I love Cinco de Mayo – the flavors, the fun and plenty of margaritas are a must in my book. While I know that my favorite Pork Tinga is on the menu for tonight, also these lovely s’mores are the perfect way to cap off a wonderful evening. You have the spicy smoky flavor of the chipotle with the warmth of the cinnamon that sets these s’mores apart from all the rest.
One of my fave PR pros, Robin Caldwell, gave me a heads up about the fabulousness that is the Nate Berkus Show some time ago. After watching a few eps, I found that watching him at night was the perfect way for this gal to de-stress. He had Food Network’s Anne Thornton on recently and she did a spin on s’mores that got my attention almost immediately. I often add chipotle or cayenne to many of my chocolate treats to give it that za za zu factor and when I saw this recipe I knew it was a must. Recently, I brought these to a friend’s 40th birthday soiree and these spicy smoky s’mores were a hit. Now, when I’m making a plate of treats to bring to friends, these are a tried and true right along with the Mexican chocolate cookies and the lemon ricotta cookies that are often the most requested. Plus – who doesn’t love s’mores? These are just a tad more chic and grown-up than the campfire favorite.
What tried and true recipes are your favorite go-tos when you have to bring a sweet treat to a get-together?
Ingredients
- 2 packages of graham crackers (I used low-fat honey graham crackers)
- 1/3 cup of granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted (use the wrappers for greasing the pan)
- 3 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 cups of mini-marshmallows
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line the bottom and sides of a 9x13 inch baking pan with foil. Leave about 4 inches of overhang on the 2 opposite sides which will form "handles" for easy removal later and grease the foil well.
- Grind the graham crackers in a food processor until it forms a fine meal. It should equal about 2 cups.
- Combine the graham crackers, sugar, salt and melted butter and it should resemble wet sand, reserving a 1/2 cup of the mixture for the topping.
- Press the remaining graham mixture into the bottom of the greased foil lined pan and bake until it is golden brown, about 12 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and cool.
- For the chocolate, melt the chocolate in either a double boiler or a saucepan over low heat, stirring continuously until it is fully melted.
- Once the chocolate is melted, mix in the chipotle pepper and the cinnamon.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the cooled graham cracker crust and spread evening.
- Sprinkle the marshmallows over the chocolate, pressing them lightly into the chocolate.
- Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over and in between the marshmallows so that no chocolate peeks through.
- Put under a pre-heated broiler until the marshmallows are toasty – less than a minute.
- Refrigerate the pan until it is hard, about 2 hours.
- Using the foil liner "handles", lift the s'mores out of the pan in one piece and move to a cutting board.
- Cut into squares and enjoy.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Anne Thornton
Gather Your Ingredients
My Secret Weapons – Chipotle and Cinnamon
Butter Brings Everything Together
Time to bake the graham crackers
Adding the smoke (chipotle) and the spice (cinnamon)
Resist the urge to channel your inner Nigella and lick that spatula
Broiling Before & After
The end result – smoky spicy s’mores – a bonafide hit!
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says:
Oh, these look good!
I must say that the chipotle makes me a bit nervous…but I'd be willing to try them!
I see you used the Penzeys Cinnamon! YAY!
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Oh Aly this sound positively divine! I retweeted to all my contacts as I believe this is the PERFECT accompaniment to tonight's margaritas! Thank you!
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These look amazing! Had to come check them out from your top 10 list. Bookmarked for sure! Joining you from our "foodie" group #31DBBB
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