It was Super Bowl Sunday and we went to some friends house to watch the big game. Knowing that there would be buckets of creamy dips and finger lickin meats we decided to make something that would cleanse the pallet. As most football party buffets are loaded with salt and fat, we felt that acid was the go. Tart sweet lemon after smoky fatty chicken = ahhhhhh

The recipe is adapted from Ina Garten’s lemon bars recipe in Barefoot Contessa Parties!, a favorite of Molly’s.

Click here for the original recipe.

Looking back, We did not let the bars chill properly. Chilling overnight yielded the best results. Both the lemon filling and crust set up much better. Still yummy, but some were a little messy the day of. This is a sure fire crowd pleaser for either spectacular sporting events or middle of the week TV spotting.
Wow! I can’t believe that we’ve been on such a dessert bender. Coming up is 50 ways to eat a brisket. Soup, hash and some North African surprises.
The road to Flavor Highway never seems to get dull.
Until next time-
Jumpin jack flash

Admittedly I’m not the cat’s meow of baking. Most of us stock pot jockeys run when we hear the word pastry or anything remotely connected to baking. At the end of the day however baking is really just a bigger part of gastronomy. It’s abiding to the laws of technique and slowing down to absorb and properly execute a recipe. In many cases savory foods can be fixed due to excessive spazzing out in the kitchen, baked items cannot.

Sifting, weighing, measuring, creaming, crumb, tempering, piping and “chilled” are all words that are often associated with baking. For me it’s kind of like filling out a tax form. Don’t want to do it, but can if I follow the rules step by painful step. Oh my!

So Molly walks in the door the other day and says, “I think I want to bake some cookies.” I’m like, “go for it!” I’d be in HOG heaven with a stack of warm moist cookies. Oh yea!

While I’m not a baker per say, I do know some tricks, and having worked in numerous restaurants I have cooked side by side with many pastry chefs. For production reasons they would make huge batches of dough and freeze for later use. It seemed that the melt ratio was pretty low.  Obviously this isn’t necessary for most pedestrian home cookies like chocolate chip, oat raisin etc. But if you haven’t properly sifted your flour, creamed your butter, beat your eggs or calibrated your oven then guess what? Your cookies might just flop and ooze all over the pan.

I seldom give unsolicited advice (like a two cent golf lesson from your buddy while on the links) regarding cooking but in this case I always suggest chilling your cookie batter/dough to help prevent the dreaded flat cookie cracker. Or worst yet, the greasy schmeared cookie. Eeks!

I started to chuckle right before she started preparing her cookie dough. I said “don’t give me the opportunity to tell you I told you so, maybe chill the dough?”. Molly basically gave me the hand, so I vacated the kitchen.

Any who- I’ll let Molly tell her story and how we came to discover the “accidental dessert”aka. what to do with flattened greasy cookies. Oh and before I go I need to tell you the reason for the second shot. I almost fell over when I saw it, but if you look closely you can see some happy spirit that came back as a cookie. Love the pecan coconut cru cut.

Okedoke—Molly, please tell us your enchanted story.

“I actually have baked numerous batches of cookies successfully, albeit most of them before I met Stephen. This batch was inspired by a visit from my brother. It was his birthday and he loves cookies so I thought they would make the perfect gift.  For the recipe, I opened Elizabeth Faulkner’s, Demolition Desserts cookbook since I hadn’t used her recipe before and I liked the idea of a play on a traditional favorite, specifically adding more salt than usual to a sweet dish.  The extra salt enhances the flavors.  And this was an aspect that everyone really liked about the cookies.

Right away I discovered we only had a 1/2 cup measuring cup, believe it or not, so in my version of the cookies the dry ingredients measurements are not exact. We also didn’t have dark brown sugar, but we did have molasses so I added a bit and this is the main reason the cookies melted.

I did notice that the dough was sticky which is why Stephen suggested that I cool it before baking. It crossed my mind to add flour, but I ultimately did not. Guess what happened? The cookies melted together, but they tasted really good.   And you can taste the salt, but hey are not too salty, rather just salty enough to notice.

