For many of us, these summer months bring to mind memories of childhood camping trips, lake days and wilderness adventures. We remember barbecues and campfire cookouts, and what does that always mean? S’mores! Everyone loves a good s’more, which is what makes them such a great summer tradition.
But the summer can also bring torrential rain, swarms of stinging and biting insects, and uncomfortable heat. This can make campfires and backyard parties a real pain instead of an enjoyable experience, so why not toast your marshmallows and make your s’mores inside instead?
Keeping safety and the best taste in mind, here are some ways you can toast marshmallows and make delicious gooey s’mores in the comfort of your own home. Enjoy!
Candle
The first way to roast a marshmallow indoors is to use a candle. When roasting marshmallows over a candle, you need to be sure that you don’t choose a scented candle because it can ruin the taste of your marshmallow or leave harmful chemicals on it. When you get a natural candle that will work it’s basically the same as cooking marshmallows on a fire.
Lighter
The fuel contained inside a lighter is typically butane, which happens to also be used in many portable camp stoves. This makes lighters a great way to toast marshmallows indoors. Just use the lighter like a mini blowtorch to toast around all the edges of your marshmallow. Make sure you hold your marshmallow on a Kabob stick or hot dog roaster so you don’t burn your hand!
Oven
For the best toasted marshmallows in the oven, you’ll want to cook your marshmallows under the broiler. One advantage to this method is that you can cook your marshmallow on a baking tray directly on top of a graham cracker to pre-assemble your s’mores. Place your graham crackers on a tray or baking sheet, layer on your chocolate and then your marshmallow, and then set the oven to broil. This is one of my personal favorite ways to do it.
Microwave
A perfectly cooked marshmallow should take about 15 seconds if you do it in the microwave. You might not get those perfect crispy brown edges with this method, but you will get it nice and melted! Make sure to put your marshmallow on your graham cracker beforehand so your s’more is ready to go when you take it out of the microwave. Add your chocolate and second graham cracker and you’re good to go.
Stove (gas or electric)
Gas or electric stoves can both work as a great source of heat to toast marshmallows over. Kitchen gas stoves almost always run off natural gas, which makes them actually less likely to contaminate your marshmallow with harmful chemicals than a wood fire! However, if melted marshmallow gets down in the cracks of your gas range it can be a real pain to clean out.
Pan
For a new take on the classic desert, try making a s’mores dip in a stovetop pan. A cast iron skillet is ideal, but any pan should work fine. Start by melting chocolate chips or Hershey bars in the bottom of the pan. You can do this in the oven or on the stove, just be careful not to burn the chocolate.
Once it’s nice and melted arrange your marshmallows nicely on top of your chocolate layer, and then place the skillet into the oven at 350 degrees and keep an eye on it until the marshmallows are golden-brown to your liking. Finally dip your graham crackers in for a tasty treat. Be sure to eat the s’mores dip while it’s hot because the marshmallows and chocolate will harden quickly when they start to cool down.
Toaster oven
Toasting a marshmallow and making a s’more in a toaster oven is basically the same as doing it in a regular oven or microwave. You’ll pre-assemble your s’more with the marshmallow on top of a piece of chocolate and graham cracker. Then you’ll toast them in the oven for 3-4 minutes or until the marshmallow starts bubbling. Then top with your second graham cracker and enjoy!
Technique to roast it perfectly
Now everybody has a different idea of what a perfectly cooked marshmallow looks like, some people even like them burnt. But most of us like a nice golden brown color all the way around. The best way to do that is to turn the marshmallow regularly when cooking. If a nice even toasting is important to you, you might be better off roasting your marshmallow over a flame or a stove where you can turn it on a stick instead of using a microwave or oven.
How to do it safely
Of course, toasting marshmallows indoors can come with a certain level of risk, especially if you’re using an open flame. Be sure to use good safety practices. Watch out for other people moving around you. Stay near a sink in case you need to quickly put out a fire. Keep flammable materials away from your heat source. A fire would quickly bring an end to all your fun.
Conclusion
There are lots of different options to try but in the end a s’more is meant to be a super simple treat so don’t complicate it too much. When in doubt, you really can’t go wrong just cooking your marshmallows over the burner on your stove or in a pan in the oven. Be careful and try not to make too much of a mess.
If you really want to spice up your indoor s’mores, try replacing any of the 3 ingredients with something slightly different. Using cookies instead of graham crackers, peanut butter cups instead of plain chocolate, or different flavors of marshmallows can make your tasty treat even more fun. You could also try melting marshmallow candy on top. Hopefully these tips have helped you bring a little taste of those warm summer nights into your home, even when it’s cold outside or the weather is nasty. Eat up and have fun!