the chocolate chronicles, bonus post: twisted s’mores.

Of course you get a bonus chocolate chronicles post; it’s summer! Somehow in the midst of making these three types of chocolate cookies for you, I was also testing the Momofuku graham ganache for their white peach sorbet/graham ganache combo. My white peach sorbet, unfortunately, was quite gross. Not inedible, but I tend to gauge the desirability of something based on how much I want to keep removing it from its location and eat it, and I never had the urge to go back in for more peach sorbet. So that part of the recipe needs some fine-tuning. 

However; this graham ganache is outstanding. Keep-poking-it-with-a-spoon outstanding. The sort of treat you think about and conjure up ways to use it just so you have an actual reason to have it in your fridge. You see, I’m a graham fan. I used to dunk graham crackers in milk when I was little (LIE! I still do it) and soak them until their breaking point. As in, they would literally sometimes fall into the milk glass if I didn’t time it right. This ganache, although much more sophisticated, carries that exact same flavor of a soaked-to-the-brink graham cracker. With none of the mess.

So this is what I imagined for you. By happy accident, I had the chocolate cookies going, so I dunked some of those in this.

Perfection.

And the mind wanders, so then I thought; why not do some marshmallow thing and slap that on there? Because that’s where my mind heads when summer vacation is on the horizon. S’mores. Only not normal s’mores, nooooo. Special s’mores.

At first I thought I’d just melt down some store-bought marshmallows to see how they would fare. The results were fine, but that’s sort of it; “fine.” I wanted “whoa.” Enter the fluff.

I made homemade marshmallow fluff to top them with, and believe me when I say it is so much better than just microwaving marshmallows and some butter together. And not hard. Well, this particular recipe isn’t hard, I should say; I had a “fluff-n-fail” with the first recipe I tried, but this one worked out perfectly, and it tastes loads better than the failed attempt.

So here’s my gift to you: Twisted S’mores. The cookie solid part is the chocolate, and the gooey inside is the graham. How fun is that. And as if that weren’t crazy enough for you, you get to pick which of the chocolate chronicles cookies you’d like to do this with. I tried all three types, and all three completely work with the graham/marshmallow combo.

My favorite pairing (and the one pictured) is the Momofuku Chocolate Chocolate (Chocolate) cookie. The dark intensity of the chocolate works really well with the sweetness of the graham. However, since both of these (fluff aside) are Momofuku recipes, they pack a salty punch which I love, but some may find too strong. Cut down the salt in both slightly if you like this combination, but don’t want as big a kick of salt.

The Mexican Hot Chocolate cookies are strange and lovely with this, and the slight heat from the cookies cools down under all the ganache and fluff. Certainly this one is the farthest removed from a normal s’mores flavor, so proceed accordingly.

Finally, the Chocolate Chubbies, with their pleasing little walnut/pecan insides, give an added crunch to a traditional s’mores taste. Their nuttiness balances out the sweetness of the toppings, but doesn’t overpower them. I would suggest flattening these out a bit prior to baking, because their roundness makes topping them more difficult than a flat cookie. Adjust your cooking time down a few minutes as well, as your centers won’t be as voluminous and will bake a bit faster.

As for assembly, people; this is summer camp food, not Michelin star stuff here. Smack that ganache on the tops, then use either a spoon to scoop the marshmallow cream onto each one, or do what I do and fashion a squeezie bag from a plastic storage bag. Position it in the center and squeeze your fluff so it puffs out big and round. Toast the tops just a bit with a blowtorch (Scott: please let Katherine use the blowtorch), and if not serving immediately, I pop them back into the fridge to hang out until the party begins.

So there you have it: my “thank you” for having fun with the chocolate chronicles while I tested a few new chocolate cookie recipes. Here’s to many parties this summer where s’mores somehow seem necessary.

The cookies you can find all over this blog, and I’ll direct you accordingly in the recipe. Graham ganache adapted from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook by Christina Tosi.  Marshmallow fluff adapted slightly from chicagoist.com, and you can find the original recipe here.

 Twisted S’mores

for the ganache:

• 1/2 recipe (about 1 cup) graham crust (it’s in my post for compost cookies)
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

for the marshmallow fluff:

• 2 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 scant cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract (if you want them stark white; if you don’t mind a little ivory color, use the pure vanilla extract)