The next day I was telling Julieann, an excellent baker friend, what I did. As soon as I told her about the molasses she nodded and said, “Yup, molasses is like liquid sugar. Just add flour next time”

What we ended up doing is making a cake out of the cookies. I lined a cake pan with parchment paper and put a layer of cookies in, then a layer of vanilla ice cream and so on and so forth until I ran out of cookies.

Though the cake isn’t the prettiest, it sure was good. In fact it was a hit!  Whether your cake drops or your cookies melt, have fun with your baking accidents they make great memories.

One more note, we topped the cake with toasted coconut and pecans, which I wouldn’t do next time, just because it made it messy; Stephen loved it.

Here is my version of Elizabeth Faulkner’s, “Chocolate Chip Cookies Straight up or with Nuts”
Remember that I only had a 1 cup measurement. What I am giving you here are the actual measurements from the original recipe.

Ingredients
8 tablespoons butter
¾ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar (the reason I added molasses - I had light brown sugar)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 ¼ cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped the size of chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate chips (about 1 ½ cups)
¾ cups chopped walnuts

Instructions
In a large mixing bowl using a wooden spoon, cream together the butter and sugars until smooth, but not over mixed. Add the egg, vanilla, and salt and stir until just combined. (this is when I added the molasses). Sift in the flour, baking soda and baking powder and stir until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and nuts and stir until evenly distributed throughout the dough. I’m just now noticing that in the original recipe, she says to put the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. I guess Stephen does know what he’s talking about!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop up 1-inch balls of the dough and set them 2 inches apart on the pans. Bake the cookies, rotating the pans after 7-9 minutes. (I didn’t do this…) If you like very soft cookies, bake them for 13 minutes. If you like a crisp cookie bake them for 17 minutes. Transfer to racks and let cool.

To assemble
Line a cake pan with parchment paper and put a layer of cookies in, then a layer of vanilla ice cream and so on and so forth until you run out of cookies.

Coming at you live from Mexico! I was going to rub it in with stories of perfect hot dry weather, long stretches of uninhabited beaches, fresh seafood, long naps and no stress, but why bother… no need to take you on a magic carpet ride..hehe. I’m a little zapped from surfing in the warm water so I’m turning over the keyboard to our comrade  Cathy Curtis. Cathy, take us away! SteveO, HOG

When Molly and Stephen invited me and my husband Rob to share a house in Todo Santos, Mexico we jumped at the chance. For one, we desperately needed some sun and R&R but just as importantly we knew we would have a lot of laughs and eat a lot of delicious, well prepared food! We have not been disappointed. This morning Rob nudged me to go for a walk on the endless, white sand beach (a few steps away from our front door) to watch the sun go up. We ended up on a mile long walk, stopping to do yoga salutations as the sun rose over the mountains. On the way back we found a lone fallen coconut, plucked a papaya right from the tree, and spied some pomegranates and added those to the mix. After Rob expertly broke open the coconut, we fried it up with a bit of sea salt –yum, simple and delicious. Stephen scrambled up some farm fresh eggs, which we ate with leftover rice and beans and garnished with salsa, cilantro and queso fresco.

The first night Molly and Stephen greeted us with margaritas made with fresh-squeezed orange juice. (you buy the oranges from locals parked on the side of the road 10 kilos at a time for$10) lots of fresh lime juice and 100% agave Tequila. Then Stephen prepared a Mexican “smorgasboard” of slow-grilled chicken seasoned generously with Mexican oregano; rice with achiote and lard; grilled onions, poblano and habenero chiles, salted radishes, refried beans, and tortillas (bought in 1 kilo packages at the local super mercado). Ever the innovative chef, the next night, Stephen re-positioned the chicken in a delicious posole served with sides of radishes, green onions, cilantro, shredded iceberg lettuce, limes and tortillas. Tasty and satisfying especially paired with cold, light and crisp Mexican beers. Well, I guess that’s all. I’m just thrilled to be in a place where time has come to a grinding halt; where a deep breath of fresh salt are and fresh fruit is all you need.

When I was in my 20’s I spent a lot of time on the South West coast of France. We hung out at the beaches  during the day and people-watched at corner cafe’s at night. The food in that region during the summer is blanketed with an abundance of juicy tomatoes, heirloom peppers, olives, cured meats, seafood and AMAZING pastries.  The Basque region of Spain has a big influence on the local cuisine, and boy what a treat!  It’s simple clean food with smoke, refreshing acid and yes.. not too sweet or buttery desserts. For me, Gateau Basque sums it all up.

