Turns Out You Don't Need A Campfire To Make Delicious S'mores

Nothing beats s'mores straight from the flames of a campfire. That smoky char, the crispy-crunchy ooey-gooey marshmallow, the melty chocolate — it's a supermodel of a dessert, even if it turns everyone who eats it into a hot mess. But who minds the sticky fingers, really? No, in my opinion, the biggest drawback of s'mores is the fire that you need to make them. Not everyone has a real fireplace or a firepit in the backyard, so what are we supposed to do when that s'mores craving hits? Suffer s'moresless? Perish the thought. While there's an irreplaceable charm to fire-roasted s'mores, that's not the only way you can make them. All you need is a broiler.

Most ovens these days come with a broiler, which you can use on everything from sad supermarket tomatoes to reheated mashed potatoes. To make a delicious and evenly-browned s'mores with your broiler, first prepare a small pan by lining it with aluminum foil. You can use non-stick foil or just lightly grease the foil with cooking spray. Preheat your broiler and place however many marshmallows you want on the tray. Once the broiler's ready, just pop the tray in and wait until the tops turn brown. 

You're going to want to babysit your marshmallows the entire time they roast, since it should only take a few minutes. Once your marshmallows are done, just use them to crown a graham cracker and chocolate square, and you've got yourself a s'mores.

Broilers are pretty intuitive and easy to figure out, but here are a few tips for making the best possible broiler s'mores. First, you may actually want to keep your oven door open while using the broiler. If you have an electric stove, it'll cycle the heating on and off to maintain its temperature, and that's the last thing you want while broiling. You need that even, continuous temperature for a uniform golden crust. You also want to aim for higher rack placement. You're just browning your mallows rather than cooking them, so they don't need to be on the bottom. But since marshmallows are delicate, putting them right under the broiler may blast them into a charred doneness before they're warmed through. Test your rack at different placements until you get your desired results.

Finally, keep your broiler clean! If you cook fatty, smoky, savory foods, you may end up baking traces of those flavors into your marshmallows if you don't clean your broiler between uses. People love sweet and savory combos, but "marshmallow and leftover broiled turkey" probably won't be landing on a list of unique, must-try s'mores combos any time soon.