Marshmallow -

by Emily

Cocktail O’Clock: I Yam What I Yam

We’re nearing the end of winter, but there are still more cozy cocktails to be sipped! Before the spring sun comes back, snuggle up to an inspired s’mores-ish cocktail, made with sweet potato (yes, sweet potato!) shrub. This recipe comes from Whisler’s, one of Austin’s favorite craft cocktail bars. (And one of my personal favorite places to grab a drink and some spicy Thai food!)

I Yam What I Yam

1.5 oz Butter-Infused Flor de Cana 7yr
.5 oz Milletti Amaro
1 oz Sweet Potato Shrub
2 dashes of Fee Bros Black Walnut bitters & 1 dash of Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas bitters

Shake and strain over ice in an old-fashioned glass. Garnish with toasted marshmallow.

by Emily

Two of Hearts: Ultimate Valentine’s S’mores

The best thing about Easter — PEEPS! — is now the best thing about Valentine’s Day! A few weeks ago, a box of glory appeared on my doorstep. A box full of VALENTINE’S PEEPS. Oh, yes. It was ON. (And by “it,” I mean “intense sugar highs and almost immediate sugar crashes.”)

Take a glimpse of the offerings:

Chocolate Mousse teddybears, Strawberry Creme hearts, Vanilla Creme hearts, regular marshmallow hearts, sugar-free hearts, and Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry chicks! My favorites are the Vanilla Creme and Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry.

So, what to do with all these marshmallows? There’s an obvious answer here: s’mores.

Recently, one of my (GENIUS) coworkers mentioned an awesome trick: instead of using a regular ol’ Hershey bar in your s’more, use a Reese’s Cup to add some peanut buttery goodness. What?! Mind. Blown. Lucky for me (and you!) Reese’s makes heart-shaped candies for Vday. This is some heart-on-heart action.

I mean… I don’t even know what to tell y’all about this. It’s so simple. The answer was there all along. REESE’S CUPS. I made mine with a Vanilla Creme Peep (because I love me some vanilla + PB) and it was heavenly. (By the way, no shame in using a microwave on this guilty little pleasure… it’s way too cold to be messing with a backyard bonfire this winter.)

by BS

Artsy S’more of the Day

From bars to peeps to ice cream and well, everything, if there’s a new way to eat s’mores, we’re into it. Today’s s’mores mashup comes from Emily Pizza in Brooklyn, where their wood-fired pizza dough is re-used as an encasing for a S’MORES CALZONE, filled with lots of gooey chocolate and marshmallow, with a graham cracker crumble on top. Yes.

And the after shot…

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by snebbu

Endless Peeps: Chocolate Mousse Marshmallow Cookie Bars

Peeps. I love Peeps. And I love that the Peeps peeps are creating the sugar-coated marshmallow treats for just about every holiday. I even got a mint-flavored, Christmas tree shaped, chocolate covered peep in my stocking this year. So, you could imagine my excitement when I received a box of a variety of Peeps products at my door. The varieties ranged from vanilla creme hearts, raspberry and strawberry chocolate covered Peeps, strawberry creme Peeps, heartshappd marshmallow Peeps, even chocolate-dipped Peeps.

We loved the Peanut Butter Comfort Six Layer S’mores Bars so much that we decided to create a variation involving peeps…and maybe brownies. After debating chocolate chip vs. sugar cookie dough, we decided to go with a base of a sugar cookie. The result was something between a shortbread and graham cracker crust (maybe because there are whole graham crackers in the middle). Unfortunately, one tube of cookie dough was not enough, so we smothered the rest of the concoction with brownie batter. Between the cookie dough and brownie batter is whole graham crackers, chocolate mousse peeps, and chocolate chips.

Interestingly enough, the peeps kind of spread into every crevice available—even downward into the cookie dough. Every bite has a different texture. Sometimes the crunchiness of the graham cracker comes through, other times the chocolatey brownie and chocolate chips, and other times the gooey-ness of the marshmallow takes over. However, the flavor of the chocolate mousse is quite the complement to the overall taste. One thing I would change? More Peeps!

Chocolate Mousse Marshmallow Cookie Bars

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by snebbu

Slow Cookers Gone Wild! Top 10 Super Bowl Slow Cooker Dishes

The Super Bowl is almost upon us. People will gather around TVs, big and small, to complete the holiday feasting in one last hurrah. Snacks will be enjoyed on the couch while watching commercials and loyal fans will get up for refills when the game comes back for a few quick minutes before more commercials.