Gateau Basque is a traditional tart filled with pastry cream, vanilla bean, brandied black cherry, and almond from the French side of the Basque region. It’s one of my favorite cakes because of its soft, creamy inside, and crisp, not too sweet crust. In this version we soaked dried cherries in red wine and added rum to the pastry cream. The result: an adult pop tart with elegance and snap. Try it out, you won’t be disappointed.

Chef StevO from the HOG

Gateau Basque

Serves 8-10 people

Ingredients
For the pastry cream
4 cups milk
3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 pound butter
6 egg yolks
1 teaspoon salt
2 vanilla beans
1 tablespoon Rum

For the Dough
2 1/2 cups almond meal
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 pound butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
zest of one lemon
zest of one orange

For the Cherry Filling
1 1/2 cups of dried cherries
1 bottle of red wine
3/4 cup sugar

Special Equipment
pastry bags
pastry brush
tartlet pans or 9” cake pans
rolling pin
plastic bowl scraper

Instructions
For the pastry cream
Scrape the vanilla bean and place in the milk. Bring to a boil.

Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale. Add the flour and whisk until incorporated. Slowly add the hot milk to the egg mixture while whisking and place the mixture back on the fire.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thick. Stir in the butter and rum and pour into a shallow pan.

Cover immediately with plastic wrap and refrigerate to set.

For the Dough
Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl with the zest. Cut in the butter. Mix in the eggs and almond extract and mix until dough just comes together.

For the Cherry Filling
Combine the cherries and wine in a saucepan and simmer until the wine reduces by half. Add the sugar and continue to simmer until it becomes a thick syrup.

To Build
Place 3/4 of the dough into the bottom and sides of a tart pan. Fill with pastry cream and cherries.  Cover with remaining dough.

Brush with egg wash and bake 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

At a recent Hands On Gourmet event the Apple Strudel took center stage. Everyone that was involved in making this all time classic pastry became tickled pink. Laughter, butter and apples are great ingredients for fun!

Strudel is an age old Viennese pastry that has a wonderfully simple tart, sweet, juicy apple filling.  The dough is super stretchy and elastic as the photo shows. And that really is the secret to get up off your chair and yodel strudel. If your dough is tough or you elect to use boring store bought phyllo dough then it might not be as sexy.

The filling is made from spiced local apples, plump currents, tart lemon and warm spice. It’s the absolute perfect comfort food.

Our twist on this winter comfort food is the sauce.  It’s made from calvados, an apple brandy from the Normandy region of France, and nutty brown butter.

Go on.. give it a try. Invite some friends over, knock on your neighbors door and get a stretching. It takes a village to make this magic.

Apple Strudel with Calvados Brown Butter

Serves 8-10 people

Ingredients
For the Dough
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 well-beaten egg
⅓ cup tepid water (or milk)
2 teaspoons melted butter

Extra flour for dusting

For the Sauce
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons calvados, apple liqueur

For the Apple Strudel
1 tablespoon cinnamon
4 to 6 tablespoons bread crumbs
1 tablespoon lemon rind
1 cup sugar
¾ cup raisins or currants
6 to 8 apples, thinly sliced

To Garnish
ground cinnamon
powdered sugar

Special Equipment
mandolin

Instructions
For the Apple Strudel Filling
Mix cinnamon with browned bread crumbs and lemon rind. Combine it with the sugar, raisins, and apples. Set aside. This will be your filling.

For the Dough
Pour 1½ cups flour on a clean work space and make a well in the center. Pour the egg, water (or milk), and 2 teaspoons melted butter, into the well. Use your hands to combine these ingredients into a ball, and knead for 10 minutes.
Brush your ball of dough with melted butter, cover it with a warm bowl, and let it rest for 30 min. Separate the dough into 4 pieces.
Now roll the dough out as thin as you can, being sure not to make holes in it. Use your hands to stretch the dough gently so it is as thin as a piece of paper. This works well if you have at least two people stretching the dough.
Brush the dough with melted butter. Spread the filling onto the dough, leaving the edge clear. Sprinkle cinnamon over the filling.
Now roll the dough into a cylinder with the filling inside, and brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with water, then slide it onto a sheet pan.

