camp meals

Campfire S'mores

Three ingredients, one stick, and a fire you already built.

calories
300
weight
2.2 oz
cal / oz
136
protein
3 g
serves
4, scales
prep
2 min
cook
3 min
total time
5 min
water
none
cost
$

Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.

  • Dessert
  • Campfire coals
  • Car camping
  • Basecamp
  • Backpacking
  • Vegetarian
  • Eat in the bag
  • Grab and go
  • Shelf stable
  • Basic

Ingredients

Marshmallows 8 large, not mini
Graham crackers 4 full sheets each sheet breaks into 4 squares
Milk chocolate bar 2 bars (1.5 oz each) score into squares before packing

Method

  1. Let the fire burn down. Flames scorch the outside and leave the middle cold; embers do the whole marshmallow.
  2. Snap each graham sheet along its seams into squares. Set a chocolate square on half of them.
  3. Spear a marshmallow lengthwise on a green stick or a roasting fork. Hold it a hand's width above the coals and turn it slowly.
  4. Pull it when the skin goes brown and the center gives. Press it onto the chocolate square, cap it with a second cracker, and twist the stick free.

There is no technique here beyond heat management. A marshmallow held in open flame carbonizes in ten seconds while the inside stays firm. Held over coals it browns evenly and the sugar inside liquefies, which is what melts the chocolate on contact. That contact is the whole mechanism: the marshmallow is the only heat source the chocolate gets.

Quantities scale straight up by headcount. Two marshmallows and one cracker sheet per person is the standard unit, and one 1.5 oz bar covers two people. Pack the crackers hard-sided; they are the fragile part, and crushed grahams make a mess rather than a s’more.

Packing

Crackers go in a rigid container or they turn to dust. Chocolate rides in the middle of the pack, away from the sun-facing side. Marshmallows stay in their bag, pressed flat.

Variations

  • Swap the milk chocolate for a peanut butter cup, or a dark bar if you want less sweetness.
  • On a stove trip with no fire, toast the marshmallow in a dry pan over low heat, turning it constantly.
  • Chocolate-striped shortbread cookies replace the cracker and the bar at once.

https://camprecipes.com/classic-recipes/smores