{{Short description|Confection of toasted marshmallow and chocolate}} {{good article}} {{use mdy dates|date=March 2022}} {{Infobox food | name = S'more | image = Smores-Microwave.jpg | caption = A s'more made with graham cracker, marshmallow, and chocolate | country = United States | main_ingredient = Graham crackers, chocolate, marshmallows}}
A '''s'more''' (pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|m|ɔː|ɹ|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-smore.wav}}, or {{IPAc-en|s|ə|ˈ|m|ɔː|ɹ}}) is a confection consisting of a toasted marshmallow and chocolate, sandwiched between graham crackers.
In a typical preparation, the marshmallow is toasted over a campfire, and the heat of the marshmallow melts the chocolate, fusing the sandwich together. At home or in restaurants, s'mores are prepared using a range of heating units, including broilers, grills and microwaves. Numerous variations exist that substitute the basic elements and add new ingredients. S'mores are also used as a flavor, in foods such as brownies and cupcakes, and in products such as Pop-Tarts.
The predecessor to the s'more is the ''Marshmallow Marguerite'', a small confection of buttered marshmallow on a saltine cracker that became popular in the early 20th century. In some variations, graham crackers and melted chocolate were included. In the mid-1920s, records of Girl Scouts preparing "Some Mores" using the modern recipe appear, with the contraction ''s'more'' arising by the 1930s. More elaborate versions of s'mores came about in the 1990s, and today, s'mores are popular in the United States and Canada, where they are regarded as nostalgic.
==History== The precursor to s'mores (a contraction of the phrase "some more") is the ''Marshmallow Marguerite''. These are small confections that typically consist of butter and marshmallow spread across a saltine cracker, and are toasted and served with hot chocolate or tea. Popularised by cookbooks and magazines published by the ''Boston Cooking School'', variations published in newspapers and magazines included a 1910 variation using graham crackers as a base, and a 1913 variation with a layer of melted chocolate below the marshmallow. Later in 1913, a commercial version was released by National Biscuit Company under the name "Nabisco Mallowmars",<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last1=Parks |first1=Stella |author-link=Stella Parks |title=BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts |date= |publisher=W.W. Norton & Company |year=2017 |isbn=978-0-393-23986-7 |location=New York & London |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bravetarticonica0000park/page/60/ 61]}}</ref> and in 1917, Moon Pie went on the market as another marshmallow and chocolate combination.<ref name=":3">{{cite book |last=Hausman |first=Judith |title=The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-199-31339-6 |editor-last=Goldstein |editor-first=Darra |editor-link=Darra Goldstein |location=Oxford |pages=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000unse_t7v7/page/622/ 622–623] |chapter=S'mores}}</ref> thumb|1927 recipe for "Some More" in Girl Scouts of America cookbook|left By the mid-1920s, descriptions were being published of s'mores being eaten in a camping setting.<ref name=":1" /> Roasting marshmallows on a fire was well established in the US by this time, with reports appearing in the ''New York Times'' as early as 1902 attesting to the popularity of the practice at "marshmallow parties". In 1925, a Connecticut newspaper described Girl Scouts eating "Some-mores" as, "a graham cracker on which is placed a piece of Hershey chocolate, a toasted marshmallow, another piece of chocolate and a graham cracker".<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/08/dining/best-smores-recipe.html|title=The Perfect S'more Is Practically Burned and a Little Salty|date=August 10, 2022|first=Tanya|last=Sichynsky|work=New York Times|access-date=August 10, 2022|archive-url=https://archive.today/20230922233113/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/08/dining/best-smores-recipe.html|archive-date=September 22, 2023|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="hour">{{Cite news |date=September 9, 1925 |title=Patrol Leaders Have Outing |work=Norwalk Hour |url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hWAvAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1-AFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2458,2551556&dq=some-mores+camping&hl=en }}</ref>
