Mini S’Mores Tarts with Graham Cracker Crusts

Baking with children gives one a new perspective. The kitchen and cooking once held fear for me. Once too often, the local fire department was called to our house. Momma was a great cook, however, she was always in a hurry. She’d put dinner on the stove and run out the back door to plant flowers. Well, then, someone might see smoke and then…here comes the fire department in full force, sirens blasting and multiple units pulling up to the house. It was kind of embarrassing. But it gave the family laughs for years.

In anticipation of my recent visit 1300 miles away to my daughter’s family, I looked for just the right cookbook for my 10-year-old granddaughter, AL. I wanted one that was small enough for her to handle, be kid-friendly, great pictorials and simple to follow. I found just the right one called The Junior Baker Cookbook developed by Williams Sonoma Test Kitchen. Click here to see this book on Amazon and you can even review a few recipes.

After following the next steps, AL decided on the Mini S’Mores:

• Reviewing the ingredients.
• Confirming that the pantry held all ingredients.
• Collecting the kitchen implements needed.
• Setting out ingredients that need to be at room temperature.
• Reading and discussing the steps for the crust and the filling.
• Making a few adjustments to recipes and steps.
• Preheating oven.
• Following directions to make the crust and then the filling.
• Completing the tart.

We began by making graham cracker crusts in 4-inch mini-tartlet pans with removable bottoms. These made beautiful little tarts. The recipe says standard muffin cups could also be used but I did not think they could easily be removed from the pan. Then we made easy chocolate filling with chocolate chips, heavy cream, butter, sugar, and salt. AL said this was like a ganache. She’s pretty savvy already.

Then the fun part came when it was time to add the marshmallows on top. The directions instruct you to broil in an oven to brown. We used a Sondiko Culinary Torch to brown and we will use it again when we make Creme Brulee.

For me, this is about making memories and loving every moment!

Yield: 6

Mini S'Mores

Print

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

Crust

• Graham Crackers, 9 crushed finely
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
• 2 tablespoons white sugar

Filling

• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping

• 1 cup mini marshmallows

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crust:

1. Place crackers in a zip lock bag and crush with a rolling pin until fine.
2. In a bowl, combine crumbs and sugar, whisking with a fork.
3. Stir in melted butter and stir until all crumbs moistened.
4. Put about 2 tablespoons crumb mixture in each tartlet pan and press evenly on the bottom and up the sides.
5. Bake about 10 minutes. Cool.

Filling:

1. Combine chips and butter in a glass bowl.
2. Heat the cream in a small saucepan until small bubbles are forming around the edges.
3. Pour the cream over the chips and butter.
4. Use a whisk and combine until smooth. Stir in the sugar and salt.
5. Pour in each crust, filling just below the top rim of the tartlet.
6. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.

Topping:

1. Just prior to serving, sprinkle top with marshmallows. Either use a culinary torch or broil a minute in the oven.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 490Total Fat: 34gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 417mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 2gSugar: 33gProtein: 4g

Nutrition information can vary for a recipe based on factors such as precision of measurements, brands, ingredient freshness, or the source of nutrition data.