the middle.
The downside to this is you can’t really microwave more than a couple at a time
as they tend to stick to one another in a homogenous (but still delicious) mass
and of course you don’t get the toasty crust but you’re still guaranteed a
great S’mores experience.
Anyway, here we are!
Party Ring S’mores
Preparation Time: 10 mintues
Cooking time: barely worth a mention
Serves: 7 (allowing for 2 marshmallows per S’mores)
Ingredients:
1 bag of Freedom Mallow’s Vegantic Pink & White BBQ
Marshmallows
1 packet of Fox’s Party Ring biscuits or 125g
2 x 20g bars of Moo Free’s Dairy Free White Chocolate
Vegan hundreds and thousands
Method:
- 1. First
of all, toast your marshmallows according to your preferred method.
- 2. Line
up your biscuits in two, even rows – this way you can work quickly with the
marshmallows when they’re cool enough to handle.
- 3. In
a bowl, break up the Moo Free Dairy Free White Chocolate and pop in the
microwave for 10 second blasts, stirring inbetween until it’s melted (or you
can do this in a bowl over a bain marie on the hob -just remember to remove the
bowl to stop it going grainy once its melted)
- 4. Now
for the fun, sticky bit – put your marshmallow onto of the first party ring,
drizzle with the melted chocolate and sprinkle with the vegan hundreds and
thousands, before placing the second party ring on top.
- 5. You’re ready to go – enjoy!
Peanut Butter Brownie S’mores
Preparation Time: 10 mintues
Cooking time: barely worth a mention
Serves: 7
Ingredients:
Half of a bag of Freedom Mallow’s Vegantic Pink & White
BBQ Marshmallows
7 packets of Love Raw’s Peanut Brownie Butter Cup
2 tablespoons vegan peanut butter (I used Whole Earth smooth
organic)
Half of a Montezuma's Like No Udder Milk Chocolate
Alternative Bar or 45g
Method:
- 1. First
of all, toast your marshmallows according to your preferred method.
- 2. Line
up your peanut brownie cups in two, even rows – this way you can work quickly
with the marshmallows when they’re cool enough to handle.
- 3. In
a bowl, break up the Montezuma's Like No Udder Milk Chocolate
Alternative Bar and pop in the microwave for 10 second blasts, stirring in
between until it’s melted (or you can use a bain marie)
- 4. In
another bowl, put the peanut butter into a bowl and microwave this for 10
seconds before stirring and repeating, until it’s at a drizzling consistency.
- 5. Now
for the fun, sticky bit – put your marshmallow onto of the first cup, spoon
over the melted chocolate and peanut butter, before placing the second cup on
top.
- 6. I also poured a bit of the excess chocolate and peanut butter on to dial up the decadence still further, but by all means skip this step and savour straight away.
**Note: this recipe means you’ll have around half a bag of marshmallows left, as well as half of the chocolate for next time – winning!
Biscoff S’mores
Preparation Time: 10 mintues
Cooking time: barely worth a mention
Serves: 7
Ingredients:
Half a bag of Freedom Mallow’s Vegantic Pink & White BBQ
Marshmallows
Half a packet of Biscoff Biscuits or 125g
2 tablespoons Biscoff spread
Half a Coco Chocolatier Cold Brew Coffee Dark bar or 40g
Method:
- 1. First
of all, toast your marshmallows according to your preferred method.
- 2. Line
up your biscuits in two, even rows – this way you can work quickly with the
marshmallows when they’re cool enough to handle.
- 3. In
a bowl, break up the Coco Chocolatier Cold Brew Coffee Dark bar and
pop in the microwave for 10 second blasts, stirring in between until it’s
melted (or you can do this in a bowl over a bain marie on the hob once again).
Because of the higher cocoa content of this chocolate this might take a little
while, but be persistent.
- 4. In
another bowl, put the Biscoff spread into a bowl and microwave this for 10
seconds before stirring and repeating, until it’s at a drizzling consistency.
- 5. For
assembly, put your marshmallow onto of the first biscuit, spoon over the melted
chocolate and Biscoff spread, then place second biscuit on top.
- 6. I
also poured a bit of the excess chocolate on top and crunched up a spare
biscuit to add a bit more texture, but this isn’t essential – experiencing a
little slice of S’mores heaven though definitely is, so get to it!
**Note:
this recipe also means you’ll have around half a bag of marshmallows left, as
well as half of the chocolate for next time – still winning!
Of course these recipes are
by no means exhaustive – I’m sure that you appreciate that there are loads of
ways to pimp up these gooey treats to the point of near dessert debauchery but
hopefully, you’ll agree that these vegan offerings are a good basis to start
from.
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