I don't really have much of a sweet tooth, but some days I have cravings for s'mores. Really, I should say most days. Most days I have cravings for s'mores.
If you're still hung up on the non-sweet-tooth part, I apologize. I'm just more of a salty snacker than a sweet eater. Except when it comes to s'mores, that is...
I devote at least an hour's worth of day-dreaming per day to the graham cracker, marshmallow, and chocolate combination. Buried deep in my pantry, there's always a bag of mini marshmallows and an opened box of stale graham crackers that call my name... which is why they are pushed to the very, very back. Sometimes I try to convince myself that s'mores make a balanced meal for lunch or dinner when I'm rummaging for something to eat. Sometimes I don't care that they're not, and I eat them for lunch or dinner anyway. Come on, don't pretend you've never done that.
Not only are they delicious, but there's a sort of nostalgia that just can't be separated from s'mores, no matter how much you try to adult-ify them. You can tie them up with pretty bows, or use interestingly flavored graham crackers, or make your own marshmallows, or even put them in little mason jars, but when it comes down to it, you're still brought back to campfires with oozing mallow-lava and chocolate-covered fingers.
That happiness connected to food memory is such an awesome thing, and I really love the idea of giving guests such a playful dessert or favor in a bit of an updated way. You know, like in a mini mason jar, and with baking twine and mini spoons. Why? Because if you could make s'mores any more adorable, that's how you do it. Also, they're so much less messy and so much more portable and store-able. In fact, I didn't even make this batch for guests. I made them for myself and kept them in the fridge for whenever I had a s'mores craving (which, as you know, was often), because it was just convenient to have them around. They lasted almost shamefully shortly.
In other news, my cousin Ashley just got engaged, and guess who is the maid of honor? This girl, right here. Now, I've come up with about a billion ideas for Ashley's wedding in the past few weeks, because I'm a bit out of my mind when I get the opportunity to be creative, and I love my cousin, and want to be the greatest maid of honor in the history of maid of honors.
Somewhere along the line I must have become obsessed with the ideas of having s'mores at my one-day very-very-far-away wedding, because I probably pinned 300 s'mores related things and Ashley hadn't even mentioned s'mores to me for her wedding. BUT, a few days ago, she did say she wanted s'mores favors, and I was relieved that I didn't even have to drop a hint. I had too many good ideas to waste all of them.
I don't think I have to further explain how these came about, but I will say that I'm so glad that they did. I decided that they should be easy and fun to make, because 1) Who wants to spend a million hours making party favors? and 2) They're s'mores. Let's not over-complicate them.
I think I found a great balance though. With crushed graham cracker on the bottom, then a few mini marshmallows, a simple chocolate ganache and a quick marshmallow meringue, these don't take very long to put together. I used a kitchen torch to toast mine, but you can broil them quickly for a similar result. I also garnished mine with extra pieces of graham crackers and Hershey's bars, but feel free to leave those off and make the peaks of your meringue smaller so the lid can fit on top if you'd like to give them as gifts. Whatever you do, just make sure you have fun with it, and save a few extras for yourself!
S'mores Treats in Mini Mason Jars
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
These adorable S'mores Treats make the perfect anytime snacks, party desserts, simple gifts, or wedding favors!
Ingredients
- 8 graham crackers, crushed
- Mini marshmallows
For the ganache:
- 8 oz bittersweet chocolate chips
- 4 oz semisweet chocolate chips
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks.
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the meringue:
- 3 egg whites
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup marshmallow creme
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Pour the graham cracker crumbs into the bottoms of each mason jar. Add a layer of mini marshmallows on top of the graham cracker crumbs (optional).
For the ganache:
- Place chocolate and butter in a medium-sized bowl.
- In a small saucepan, combine the cream, sugar, and salt. Heat over medium and stir constantly until the sugar is completely dissolved and the liquid gently simmers, about 4 minutes.
- Pour the cream mixture over the chocolate and butter. Let it sit for a minute to melt the chocolate. Then gently stir for about 3 minutes or until well-combined and smooth.
- Using a spouted measuring cup or a spoon, pour the ganache into the mini mason jars. It's okay if it gets a bit messy, you can clean up the tops with a damp paper towel when you're finished distributing the ganache. Fill until about ⅔ of the jars are full. Clean the tops if necessary and place them in the fridge to set the ganache.
