Food Photo of the Day ~ Rainy Day S'mores

Oven S'mores are great anytime... especially when it is rainy and dreary outside. They can perk up an afternoon; bringing on kitchen conversation while huddled together and allowing the gooey chocolate maple marshmallow to dribble and cling to ones chin. It's a contest to see who remains less sticky. 

Hope everyone has been doing well and staying safe. - JD   

Food Photo of the Day ~ Pumpkin Walnut Loaf with Melted Marshmallows

Yes, I made a pumpkin loaf during the summer. I credit this, on me overhearing  a customer order a Pumpkin Spice latté this week at the local coffee shop. I suppose with some of the leaves already turning colour; one may feeling that fall is on it's way. With this loaf I got a bit inspired by those recipes of pumpkin pie with a marshmallow topping. I prepared and baked the pumpkin loaf as per usual according to the recipe; however when the loaf was finished I placed cut pieces of maple marshmallows on top and placed it back in the oven for a few minutes, until the marshmallow bits started to melt and get brown. The melted marshmallow top added an enjoyable sweet gooeyness to this spiced autumnal loaf.  

Hope everyone is having a good week, so far! -JD   

Rice Krispie Treats with Maple Marshmallows

We did make rice krispie treats, using the maple marshmallows. I added a handful of chocolate chips to give a s'more flavour although crushed graham wafers would have made it even more s'more-ish and with an crunch.

Rice Krispie Treats with Maple Marshmallows

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1/2 cup butter or margarine
400 gram bag of large maple marshmallows
1/2 teaspoon caramel extract/flavouring, optional
6-7 cups Kellogg's Rice Krispie cereal
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
crushed maple sugar sprinkles to decorate

Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over low heat.

Add marshmallows; stir until melted and blended. Remove from heat.

Stir in caramel extract. Add the cereal stirring to coat then add the chocolate chips; stir to combined. 

Pour mixture into a lightly buttered 13x9 pan. Press into the buttered pan with a damp knife or a buttered spatula. Once pressed, sprinkle with the crushed maple sugar on top. Allow to cool then cut into squares.

Notes: If you can not find maple marshmallows just use a 250g bag of miniature marshmallows and add maple extract/flavouring instead of caramel flavouring and cut the butter down to 1/4 cup. If wanting to add graham wafers, crush them into bits, and add them when adding the cereal. 

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend! - JD 

Oven S'mores

If you are wondering how our oven s'mores, made with maple marshmallows, turned out here they are. Dark chocolate cuts the sweetness and the maple marshmallows gave a lovely hint of maple to such an agreeable treat. Oven s'mores are simple and fun! 

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line a baking tray with baking parchment paper. Place graham crackers in rows according to how many you are making on the prepared baking sheet; place a few chocolate chips or pieces of shaved chocolate on top of the graham cracker, then place a marshmallow over the chocolate, (cut the marshmallow in half, if you have to) add more chocolate and place the open s'mores in the preheated oven. Keeping a watchful eye and checking quite frequently until the chocolate has melted a bit and the marshmallows become puffy.

At this point shut off the oven and turn the broiler on to high. Still keeping a watchful eye... allow the chocolate to melt, just a bit more and the marshmallows to achieve a nice golden brown status... about 2 to 3 minutes.   

Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place another graham cracker on top of each of the open s'mores. Pressing down gently. Being careful, as they are hot, and use a lifter to remove the covered s'mores from the baking sheet and place on a serving plate.   

Enjoying the melted chocolate marshmallow crunch! 

Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine! - JD