Bake at 400º for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 350º, brush the strudel with the remaining butter, and bake until golden brown (about 10 more minutes).

To serve
Remove from oven and dust with powdered sugar. Cut into long diagonal slices, and serve with butterscotch sauce.

For the Sauce
Combine the sugar, cream and butter in saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and calvados.

Christmas is over but NYE is right around the corner. If you’re planning on cooking at home here are a few practical tips .

1. Read below for easy yumO foods to cook. Whole crabs with artichokes and grilled bread would be easy breezy. A crab boil OR crab and fish Cioppiono with iceberg lettuce wedge/buttermilk dressing  will have your guests giving you a round of applause! ps.. In Northern California it’s tradition to ring in the new year with crabs and ravioli. really? you can do the history math to figure this one out.

2. Take a break and have a pot luck!

3. Buy some really good vanilla gelato and pound cake to serve with one of the to die for sauces in the picture on the left. Seriously! if you want to be a legend in 2010 I suggest making a kick ass easy dessert.

well sports fans I suppose that about wraps it up for 2009. I want to say thanks to all that have supported the blog. Stay tuned as my next post is about religion, politics and yes… of course food!

warm wishes from me and the entire HOG team. Love much and cook often!

Hands On Gourmet

Chocolate Sauce

1 quart milk or cream
1 pound Guittard bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup sugar
Kahlua or dark Rum (optional)

Bring milk to a boil. Add chocolate and sugar. Stir until chocolate has melted and sugar is dissolved. For a little extra something, add 2 heaping tablespoons of kahlua or dark rum.

Butterscotch Sauce
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons whiskey, rum or maple syrup (optional)

Combine the sugar, cream and butter in saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and optional whiskey, rum or maple syrup.

New things can be exciting but sometimes old standbys provide just the comfort you need. Each year food blogs and magazines are flooded with cookie recipes.  If you have the time and inclination, the hunt for new recipes can be exciting.  This year, I don’t have the time since we are buzzing at the H.O.G. Estates helping many-a-client celebrate the holidays… cooking parties galore!  And, since I have had a number of requests for this Spiced Oatmeal Cookie I made last year, the decision was easy.  I made them again.

When in doubt, homemade gifts are the way to go. For this recipe, I adapted a pretty standard recipe by adding molasses and increasing the spice load. Last year, I asked Molly what to put in the cookies.  She said, “eggnog???”, which I hadn’t even considered.  Since nutmeg is a predominant spice in these cookies and in eggnog, I decided to incorporate eggnog into the name. Other key players in this cookie are cloves and allspice, while cinnamon only plays a supporting role. The result is plump, moist, spicy cookies.

Here is to new experiments AND old favorites!  Happy Baking,

Chef Stevo

Eggnog Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Makes 2 dozen cookies

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon molasses
1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
pinch clove
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups oats
1 cup raisins or currants

Instructions
Heat oven to 350°F.
Beat together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla and molasses and beat well. Add flour, baking soda, salt and spices, mix well. Stir in oats and raisins and mix well. Drop dough, 1 rounded tablespoon ball per cookie, onto parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until slightly golden brown. Cool 1-2 minutes on sheet pan then remove to a rack.

It’s crab season again!! Here is an easy breasy way to cook and clean crabs, PLUS some tasty sauces to serve along side.

This was originally posted last year. I really liked this post and thought think that it would come in handy for years to come during crab season! enjoy!

What You’ll Need:
4 live Dungeness crabs (about 1 1/2 lbs. each)
1/4 cup kosher or sea salt
10 quarts water
3 gallon pot*

I know a lot of recipes call for mire poix, lemons and crab boil… but for me it’s not necessary. My goal is to get at the fresh sweet meat of a seasonal crab.

Let’s Get Started…
Place live crab in boiling salted water and cook for 12-15 minutes. You’ll see them start to blush and turn beet red. Plunge crabs into ice water to cool down and stop the cooking process. Keep in ice water for at least 5 minutes.

