Celebrate National S’more Day
August 10 is National S’more Day! I have decided to honour the day with some s’more recipes and great mysteries to read by the campfire (or in the comfort of your home if you are not a camper or it’s winter where you live. Campfires and stories go together like… graham crackers, marshmallow, and chocolate.
You know the basic s’more recipe, which has been around since at least 1927! Well, today, I’ll bring you some variations!
Classic S’mores
Ingredients:
- Graham crackers
- Marshmallows
- Chocolate squares
Instructions:
- Toast a marshmallow over a campfire or stove.
- Place a square of chocolate on a graham cracker.
- Top with the hot marshmallow, then another graham cracker.
- Press gently and enjoy warm.
Gluten-Free Smores + Gluten-Free Murder
First up is are gluten-free s’mores. For the celiac, conventional graham crackers are a big no-no. You could go with a commercial gluten-free graham cracker, such as Smoreables from Kinnickinnick, which are primarily pea flour, but they also have rice in them. This recipe for buckwheat graham crackers has never failed me.
Gluten-Free Graham Crackers
Paired Book: Gluten-Free Murder
Ingredients:
- 1 cup light buckwheat flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions:
- Cream coconut oil and sugar together. Add vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl combine all dry ingredients.
- Add water sparingly until a doughy consistency is achieved. Don’t add too much!
- Once you combine the dough with your hands you may find it becomes wetter.
- Form dough into a 1 inch round disc shape, wrap in plastic wrap and put in fridge.
- Roll out completely flat on a piece of parchment by placing plastic wrap on top and rolling it out with a rolling pin.
- Peel off plastic wrap. Cut into rectangles and poke a couple times with a fork.
- Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes.
I use these graham crackers with Dandies vegan marshmallows and dark chocolate for a gluten-free, vegan s’more that I can eat. Delicious. The only problem is stopping!
Pair these with Gluten-Free Murder.
Gluten-Free Murder
Erin Price moves to Bald Eagle Falls, a place where everyone knows everyone as well as everyone else’s business, taking over the store left to her by her aunt to start up a gluten-free bakery. The grand opening is marred by just one thing, the death of her business rival, Angela Plaint. It appears that Angela was poisoned by one of Erin’s cupcakes, making her a prime suspect.
Equipped with cupcakes, her desire for the truth, and new bakery assistant Vicky’s help, Erin goes head-to-head against Detective Terry Piper to solve the murder. Rumors of treasure hunting, drug dealing, and a missing boy swirl around Bald Eagle Falls as Erin tries to sort the clues from the red herrings and find the killer before the killer can take care of her.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ P.D. Workman has done it again! This introduction to a new series involves a fresh start, sympathetic characters, and a murder. I spent the last ten minutes of the book standing up to read because I was off to do something but just couldn’t put it down until I got to the end. I haven’t been that invested in a book in a while.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Couldn’t put it down !! From a cute kitten to a police dog to a bakery for people with allergies ! Highly recommend!
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Peanut Butter S’mores + What the Cat Knew
The next variation is magical… peanut butter.
Reece’s Peanut Butter cups taught us how well chocolate and peanut butter go together. And did you ever have Confetti Squares, those delightful peanut-butter-and-mini-marshmallow treats? I love those.
Peanut Butter S’mores
Paired Book: What the Cat Knew
Ingredients:
- Graham crackers
- Chocolate
- Marshmallows
- Peanut butter
Instructions:
- Toast a marshmallow over a campfire or stove.
- Spread a good slathering of peanut butter on a graham cracker.
- Add a piece of chocolate on top of the peanut butter.
- Top with the hot marshmallow, then another graham cracker.
- Press gently and enjoy warm.
Let’s pair this enchanting twist on s’mores with What the Cat Knew
What the Cat Knew
Reg Rawlins, professional con, has really gotten herself into a bind this time.
The fortune teller gig started as a scam, but she suddenly finds herself tangled up in the case of Warren Blake, a man who she thought was dead. It turns out he may still be alive, but in mortal peril.
Reg has always taken the quick exit, the easy way out, but running out on this racket might mean someone else’s death.
Staying in it might mean hers.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ It sounds like a fairly gentle story, but there is a lot of suspense involved. Add a bunch of humor to the mix and you are in for a treat … This is a story that you don’t want to put down.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This book has all my favourite things: heart, great writing, nearly-flawless editing, something unusual in the air, and a cat.
Like paranormal mysteries? Psychics, witches, fairies, and more! Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author P.D. Workman waves her wand to transport readers to the myth- and magic-filled small town of Black Sands for a paranormal cozy mystery to be solved by Reg Rawlins and her friends.
