Friday, February 19, 2021

Who Wants S'mores?!

I normally do not have a huge sweet tooth. The hubby, on the other hand, has never met a sweet treat he didn't love. Even still, there are a few special desserts I can NEVER say "no" to... S'mores being one of them. Maybe it's because they tend to be something you eat when camping or while enjoying a bonfire with friends, so maybe it's more than just the treat, maybe it's the memories being made while munching on them... Whatever the case, I still love mowing them down.

FYI - In case you were ever wondering, s'mores make THE BEST wedding dessert!

In the last few months I have been doing my best to be as plant-based as possible (I still allow for one or two meals a week that includes dairy, but it's not about being perfect, it's about reducing the consumption of animal products and being more conscious about it all). Prior to going more vegan my favorite s'more topping was a white chocolate Reese's cup. 

You see, I have never been a straight chocolate fan. Growing up, I'd trade my chocolate Halloween candies for fruity (like Starburst, Skittles, Laffy Taffy) ones. When my brother and I got bunnies for Easter, I always got the white chocolate one while he got the milk chocolate one. AND, if you've never had a white chocolate peanut butter cup, you're really missing out - they are DELISH - especially the specially shaped ones {like pumpkin, Christmas tree, egg} with more peanut butter!

Not sure if you can tell, but the orange "pumpkin" is actually a white chocolate Reese's!

Since going more plant-based (I've been vegetarian for over 16 years, but recently started trying to cut out ALL animal products) I haven't found a s'more topping I've fallen in love with yet. I've tried UnReal options, but because I've never loved dark chocolate they've really only been okay since they're small so my marshmallow sort of hides the flavor a bit. But, let's be real, for the price (normally ~$6 for 8 smaller-than-Reese's sized cups), I don't want them to be just okay. 

With the fire restrictions last fall, the only way to have s'mores while camping was by using our truck stove...
This is a s'more with the UnReal Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup (and Dandies vegan marshmallow).

That means I have continued to be in the hunt for a delicious plant-based alternative... which is how I thought to try PROBAR Chocolate Peanut Butter (I love PROBAR nut butters for other things, so why not this?!). Okay, so it might not be the standard "cup" I'm used to, but spreading nut butter on the graham cracker might even be easier because the melty marshmallow doesn't have to balance on it. Think of it more like a delicious glue that holds the s'more together ;)

It sort of reminded me of a Nutella spread or something similar.

I've gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised with this concoction. We tried it while camping at Joshua Tree (with the stay-at-home orders recently lifted, the National Parks have reopened their campgrounds and we were able to snag a spot over the President's' Day Weekend). I used one Nabisco Graham Cracker (they're hard to find around us, but they're a great vegan {no honey!} option), one toasted Dandies Marshmallow and a a smear of PROBAR Chocolate Peanut Butter

I make them vegan, but you could always swap with non-vegan ingredients if you'd like.

For me, the perfect toasted marshmallow is light brown. I want it warm and gooey on the inside, but don't love it charred on the outside. With that said, you could probably even get away with making these in the microwave if you didn't have access to a flame of some sort... Although, maybe it's just me, but I always think things taste better outside around a fire.

GET IN MY BELLY!

(Oh yeah, and I've also found that the Chocolate Peanut Butter Nut Butter is AMAZING on bananas if you aren't near a fire! And, if you're like me and love s'mores, you can check out the PROBAR S'mores MEAL Bar. Scrum-didily-umptious!)

What's your favorite way to eat a s'more?

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