Don't Lay a Finger on My S'mores

Butterfinger S’mores and Chocolate Peanut Butter

You read that right. Butterfinger S’mores. A good portion of you are probably tempted to skip ahead to feast your eyes on the recipe and the plethora of photos of the indulgent treat. Heck, I’m getting cravings right now just writing about it.

Unintentionally continuing with last week’s theme about comfort foods and childhood favorites, s’mores automatically elicit dozens of lifetime memories. Ironically, only two or three involve the outdoor activities of camping or bonfires. The earliest memories consist of my brothers and me watching the microwave in anticipation, hoping for the heated marshmallow to follow in Mr. Stay Puft’s footsteps in Ghostbusters and blow up. Sadly, despite nearly always bloating to twice its size, the marshmallows never exploded.

Despite the lack of explosions, s’mores was probably the one dessert my parents were not fond of doling out to us. 1) It was the stickiest, messiest thing ever. 2) It was the sweetest thing ever. 3) It brought out the most overactive hyper-ness in all three of us. And all three of those reasons are probably why the delectable S’mores got its name. It leaves you wanting more, no matter how sticky or messy. Seriously, could anything be more fun and sinfully delicious than graham crackers, gooey chocolate and roasted marshmallows?

Well, of course they could. Enter the creamy goodness of peanut butter, my personal addiction. Another classic combination, peanut butter and chocolate have been joined at the hip for decades. The overwhelming popularity of the combination is what propelled the peanut butter cup to become a king in the candy aisle. So why not add the nutty butter to the s’mores family and make it a foursome?

Granted, I knew I wasn’t just going to replace a Hershey bar with a Butterfinger bar in this concoction. That would be too simple. And it would be way too difficult to enjoy, since Butterfingers are usually extra crunchy and almost always annoyingly stick to those back molars. I thought about using a Reese’s peanut butter cup, but its ratio of chocolate to peanut butter didn’t satisfy me. Plus, I wanted a taste of real peanut butter thrown in, none of that processed stuff.

I cheerfully experimented and came up with my own version of chocolate peanut butter. Some Butterfinger bars were crushed, marshmallows were roasted, and everything was sandwiched in between two glorious graham crackers. And boy was I reeling from the sugar high afterwards.

Butterfinger S’mores

Serves 2

• 4 Tb Chocolate Peanut Butter, recipe follows
• 1 fun sized Butterfinger or 1/3 Butterfinger bar, crushed
• 4 Graham cracker squares
• 4 marshmallows or 2 jumbo sized marshmallows

1. Make the chocolate peanut butter. You can also purchase pre-made chocolate peanut butter in stores such as Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. But I prefer the homemade recipe because of its similar taste to Butterfinger filling.
2. Crush Butterfinger bar into small, crumbled pieces; set aside.
3. Spread a satisfying helping of chocolate peanut butter on two graham cracker squares. Sprinkle and gently press down a layer of the crushed Butterfinger on top of one chocolate-peanut-buttered graham cracker. For extra sweetness, if you don’t mind the mess, go ahead and sprinkle a layer of crushed Butterfinger on your second graham cracker as well.
4. Roast the marshmallows either over a flame or use your oven’s broiler. I broiled them at 400F. Watch them carefully; it only takes a minute or two for the tops of the marshmallows to reach the beautiful golden brown color.
5. Layer two roasted marshmallows on top of the crushed Butterfinger graham cracker. Then press the second chocolate-peanut-buttered graham cracker on top of the marshmallow, chocolate-peanut-butter side down.
6. Enjoy the sticky, messy, peanut buttery sweetness.

Chocolate Peanut Butter

Makes 4 Tablespoons

• 1 heaping Tb semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2 heaping Tb creamy peanut butter
• ½ - 1 Tb softened butter, as needed to soften
• 2 tsp Confectioner’s (powdered) sugar

1. Heat and melt the semi sweet chocolate chips in the microwave. Be careful not to scorch them. The best way to prevent scorching is to heat the chips at 20 second intervals and stir them after each interval. In my microwave, it took about 45 seconds to heat it to the desired soft, melty consistency.
2. Mix in the peanut butter, sugar, and butter into the chocolate. Start w/ ½ Tb softened butter and add a bit more to get the desired chocolate peanut butter to a creamy consistency.

Chocolate Peanut Butter (full recipe)

For people who want a larger quantity to save for sandwiches and other treats =)

Makes about 2 cups

• ¾ cup semi sweet chocolate chips, melted
• 1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter
• ¼ cup confectioner's sugar
• 4 – 5 Tb butter, softened

Follow the same directions as above

- Shortcake