A self-professed con artist practicing as a contact to the dead, a drop-dead gorgeous warlock, and a psychic cat—what could go wrong?
Fall under Reg’s spell today.
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Banana Boats + Due East, Beasts & Campfire Feasts
This next one is bananas!
Banana Boats
Paired Book: Due East, Beasts & Campfire Feasts
Ingredients:
- Banana (with peel)
- Milk chocolate
- Mini marshmallows
- Crumbled graham crackers
Instructions:
- Cut the banana down the middle along the concave side, not all the way through but until the knife just grazes the peel on the other side.
- Pull the peel and banana slightly apart to create space.
- Stuff toppings in a single line down the center of the banana. Mash banana to sides for extra room if needed.
- Add chocolate, mini marshmallows, and crumbled graham crackers.
- Cook over campfire until chocolate melts and marshmallows are toasted.
Add this book to your campfire feast:
Due East, Beasts & Campfire Feasts
Imogen thought escaping the king’s wrath would give her everything she wanted. But her relationship with Prince Hank is tougher than an overcooked flan and the welcome they get on Badlands Island is far less than friendly. Accused of kidnapping, Imogen proposes they prove their worth by traveling through a deadly forest to retrieve a magical herb at the top of a mountain…
Forced to take her baking skills on the road, Imogen and her friends must navigate monsters, secrets, and a possible traitor. And the little matter of the impending typhoon is seriously compressing their timeline…
With the storm and creatures closing in, can Imogen complete the quest or will her next meal be her last?
Toaster Oven Teddies + Death Walks a Dog
Author Tess Baytree shares this fun variation!
Toaster Oven Teddies
Paired Book: Death Walks a Dog
Ingredients:
- 1 graham cracker broken into quarters
- Marshmallow creme (fluff)
- Chocolate
- Teddy Grahams
Instructions:
- Break graham cracker into quarters along the dotted lines.
- Spread marshmallow creme on each piece of graham cracker.
- Nestle a chunk of chocolate in the marshmallow creme.
- Put in toaster oven for a minute or two until marshmallow starts to brown.
- Remove and seat a Teddy Graham or two in the melted chocolate.
Cuddle up with your pup and eat these s’mores with Death Walks a Dog.
Death Walks a Dog
Now that she’s in her fifties, Penelope Standing has life pretty well figured out. Her pet sitting business keeps her busy, her neighbors are conspiring to get her boyfriend, Jake, to propose, and she has just enough free time to make the corrupt mayor’s life miserable.
Then she arrives to walk Brutus, the lovable but ill-behaved mastiff — and finds his owner, Jezza, dead.
While the police work to uncover Jezza’s past, Penelope launches an investigation of her own, talking to her clients as she takes care of their pets. Even Brutus, “temporarily” staying with Penelope and Jake, provides clues.
More than one person had a motive for murder. But only one of them is coming after Penelope…
Fancy DIY S’mores Bar + Campfire Blend
Maybe you would like an assemble-your-own combination of fancy s’mores!
Fancy DIY S’mores Bar
From Love and Lemons
Paired Book: Campfire Blend
Ingredients:
- Graham crackers
- Marshmallows
- Variety of fancy chocolates
- Fruit: bananas, strawberries, blackberries
- Salted caramel
- Almond butter
Instructions:
- Roast marshmallows over a campfire or gas stove.
- Set up a DIY bar with all ingredients.
- Mix and match s’mores ingredients as desired.
- Smush together and eat!
Campfire Blend
Delicious s’mores aren’t the only thing leaving a trail of crumbs behind in this baffling whodunit of the Paramour Bay Mysteries by USA Today Bestselling Author Kennedy Layne…
Relaxing massages, chilled mimosas, and hot saunas were all supposed to be a part of a weekend getaway for Raven, her best friend, and her witty familiar. Instead, they end up with curious fireflies and pesky mosquitos as bunkmates at a rugged camping retreat meant for those seeking to escape from their everyday lives in the rat race.
Deciding to make the most of a bad situation, Raven convinces her two tagalongs that campfires and ghost stories would be a fun experience. Things don’t go quite as planned when one of the guests turn up dead! It appears that they have another puzzling mystery to solve, and it just might have something to do with whoever or whatever is hiding in the woods.
You’ll want to bring along a flashlight, a sleeping bag, and your favorite backpack full of camping supplies to solve this campfire murder mystery!
Which will you try first?
💬 Which recipe-mystery pairing are you trying first? Let me know in the comments