How to Clean The Crabs…
Remove the top shell of the crab by holding the bottom of the crab in one hand and pulling at the base of the top shell with your other hand. You’ll see a little latch thing that connects the shell to the body. Get your thumb underneath and pull up. This will allow you to separate shell from body.You’ll see some orangey green stuff in the top of the shell. It’s basically fat, but for our purposes we’ll call it buttah. Reserve ½ a cup for the mayo sauce and set the shell to the side.

Next, remove the gills (it’s the white/grey spongy stuff) and break off the mouth. At this point I like to rinse the crab in a bucket of fresh water to remove any residual gunk. Set crabs to the side. Then rinse out shell. We’ll be using this for our presentation. With your hands, break crab half. With a pair of pliers or a wooden mallet, crack the claws.To Serve Them Up…Get a big honkin platter to display crabs. Put the two pieces of the crab body back together. Place on the platter and then put cleaned shell on top making it look like a whole crab again. Serve alongside sauces and homemade wipes☺

For the Homemade Wipes
1 large silver bucket
3 lemons, sliced
2 limes, sliced
1 orange, sliced
1 cucumber, sliced

Fill bucket ¾ full with water and add fruit. Set some paper napkins next to bucket and let people know to dip in water for a refreshing cleansing mouth and finger wipe.

For the Crab “Buttah”
1 clove garlic, minced
3 egg yolks
Pinch of salt
1 cup virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons “crab butter”.. it’s the yellow greenish stuff that’s located in the top of the shell
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon cold water
Salt and pepper

Combine garlic and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add mustard, egg yolks, crab butter and pulse a few times. Turn on food processor and slowly add oil. Note: It is very important that the oil is added slowly so that it emulsifies. Add lemon juice and water about ½- way through adding the oil. Add water to thin, if necessary. Season with a pinch of salt and fresh ground pepper

Green Hornet Sauce (cause it stings)
1 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped chervil
1 tablespoon chopped mint
3 shallots, peeled and minced
¼ cup sherry vinegar
1 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
juice and zest of ½ lemon
salt and pepper

Combine the parsley, shallots, capers, and vinegar in a bowl. Add just enough olive oil so the sauce holds together. Add lemon juice and zest, seasoning and more oil if needed. Serve.

Horse Radical Sauce
1 cup unsweetened ketchup
2 tablespoons FRESH grated horseradish
1 teaspoon sambal (chili garlic sauce)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
juice from 1 lemon

In a small bowl, stir together all the ingredients and chill

A big thank you to our friend Stacy Cahil for the gorgeous photography! See more of her work here.

Around our house Sunday’s are usually reserved for some type of exercise and an uncomplicated get together. I really love making a big warm cozy meal like gumbo, cassoulet or beef bourguignon then call to see who can make it over. Our dinner friends bring the bread, greens, sweets and drink and we supply the main attraction; it doesn’t get easier than that!

Last week I had some gorgeous gulf prawns on hand and decided to take them back to my Virginia Beach roots with a low country shrimp boil. The dish itself has its origins from South Carolina but we Virginians adopted it with our own Chesapeake Bay bravado.

Any seafood boil is usually super easy to make so I decided to make this particular boil a bit more challenging by making a homemade version of Old Bay. I know that it may seem cumbersome to make especially if you don’t have the ingredients on hand…sooooo, one suggestion I have is to buy a heap of the ingredients, some small fancy glass jars and then make gifts for the holidays. Make a handmade label that says for seafood, chicken or veggies. Do that and you will be the twinkle of everyone’s eye.

On a closing note Dungeness crab season started yesterday. Boil, crack, and slurp.
Chef Barnacle Bill

Ps. The images of the shrimp and boat were taken in Boca Grande, Florida, where the shrimps are laid back and sweet .

Homemade “Old Bay” Spice Mix

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp. ground bay leaves
2-1/2 tsp. celery salt
1-1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp. ground mace
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom

How to:
Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Store in an airtight container and store in a cool place.

Shrimp Boil

½ cup “homemade old bay”
1 tablespoon salt
3 quarts water
1 can (12 ounces) beer (optional)
1 large yellow onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, smashed
8 medium red potatoes cut in quarters
8 ears fresh corn, cut in half
4 pounds large shrimp in shells

Directions
In an 8-quart pot, bring crab seasoning, salt, water and beer to boil on high heat.
Add onions and garlic and simmer for 15 minutes. Add potatoes and let cook for about 10 minutes. You don’t want them done at this point.
Add corn and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for 3 minutes.
**at this point turn off heat! You don’t want to overcook the shrimp.