For the meringue:
- Beat the egg whites, vanilla and salt at high speed until foamy. Gradually add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form, about 4-5 minutes.
- Beat in a bit of the marshmallow creme at a time, until it has all been added and the meringue is fluffy and well combined. Fold in the mini marshmallows.
- Using a spoon, dollop the meringue into the mason jars. Make sure to push the first few spoonfuls down so that they sit atop the ganache. Make peaks on top of the ganache by pulling the spoon up quickly or twirling the spoon.
- Brown the marshmallow meringue with a kitchen torch. If you don't own a kitchen torch, feel free to put them in the oven on "broil" to brown them, but keep a close eye on them because it only takes a few seconds for them to go from toasty brown to burnt!
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Dessert
Chargraft says
Sorry, might be a silly question, it says the cooktime is 10 minutes, at what temperature?
Morgan says
The cook time is an estimated combined time for the amount of time it'd take to make the ganache and brown the tops of the marshmallow meringue, but it's not necessary to actually bake the s'mores treats in the jars or anything of that sort! Sorry for the confusion!
Aimee says
How cute are these? We have some young kids coming to visit soon and we will be adding this to our list of late night snacks for their camp out! Thanks for sharing!
Morgan says
Thank you! I hope they enjoy them! (Although I'm sure they will... after all, what kid doesn't love graham cracker, marshmallow, and chocolate? I'm 23 and I still feel like a kid every time I have a s'more!)
Beth says
I love these! I have been looking for a simple delish but different idea for our fd dessert acution and now I have found it! How far ahead of time could they be made?
Morgan says
Beth, I'm not sure exactly how far ahead they can be made, but I do know that they hold up extremely well in the refrigerator. I've kept a few in the refrigerator for about a week at the most and they were entirely fine. I'm sure they could even be in there longer-- the biggest thing is you just need to make sure you're using pasteurized eggs in the marshmallow meringue since it doesn't get cooked and you don't want anyone to get sick. I didn't use pasteurized eggs, but when it's for a dessert auction, you're much better off safe than sorry!
I also have to say that I'm sure these would be fine (if using pasteurized egg) sitting out without being refrigerated. They're really very forgiving! Best of luck with your dessert auction; I'm sorry my answer is somewhat vague but I hope it helps!
Beth says
So I made 6 for our dessert auction, I did consider the uncooked meringue so I used my cooked meringue recipe which turned out delish just not as light and airy as traditional meringue, its basically your recipe but you cook the eggs in a double boiler.....anyhow just wanted to share my success and thank you for the post 🙂 The 6 S'mores went for $75! 🙂
Morgan says
Good idea with the cooked meringue! I'm glad to hear they did well at the dessert auction!
Alyson says
Hi, I was curious when you refrigerate them, do you seal them with the lip to keep them fresher or does it matter?
Nikki says
These are great! I have two questions:
1. What size mason jars did you use?
2. Do you broil them ahead of time or just before eating? I'm thinking of making these for wedding favors, and wondering whether I should include the broiling instructions or just broil ahead of time.
Thanks!
Morgan says
You know what, I'm not positive what the exact size is. They're pretty small (about 4.5 inches tall, if I remember correctly) but I can check the exact oz later for you!
You can do either. I used a kitchen torch on mine and did it ahead of time (and I stored them in the fridge). However, if you want the signature gooey s'more, I'd say including broiling instructions would be a great idea!
Ericka says
Hi, LOVE this idea! Where did you find the mason jars for this?
Morgan says
Thanks, Ericka! I found mine at Wegmans but I've also seen smaller mason jars at craft stores and other grocery stores!
Cheryl says
LOVE IT!!
Can you send the exact company and size of mason jars.
I am having a hard time finding a shape like yours.
thanks so much!
Morgan says
I don't remember the exact specifications for these, but I believe I found them at Wegmans if that helps!!
Ronald says
I just found this recipe and would love to try it. Thank you so much for sharing, it looks stunning
Thea says
Oh my gosh, I just discovered you! In the last 1/2 hr of looking through your site I want to make every recipe! My son's bday is in 2 days, this will be his bday cake!! Strange question, can one pasteurize your own eggs?