National S’mores Day and the history of s’mores

August 10th (today!) is National S’mores Day. I’m still not entirely sure who comes up with these days, but I will say that this is one I am more than happy to celebrate. With crispy graham crackers, gooey marshmallows and melty chocolate, what is there not to love about a s’more?

S’mores originated around the turn of the 20th century, right arond the time that commercial marshmallows were becoming widespread. People were looking for things to do with them (aside from eating them straight out the package) and, at some point, someone came up with the s’more.

The treat is not attributed to any one person. It is generally assumed that the s’more was invented by campers or vacationers, then passed from person to person by word of mouth (and perhaps sharing the actual treats) at campsites. The traditional way of making a s’more is to toast a marshmallow over a camp fire, then sandwich it between two graham crackers with a piece of chocolate. The first official recipe for s’mores was published in the 1927 Girl Scout Handbook, which launched the treat into pop culture history.

If you don’t have a campfire handy, you can make s’mores by (a) microwaving the marshmallow-chocolate-graham combination or (b) broiling a graham-chocolate-marshmallow stack and topping it with another graham before eating. I’ve also known people with gas stoves to toast their marshmallows over those flames.

Want some more?

• Homemade graham crackers 
• Peeps S’mores 
• S’mores Cookie Bars 
• S’mores Cupcakes 
• S’mores Cookies
• Homemade Marshmallows
• Nutella S’mores