Spoon and serve with grilled bread and plenty of cheap cold beer!

Hi, this is Stephanie Masquelier, operations manager of Hands On Gourmet and pastry chef and business owner of Flours, a custom wedding cake business.  I have stopped in at the H.O.G. Food Blog to tell the tale of our recent S’mores experiment.  Homemade graham crackers have been on my list of recipes to test for a while now, so when I had the opportunity to experiment with a new S’mores recipe with Chef Stephen Gibbs at Hands On Gourmet, I couldn’t wait to get started.

But first, a little S’more history! S’mores have been around for almost a century. Yes, believe it or not, a Girl Scout troupe in the 1920’s was first to publish a recipe for this novel, American treat. And, get this, August 10th is National Smore’s Day! Most of us know, the easiest way to devour a s’more is to sit around a campfire and use pre-packaged ingredients. But is this the tastiest way? I wondered if it could be better. And aren’t s’mores often sticky and messy to assemble? Lastly, do they promise a perfect, gooey bite for every mouthful? Well, not always.

The challenge was to bring this nostalgic and fun dessert to the dinner table with a gourmet lift and sophisticated presentation!

We began baking the graham crackers two different ways: rolled flat on a sheet tray, and formed into mini tartlet molds. The entire crew at HOG absolutely loved the buttery flavor of these. No joke … when the crackers came out of the oven we were all like seagulls in AT&T Park devouring food leftovers at the end of the 9th inning. And once the crackers cooled, the texture became even crispier and chewier - just waiting to be layered with a soft and sweet marshmallow.

Once the marshmallow was completely cool from mixing and the chocolate was melted, we started the creative, assembly process. The marshmallow was unbelievably rich and creamy, and its smooth texture made it effortless to evenly distribute over the graham crackers. Then we filled the tartlet shell using a pastry bag, which, happily, kept our hands free of stickiness. The chocolate was integrated intermittently; sometimes we brushed it on the graham cracker first, drizzled it over the top of the marshmallow, or dipped half of the s’more in chocolate as a final touch. Either way, with this recipe you’re certain to have a delicious, and easy-to-eat s’more in the comfort of your own home!

H.O.G S’mores
Homemade graham cracker, dark chocolate, toasted homemade marshmallow

Serves 8-10 people

Ingredients

For the graham crackers
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
¼ pound butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons molasses
3 tablespoons honey
¼ cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
cinnamon sugar (1/2 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon cinnamon)

For the marshmallow
3 cups sugar
1 cup corn syrup
1 cup honey
seeds from 1 vanilla bean
10 sheets bronze gelatin
6 egg whites

To finish
1 pound melted dark chocolate

Instructions
For the graham crackers
Combine all the dry ingredients except the cinnamon sugar. Work the butter into the dry ingredients to form a coarse meal. Combine the wet ingredients and add to the dough. Mix to combine. Flatten out the dough, wrap in plastic and chill until the dough firms up. Dust a work surface with flour and roll the dough out to 1/8” thick sheet, dusting with extra flour as needed. Chill the sheet of dough. Cut into squares and dock the dough with a fork. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Oil tartlet molds and form the graham cracker dough into them. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes. When cool, remove the shells from the molds.

For the Marshmallow
Bloom the gelatin sheets in cold water. Cook the sugar, honey, vanilla seeds and corn syrup to soft ball stage (230 degrees F). While the syrup cooks, begin to whip the egg whites in an electric mixer. Time the cooking of the syrup to reach soft ball as the whites reach soft peaks. When the syrup reaches soft ball stage and the whites reach soft peaks, remove the syrup from the heat and stir the bloomed gelatin into the syrup.

As the eggs mix, slowly pour the gelatin syrup into the whites. Whip on high speed until cool. When cool, fill the marshmallow mixture into a piping bag and pipe marshmallow onto the graham cracker squares.

To Finish
Pipe the marshmallow into the shells and carefully torch the tops. If you don’t have a torch, place the s’mores under a broiler for 30 seconds, or until golden brown and dip partially into melted chocolate.