CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE S'MORES: A great Summer Treat!

Summer is all about S'mores, so I've put together a few 'different' recipes for the ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie S'mores. I welcome comments and more recipes.

Start with your favorite chocolate chip dough--or if you're baking-challenged, grab your favorite pre-made cookie dough at the grocery store. (My favorite is Nestle Toll House, the 'original' toll house cookie dough.).

Bake the cookies per instructions and remove half-way through the baking process. Note: the key to a great Tollhouse cookie is baking them at a low heat. (225-250?)

Remove the cookies from the oven and top with 3 mini-marshmallows (Depends on size of cookie, you can always add more)

Place back in the oven for the duration of the baking time (Note: do not over-bake cookie or caramelize marshmallows)

Remove from oven and sprinkle with crushed cinnamon graham crackers over the melted marshmallows.

Drizzle cookies with Hershey's Chocolate Syrup. Best served warm out of the oven.

Picky Palate had a really good recipe, too, for Chocolate Chip Cookie S'mores.. She calls them Oozing Chocolate Chip Cookie S'more Sandwiches. Everyone in the food community is so gracious, and Jenny gave me permission several years ago to reprint her recipe here--and use her fantastic photo!

She found one of the most interesting additions to her recipe at Target -- Kraft makes chocolate covered mini marshmallows. She mixed them into the cookie dough. How cool is that? Of course, you can make the dough with or without them.

Oozing Chocolate Chip Cookie S'more Sandwiches

Ingredients

2 sticks softened butter
3/4 Cups sugar
3/4 Cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla
2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 oz package Kraft Chocolate Covered Mini Marshmallows, if you can find them --otherwise use the regular ones
1/2 Cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 Cups mini baking M&M's

Mini Marshmallows (less than 1 bag full)
Mini Hersey bars

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat butter and sugars in stand or electric mixer until well combined. 

Beat in eggs and vanilla until well combined as well. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, soda, and salt. 

Add to wet ingredients as well as marshmallows, chips, and M&M's until just combined. 

Spread onto a large rimmed baking sheet that's been lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray. 

Bake for 20-22 minutes or until edges are just turning golden brown. Remove and let cool completely.

Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Top bottom shapes with a layer of mini marshmallows and place under broiler until puffed. Top with Hershey bars to melt. Top with another cookie to close sandwich. Serve warm.

You'll love these!!

CHOCOLATE GRAHAM CRACKERS: National Graham Cracker Day!

Today is National Graham Cracker Day, and since it's only one day past the Fourth, here's a great WWII Ad with Uncle Sam that features all the 'recommended' National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) crackers, cookies, and biscuits.

I've made chocolate graham cracker crusts for pies, and I've used graham crackers in most of my S'mores recipes, so this recipe for Chocolate Graham Crackers is perfect. These are easy to make and delicious. I've seen lots of recipes, but this one from King Arthur Flour is one of the best.

CHOCOLATE GRAHAM CRACKERS

Ingredients
1/2 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup Whole Wheat Flour, Traditional or White Whole Wheat
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons cold milk

Directions
Preheat your oven to 325°F. Have two baking sheets and parchment paper to line them at the ready.
In medium-sized bowl, whisk together flours, salt, cocoa, sugar, and baking powder. With pastry blender, two knives, or your fingertips, cut the butter into flour mixture until evenly crumbly.
In separate bowl, combine honey and milk, stirring until honey dissolves. Add liquid to dry ingredients and toss lightly with fork until dough comes together. Add additional milk, if necessary.
Turn dough out onto well-floured surface and fold over gently 10 to 12 times, until smooth.
Divide dough in half.
Work half the dough at a time, keeping remaining dough covered. Transfer one piece of dough to  piece of parchment. Roll into a rectangle a bit larger than 10" x 14"; dough will be about 1/16" thick. Trim edges and prick dough evenly with a dough docker or fork.
Repeat with  remaining dough and parchment. Place rolled-out dough pieces, on their parchment, onto baking sheets. Bake crackers for 15 minutes, or until you begin to smell chocolate. Remove them from the oven, and immediately cut them into rectangles with pizza wheel knife.
Transfer to rack to cool.
Store cooled crackers tightly wrapped for up to a week, or freeze for up to one month.

CHOCOLATE COCA-COLA CAKE for a Retro Fourth of July!

Celebrate July 4 with a Chocolate Cake. Get out your 'Pyrex' dish and bake a Retro Chocolate Coca Cola Cake for the holiday! I've also included a recipe for Chocolate Coca-Cola Icing.

CHOCOLATE COCA-COLA CAKE

Ingredients
2 cups unsifted cake flour
2 cups sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 cup Coca-Cola
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Directions
Sift together flour and sugar. Heat to boiling point the butter, cocoa, and Coca-Cola. Add to flour and sugar mixture. Stir to blend. Add buttermilk, soda, eggs, salt, and vanilla. Stir with spoon until well blended. Pour into greased and floured oblong pan (Pyrex dish). Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Batter will be thin. Ice while hot.

COCA-COLA ICING

1/2 cup butter
6 Tbsp Coca-Cola
1 box confectioners' sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp cocoa

Heat to boiling point -- butter, cocoa and Cola-Cola. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla; stir to blend. Using a fork, make holes in hot cake and pour hot icing over it.

PATRIOTIC PEEPS S'MORES: Fourth of July

Photo: PEEPS®

I love S'MORES, and these seasonal  PEEPS® Patriotic Vanilla Creme Marshallow Chicks are so cute! This photo and recipe are from my friends at PEEPS®.  Here's something fun for everyone at the Fourth of July barbecue or campfire: PEEPS Patriotic S'mores!

PATRIOTIC PEEPS SMORES!

Ingredients
PEEPS Patriotic Vanilla Creme Marshmallow Chicks (if you can't find these, use the Party Cake Chicks)
Graham crackers
Chocolate bars
Sprinkles (Red, White and Blue)

Directions
Break graham crackers in half, so you have two squares.
Melt PEEP over fire or low heat.
Layer melted PEEP over square of chocolate, with graham cracker square on bottom
Top S’more with second graham cracker square and drizzle melted chocolate on top
Add patriotic sprinkles, and top off with PEEPS Patriotic Vanilla Creme Marshmallow Chick

Happy Fourth of July!