Toasted Marshmallow & Graham Cracker Dippers
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Give your next cup of hot chocolate the full campfire-treatment with these toasted marshmallow graham crackers!
It is December. It is cold, wet, and the sky outside gets a little more grey every day. Stuck inside, I decided it was the perfect time to work on a hot chocolate recipe. Not just any hot chocolate, though. I wanted something that felt like a little beam of summer in the middle of winter.
In my head, that could only mean one thing: s’mores hot chocolate. I wanted a nostalgic elixir, something that would send me straight back to those carefree summer camping trips. So I set out to recreate the holy trinity of chocolate, toasted marshmallows, and graham crackers in drink form.
It did not go well.
Toasted, dehydrated, powdered marshmallows just made the cocoa sweeter, not toastier. Graham crackers disintegrated into a sad sort of porridge. After a dozen failed attempts, I was ready to give up.
Then it finally clicked.
Instead of trying to stir the s’more into the hot chocolate, I needed something to dunk into it. Something even toastier and crunchier than the original.
Enter these dehydrated toasted marshmallow graham cracker dippers. The mini marshmallows get broiled and fused to a graham cracker, then slowly dried until the crunch level is off the charts. Dunk them into hot chocolate and you get all the flavor of a campfire s’more, even if it is the middle of winter and you are nowhere near a campground.
Tips for Making This
- Sequence Is Everything: Broiler, cool, dehydrate, cool – in that order. This is the only way to achieve perfectly toasted marshmallows that are properly fused onto the graham cracker.
- Do not walk away from the broiler
Once the tray goes under the broiler, stay right there, door cracked, and eyes peeled. Marshmallows go from pale to perfectly toasty to burnt in seconds. Keep the oven door slightly ajar and watch closely. - Dehydrate (oven or dehydrator)
To dehydrate, you can either use a dehydrator (set to 150 F) or your oven. If using the oven, set it to the lowest temperature (often 200F), place the tray on the lowest rack, and use a wooden spoon to prop open the door. - Cool completely before storing
Let the dippers cool all the way on the tray. If they are even slightly warm when you seal them, even a tiny amount of trapped steam will undo all the crispiness you achieved by dehydrating.
Ingredient Notes
- Graham crackers: Classic honey grahams give the most nostalgic s’more flavor. (We use Annie’s Graham crackers because they seem to have the fewest additives.) Cinnamon grahams also work and add a warm holiday twist. Gluten free graham style crackers can be used instead if needed.
- Marshmallows: Mini marshmallows melt and fuse together quickly and give the best coverage. The visuals of a toasted quilt of marshmallows is also just amazing. If you only have large marshmallows, cut them into smaller pieces and pack them tightly on top of each cracker.
Storage Tips
- Short term: Let the dippers cool completely on the tray, then transfer them to an airtight sealable container. Reseal between snack sessions. They should stay crisp for a week or so.
- Long term storage (or gifting): Pack the cooled dippers into a mason jar and vacuum seal it. In a vacuum sealed jar they can stay crisp for quite some time, which is perfect if you want to make a big batch ahead for the holidays or for winter hot chocolate season.
Vacuuming sealing your mason jars is super easy with jar vacuum sealer, and will allow you to keep these dippers crisp for weeks (if not months!). Perfect if you’re planning of giving them as a holiday gift.
Holiday Gift Idea: S’mores Hot Chocolate Jars
If you are looking for an easy homemade gift, these s’more crackers are perfect. The flavor and texture are unlike anything you can find at the store, and paired with a jar of hot cocoa mix they feel cozy, thoughtful, and very “winter camping at home.”
You can put these together in an afternoon, line them up on the counter, and be done with neighbor gifts, teacher gifts, or stocking stuffers in one go.
How to Pack Them as Gifts
- Fill a jar with dippers: Once the s’more crackers are fully cool and dry, stack them into a clean mason jar. Leave a little headspace at the top so they do not get crushed.
- Seal for long lasting crunch: Screw on the lid tightly. For the crispiest, longest lasting texture, vacuum seal the mason jar. Stored this way, the crackers can stay crunchy for weeks (if not months).
- Add hot cocoa mix: Fill a second jar with your favorite homemade hot cocoa mix. We like to use our Instant Hot Cocoa Mix recipe here.
- Label and decorate: Tie on a simple tag with serving instructions, like “Add a few tablespoons of cocoa mix to hot milk or water, then dunk s’mores crackers and enjoy.” Add ribbon or twine if you want to dress it up a bit.
- Gift and enjoy: Hand them out to friends, neighbors, coworkers, or tuck them into stockings.
Toasted Marshmallow & Graham Cracker Dippers
Ingredients
- graham crackers
- mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Place graham crackers on a lined baking sheet, top with mini marshmallows.
- Put them under the broiler until the marshmallows just begin to turn golden brown. Remove and let them cool.
- Dehydrate them in the oven at it’s lowest temp or a dehydrator at 150F until hard.
- Store in an airtight container.
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