Ritzy S’mores Skewers

No summer is complete without a s’mores session around a campfire after a hot summer day. And while there’s nothing wrong with the tried-and-true combination of graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow, there’s always room for some new combinations to mix things up a bit.

My sister’s genius s’mores recipe sandwiches the toasted marshmallow between Ritz crackers spread with Nutella, and it inspired this s’more where everything (including the cracker!) can be threaded right onto the skewer before it’s toasted to perfection. Peanut butter, marshmallow, chocolate chips, banana, and buttery Ritz crackers stack together into one crispy, crunchy, ooey gooey, salty-sweet dessert.

I’ve always been a little impatient waiting for the toasted marshmallow to melt the piece of chocolate in a s’more, so I figured out a faster, easier way to get that melty, chocolatey moment: stuff your marshmallows with chocolate chips. It’s actually quite easy: Thread the skewer through the marshmallow and then just push chocolate chips into the center. They melt beautifully and evenly inside the marshmallow, giving you a fun molten chocolate center.

• Poke a hole through the crackers. Ritz crackers already have a hole in the center, so use that as a guide to where the skewer should be poked through. Make the hole in the cracker with the skewer before spreading the cracker with peanut butter so things are less messy.
• Spread the crackers with peanut butter. Spread a thin layer of PB onto the crackers.
• Stuff the marshmallows. Poke a hole in a marshmallow and push a few chocolate chips into the center.
• Assemble the skewers. Thread a complete s’more onto the skewer: Cracker, chocolate-stuffed marshmallow, banana slice, cracker. Make sure the peanut butter is on the inside of the s’more, as it acts like a bit of glue to hold things together.
• Grill to perfection. Toast the s’mores over a campfire or place the skewers on the grates of an outdoor grill. When the marshmallow is golden brown, slide the whole s’more off and enjoy.

• Do one at a time over the campfire. If you’re planning to cook these over a fire, use long s’mores skewers and thread one sandwich at a time. It’s easier to control where the s’more is above the flame if you’re only toasting one s’mores sandwich.
• For grilling, you can do more. If you’re cooking on a grill, you can thread two sets onto a regular 10 to 12-inch skewer for a double treat or if you’re making some for people or kids who don’t want to grill their own. In either case, the skewers aren’t on the flames for very long, so no need to soak the skewers first.
• Make the recipe your own. This recipe is easily adaptable to personal preferences: You can skip the peanut butter, bananas, or even the chocolate chips, or add a swipe of Nutella or jelly to the mix. Any nut butter would also be great here.
• Make it a party. For a fun party activity, set up an assembly line with all of the ingredients and let the s’mores makers build theirs as they like. Just make sure to have lots of napkins around to clean up sticky hands and faces after the treats are devoured.