Food writer Stella Parks identifies the setting as particularly appropriate for a crumbly and sticky, dripping confection, where it could be eaten "with abandon".<ref name=":1" /> Alternate versions eaten by Girl Scouts at this time included s'mores substituting apples for graham crackers, and peanut butter for chocolate.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Baggett |first=Nancy |date=August 1, 2007 |title=S'okay by Me if the S'mores Are Made Indoors |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2007/08/01/sokay-by-me-if-the-smores-are-made-indoors/baa5f5dc-f446-4e2b-9226-0500ac4fa4c1/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20260126070354/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2007/08/01/sokay-by-me-if-the-smores-are-made-indoors/baa5f5dc-f446-4e2b-9226-0500ac4fa4c1/ |archive-date=January 26, 2026 |access-date=January 26, 2026 |work=The Washington Post}}</ref> Marguerites continued to be eaten and were popular through the 1930s among women's luncheons and teas, served open-faced and without chocolate. Sometimes, a candied cherry was placed in the center as it came out from under the broiler.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lovegren |first=Sylvia |title=Fashionable Food: Seven Decades of Food Fads |publisher=Macmillan |year=1995 |isbn=978-0-02-575705-9 |location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/fashionablefoods0000love/page/42/ 42]}}</ref> By the end of the decade, "some more" had been contracted to "s'mores".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Gibson |first=William Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QBhDAAAAIAAJ&q=s%27more |title=Recreational Programs for Summer Camps |publisher=Greenberg |year=1938 |page=17}}</ref>
In the 1990s, s'mores became popular among American adults, and elaborate versions appeared in restaurants, dressed with a raspberry coulis and intended to be eaten with cutlery. A s'mores martini was also invented during this time, made with white chocolate and vanilla liqueurs. Food historian Linda Civitello attributes this to Americans in the baby boomer generation turning from low-fat foods and exercise to comfort foods as they aged, with s'mores a food reminiscent of their 1950s childhoods.{{sfn|Civitello|2011|pp=[https://archive.org/details/cuisineculturehi0000civi_q3z5/page/374/ 375]–[https://archive.org/details/cuisineculturehi0000civi_q3z5/page/376/ 376]}}
==Description== {{Multiple image | direction = vertical | image1 = Grillning av marshmallows - panoramio.jpg | image2 = Vegetarian s'mores (3680344160).jpg | caption1 = Marshmallows cooking over a fire | caption2 = Vegetarian, homemade s'mores }} A basic s'more is prepared by roasting a marshmallow on a fire, rotating it to produce an even cook, and placing it between graham crackers with a thin piece of chocolate. For a few seconds, the s'more is allowed to sit<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/03/dining/smores.html|title=What’s Better Than S’mores? A Giant S’mores Tart|url-access=subscription|last=Clark|first=Melissa|date=July 3, 2024|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/R7dZc|archive-date=February 25, 2026|access-date=January 26, 2026|url-status=live|work=The New York Times|author-link=Melissa Clark}}</ref>—as it's close to the heat of the marshmallow, the chocolate melts, adding adhesiveness to the already sticky marshmallow. Together, they hold the s'more collectively.{{sfn|Civitello|2011|p=[https://archive.org/details/cuisineculturehi0000civi_q3z5/page/376/ 376]}} Preferences for how toasted the marshmallow should be vary from lightly cooked to a dark char.<ref name=":2" /> The element of fire sometimes produces burns to the hands.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/smores-ice-cream/article18242683/|title=S'mores Ice Cream|last=Clark|first=Domini|date=July 30, 2005|archive-url=https://archive.today/20260126080045/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/smores-ice-cream/article18242683/|archive-date=January 26, 2026|access-date=January 26, 2026|url-status=live|work=The Globe and Mail}}</ref> Away from a campfire, s'mores are sometimes prepared under a broiler,<ref name=":5" /> microwave, grill, or at the table in restaurants furnished with ''hibachi'' grills.<ref name=":4" />
Numerous variations are made by swapping elements, such as graham crackers for ginger snap, saltines or potato chips, marshmallow for Peeps, and chocolate for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.<ref name=":2" /> More elaborate versions are prepared by some pastry chefs, making their own marshmallows to be paired with graham crackers, and with chocolate they consider high quality.<ref name=":3" /> One such version created by New York-based pastry chef Dominique Ansel used Speculoos as the cookie, salt, and a "maple-infused whiskey ganache" for the chocolate. When ordered, a honey-flavored marshmallow was cooked with a blow-torch.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/smores-not-just-for-the-campfire-anymore/2017/01/31/d2dd3546-ddc2-11e6-ad42-f3375f271c9c_story.html|title=S’mores: Not just for the campfire anymore|last=Krystal|first=Becky|date=February 2, 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20260126070412/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/smores-not-just-for-the-campfire-anymore/2017/01/31/d2dd3546-ddc2-11e6-ad42-f3375f271c9c_story.html|archive-date=January 26, 2026|access-date=January 26, 2026|url-status=live|work=The Washington Post}}</ref>
