Mission: The Ice Cream Smore'wich

As the last big weekend for summer grilling approaches, what's the ultimate summer dessert? The ice cream sandwich? The s'more?

I had a thought this week... why not combine the two? Behold: The Ice Cream Smore'wich!


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I've done a bit of (rich, tasty, chocolaty) experimentation, and I'm here to tell you, there's the fast and easy way, and then there's the longer (but rewarding) way. Your choice.

Ice Cream Smore'wich — The Easy Way

You'll need:
Graham crackers
Chocolate fudge sauce
Vanilla ice cream
Jumbo-size marshmallows
Plastic wrap or wax paper

1. Select two graham crackers and slather one side of one graham cracker with chocolate fudge sauce (or go crazy with Nutella, if you're so inclined).
2. Open a carton of your favorite vanilla ice cream and cut or portion a 1" slice of the ice cream to match the length and width of the remaining graham cracker base.
3. Place the ice cream slice/portion atop the remaining graham cracker base and move both graham crackers to a tray or plate in the freezer to chill.
4. Use a skewer/stick to toast the marshmallow to your liking.
5. To assemble, gently compress the cooled toasted marshmallow between the chocolate fudge and the ice cream-layered graham crackers. Return the completed smore'wich to the freezer for 15 minutes to firm, then wrap snugly in plastic wrap or wax paper and keep frozen until ready to consume.



Ice Cream Smore'wich — The Homemade Way

First, you'll need homemade graham crackers. Rather than repainting the Mona Lisa, I will merely refer you to Smitten Kitchen's Awesome Graham Cracker Post.

For the chocolate fudge sauce layer:

Simple Chocolate Fudge Sauce (Makes about 3 cups)

1 cup chopped 60% chocolate (or good quality chocolate chips)
1/2 cup butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3/4 cup milk or cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or brandy
1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine the chocolate and butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Melt over medium-low heat, stirring to blend. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Gradually blend in the milk (or cream). Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the vanilla (or brandy) and salt. Serve immediately or store, chilled. (Can be rewarmed in the microwave.)

Finally, the toasted marshmallow ice cream:

Although the Torani company makes a very exciting-looking Toasted Marshmallow Syrup, I wasn't able to secure any for this test. Instead, I've gone with a classic ice cream base with a toasted marshmallow swirl.

Toasted Marshmallow Swirl Ice Cream (Makes 1+ quart)

For the Toasted Marshmallow Swirl:
15 large-sized marshmallows
1/2 cup milk or water

Place the marshmallows and liquid in a heavy-bottomed sauce pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the marshmallows melt and the sauce attains a rich brown color (about 20 minutes). Add a little hot water if the mixture seems too thick and scrape the edges and bottom well to pick up the caramelized sugar.
When the sauce is thick and caramel colored, remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool.

For the Ice Cream Base:
2 free-range eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk

1. Whisk the eggs 1-2 minutes.
2. Whisk in the sugar.
3. When blended, pour in the cream and milk. Blend well.
4. Pour this blend into your ice cream machine and prepare as directed.
5. When the ice cream is very thick and nearly ready (about five to ten minutes before completion), fold in the toasted marshmallow sauce.
6. Pack the ice cream into pints and freeze overnight.

To assemble the homemade Smore'wich
1. Select two graham crackers and slather one side of one graham cracker with chocolate fudge sauce.
2. Slather a thick portion of the ice cream across the length and width of the remaining graham cracker base.
3. Gently compress the coated sides of both graham crackers together. Wrap the sandwich snugly in plastic wrap or wax paper and keep frozen until ready to consume.

While my toasted marshmallow swirl ice cream is pretty tasty, it's not quite as toasty as I'd like it to be.

I still want to try out the toasted marshmallow syrup, but in the meantime, if anyone knows a foolproof method for getting that rich caramelized flavor into ice cream, please let me know in the comments!

Have a lovely long weekend, and happy eating!

Regarding the Abuse of Peeps

I don't know what my coworker Suzy Hotrod has against marshmallow Peeps.

For the past couple of years, we've done an Eastover potluck (Easter + Passover dishes), and this year, we made it a St. Eastover potluck, incorporating St. Pat's day in the mix.



Last year, Suzy made a Peeps Fondue, dunking the poor things in a bath of thick, rich chocolate lava.



This year, it was Peeps S'mores, their little pink and yellow bodies crushed between slabs of graham cracker.

Now, it was more than a month ago when all this abuse went down, but I couldn't help but notice this week that the Peeps S'more is suddenly hot.

Over at Serious Eats, they profiled this very version of Peeps abuse, as sourced from a Peeps cookbook. Looks like the heating action happens in an oven.

As I recall, Suzy came up with hers independently, working out a system in the microwave. I believe she placed Peeps atop squares of chocolate and spaced those out across a on a piece of parchment. Then she microwaved them (apparently they inflate like you wouldn't believe), and she moved the hot piles of gooey sugar to the graham crackers for sandwiching.



I actually thought they'd be kind of gross, but they were surprisingly good. The crunchy sugar on the outside of the Peeps adds an extra texture aspect. Crisp, gooey, sweet and chewy. The only thing missing was that burnt-sugar flavor you get from campfire s'mores.



I'd feel terrible if I neglected to mention that the other impressive dish at this year's St. Eastover fest was Ryn's Mini Easter Baskets, cleverly constructed with cupcake liners, jelly beans and foil-wrapped eggs. I think you'll agree the mint is a nice touch for the platter.



What kind of Peeps abuse will next year hold? Peep skewers? Peeps on a stick? Peeps pâté? Only Suzy knows.

Late-Breaking Addendum: Aaron Cohen wants you to know that he's compiled a survey of marshmallow Peeps on the Internet, revealing that the abuse of peeps is far more widespread than we ever suspected. The time to take legislative action to protect Peeps is long past, I'm afraid.

Meanwhile, Happy Holidays & Happy Eating!

Feeling the Power of the Peep

As much as I adore hot chocolate and wooly sweaters, I've started (with a bit of guilt, perhaps, for not "living in the moment") looking forward to soothing, warm days full of far-more-robust farmers' markets and lots of springy fresh little things such as garden peas, morels, asparagus, ramps and tiny lettuces.



Spring also brings a profusion of marshmallows. In particular, marshmallow chicks, which sell by the truckload for a very short period of time leading up to Easter.

As much as I'm certain their parent company (a candy company disturbingly called "Just Born") would like to see greater sales of marshmallow ghosts at Halloween and marshmallow trees for the holidays, Easter is truly that one shining moment in the sun for marshmallow novelty candy.

And gosh, there's just something so weird and lovely about the marshmallow Peep.

I don't even actually eat the little sugarbombs (I'm more of a dark chocolate girl, truth be told). I simply enjoy looking at them, individually or stacked in trios, sporting pastel hues and blank, soulless faces.

But don't think for a moment I'm the only one hypnotized by Peep love. People cherish marshmallow Peeps for experiments, interior design, target practice and strategy wargames, not to mention a legion of crazed fans wrapped in marshmallow idolatry.

Think making pastel marshmallow treats is child's play? Maybe you want to try your hand at a few marshmallow concoctions of your own?

You'd best consult the Howstuffworks "How do they make marshmallows?" guide. Good luck, and may the Peeps be with you.