But I digress. What really matters during this year’s superbowl is the food. Of course, there are wings, chips, dips, and other salty snacks. But what else can we add to the spread this year? How about some chili to go on the hot dogs? Or pulled pork? Maybe some hearty soup. Get out your slow cooker and impress your guests with something more than 3D Doritos (don’t pretend that you don’t remember). Enough of the jibber jabber—here are ten ways to use that slow cooker to its full potential!

10. Mini Chicken Sausage Pineapple Appetizers

Regular cocktail weenies are for…well…weenies. While in the midst of winter, something a bit tropical may turn your mood around. If it were me, I would sandwhich a weenie between two pineapples. Or weenie, pineapple, weenie? I guess it depends on which way you swing? Weenie or chicken sausage – I think both would work.

RECIPE: Misty Yoon

9. 21st Amendment Brew Free! Chili

My friend got me an awesome encyclopedia of craft beer recipes. Chili is great and beer is great. Soo…why not combine great beer and chili? 21st Amendment brings us a delicious twist on chili in John Holl’s The American Craft Beer Cookbook.

Recipe: John Holl

8. Coke Ribs

Ribs do not have to be laborious day-long projects of putting them in foil after lathering them in bbq sauce several times, then moving them from the oven to the grill. You get the point. You can take that approach, OR you can through them into a slow cooker with a sauce made with cola. They’ll fall apart, while giving you a unique sweetness unlike your standard bbq sauce.

Recipe: Cardamom Addict

7. S’mores Dip

Unfortunately, too often I find that my sweet tooth is not satisfied at a Super Bowl party. Well, now you can put the slow cooker to good use for us healthy folk that enjoy chocolate…and anything else with sugar in it.

Recipe: Little Indiana

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by snebbu

SIX Layer Cookie S’mores Bars

You know how we like marshmallows. And chocolate. And peanut butter. And sweets. Well, ML invited the fiance and I to a dinner party and requested that we provide the desserts. We wanted something quick and easy, but something complicated that will make you go “whoa.” The interwebs weren’t giving me a “whoa” AND quick and easy. Onward to the cookbook library and I found this recipe in Peanut Butter Comfort.

Thank goodness I own a cookbook dedicated entirely to peanut butter. Really. It came down to three recipes in the book, and believe it or not, this one was the easiest. It paid off. Once the oozing marshmallow-stuffed, graham cracker-wedged, chocolate bar and cookie sandwich came out of the oven, the fiance and I just stared, smelling it and salivating at the finished product.

I started wondering which was was best to serve it. Hot or cold? Do I want gooey marshmallow and chocolate to end up in my man beard for later enjoyment? Or do I want to enjoy the crunch of the hershey bar in the middle of the cookie, surrounded by peanut butter and marshmallow? If hot—a la mode? Is ice cream necessary on top? Or is it going to be just as good without? We went with serving warm. The verdict: dog ear that son of a bitch, because we’re doing this again. It’s settled.

Peanut Butter Comfort’s Six Layer Peanut Butter S’mores

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by Emily

The Best Ever Pumpkin Cheesecake. Period.

Are you scrambling to figure out the perfect dessert recipe for your Thanksgiving? Your problem is about to be 100% solved.

Last year was my first Texan Thanksgiving and first holiday with my boyfriend Rob’s family. They make a gigantic feast (feeding 30+ people) full of Thanksgiving favorites and traditional southern treats. I wanted to contribute by using my culinary skills to make a statement. A delicious statement. A statement that can only be made by the best pumpkin dessert I have ever found: Pumpkin Cheesecake with Marshmallow-Sour Cream Topping and Gingersnap Crust.

I originally discovered this little slice of heaven through my food loving pal Chris, but it originated in Bon Appétit magazine a few years back. Usually I don’t like to share recipes I didn’t create myself, but there is no way I could top this cheesecake, so why bother? I promise it is the BEST. I’ve been making it for… oh, four years now, and every single person who tries it falls in love. People ask me about my pumpkin cheesecake year-round. Bring it to a holiday party and it will disappear before your eyes. Be warned, though, if you make this once, your friends and family will beg you to make it again and again every year.

And yes, that includes Rob’s mom, who asked me to bring the pumpkin cheesecake to Thanksgiving again this year. Stamp of approval from a Texan mother? Now that’s worth its weight in gold (or cream cheese).

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Marshmallow-Sour Cream Topping and Gingersnap Crust

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