S'mores are associated by many Americans with childhood memories of preparing the confection around a campfire in the summer. For several food writers, this nostalgia is described as more valuable than the flavor; Amy Scattergood, writing for the ''Los Angeles Times'', describes s'mores as "waxy chocolate, stale Graham crackers, [and] bits of gooey carbon",<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-better-than-s-mores-20150810-story.html|title=This is way better than s’mores|last=Scattergood|first=Amy|date=August 10, 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20260126054339/https://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-better-than-s-mores-20150810-story.html|archive-date=January 26, 2026|access-date=January 26, 2026|url-status=live|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> and a blogger quoting in the ''New York Times'' describes a very sweet flavor that becomes less appealing as an adult.<ref name=":2" /> In the United States, August 10 is designated "National S'Mores Day".<ref name=":3" /> Outside the US, s'mores are a popular confection among Canadian campers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/life/taste-test-10-campers-weigh-in-on-the-perfect-smore/article_d72a7e9c-2255-52bc-a772-817b7ea8f5f9.html|title=Taste test: 10 campers weigh in on the perfect s’more|last=Carville|first=Olivia|date=August 12, 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20260126080107/https://www.thestar.com/life/taste-test-10-campers-weigh-in-on-the-perfect-smore/article_d72a7e9c-2255-52bc-a772-817b7ea8f5f9.html|archive-date=January 26, 2026|access-date=January 26, 2026|url-status=live|work=Toronto Star}}</ref>
In several iterations of modern sweets, including ice cream, brownies, and cupcakes, s'more appears as a flavoring.<ref name=":3" /> Other versions sold by restaurants and cafés include blondies, dessert burritos and empanadas.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/07/dining/smores-blondies-for-the-win.html|title=S’mores Blondies for the Win|last=Sifton|first=Sam|date=July 7, 2019|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250110023358/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/07/dining/smores-blondies-for-the-win.html|archive-date=January 10, 2025|access-date=January 26, 2026|url-status=live|work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> Corporations have also produced s'mores flavored products, such as Kellogg's s'mores Pop-Tarts and Hershey's chocolate cookies,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/08/31/studies-in-pop-tart-culture/|title=Studies in Pop-Tart Culture|archive-url=https://archive.today/20260126071001/https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/08/31/studies-in-pop-tart-culture/|archive-date=January 26, 2026|access-date=January 26, 2026|url-status=live|work=Chicago Tribune}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Salt, Sugar, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us|last=Moss|first=Michael|publisher=Signal|year=2013|isbn=978-0-7710-5708-3|location=Toronto, Ontario|pages=[https://archive.org/details/saltsugarfathowf0000moss/page/n25/ xxii]}}</ref> and in 2017, the Girl Scouts released s'mores cookies in two varieties: crispy and crunchy.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/dining/smores-girl-scout-cookies.html|title=One Cookie, 2 Versions: Why Girl Scout S’mores Won’t All Be the Same|last=Rao|first=Tejal|date=January 13, 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210126174214/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/13/dining/smores-girl-scout-cookies.html|archive-date=January 26, 2021|access-date=January 26, 2026|work=The New York Times}}</ref>
==See also== {{Portal|United States|Food}} * Banana boat * Choco pie * Nanaimo bar * Smorz
==References== ===Citations=== {{Reflist}}
===Sources=== {{refbegin}} * {{Cite book |last=Civitello |first=Linda |year=2011 |title=Cuisine and Culture: A History of Food and People |edition=3rd |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |location=Hoboken, New Jersey |isbn=978-0-470-40371-6 |lccn=2010016916 |oclc=610466425}} {{refend}}
==External links== {{Spoken Wikipedia|date=2026-03-24|En-S'more-article.ogg}} {{commonscat|S'mores}} *{{cookbook-inline}} {{Chocolate desserts}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smore}} Category:Chocolate desserts Category:Marshmallows Category:Snack foods Category:American cuisine Category:American desserts Category:Food and drink introduced in 1925 Category:Canadian cuisine Category:Food for children