Last night was Halloween, definitely an American tradition. We participated in trick-or-treating in our neighborhood, as we have done for as long as I can remember. This year we counted 355 trick-or-treating youngsters that stopped by our house for candy. For safety, we only pass out pre-packaged candy. But here’s another idea for a healthy trick-or-treat snack: homemade graham cracker s’mores. This week I show how to make s’mores and photos of a sampling of the trick-or-treaters who came to our door on Halloween with interesting costumes including a very good Trump impersonation..

Healthy Homemade Graham Crackers

Can you really make homemade graham crackers? You bet. Homemade graham crackers are made from graham flour with honey, a hint of cinnamon and a few other ingredients. Graham flour is a type of course whole wheat flour containing wheat germ and bran; it is a very healthy, high fiber flour.

These are taste like a nutty and flavorful wafer cookie–much better than purchased ones. It’s a bit tricky to make the graham crackers but they turn out great if you follow the instructions. I plan to some give tips for making homemade graham crackers in a post in a few weeks.

Top the graham crackers with marshmallows and chocolate for a delicious snack of s’mores. Or add cheese and fruit for a healthy autumn treat. 

Martha Stewart’s Living Magazine

The idea for making homemade graham crackers and s’mores came from a “Martha Stewart’s Living Magazine” article of July 2012.. (//www.marthastewart.com/904186/star-smores) The photo was perfect and the s’mores looked tempting. I thought I’d like to try to make the recipe some day. When I searched for the on-line recipe this fall, I found that Martha Stewart must have been quite the camper or Girl Scout. She has several several recipes for homemade graham crackers and s’mores on her WEB site and even a video of how to make the homemade graham crackers.

What are S’mores?

In case you did not go to summer camp as a youngster, s’mores are marshmallows which are roasted over a campfire until they are golden brown and soft. The melted and slightly burnt marshmallows are then sandwiched between graham crackers along with a piece of Hershey’s milk chocolate.  And you can’t stop at eating just one of these gooey treats–hence the name: s’mores.  They are addictive. S’mores probably began in Boy Scout and Girl Scout camps, but now they are a mainstream American treat.

I have many memories of roasting marshmallows over a campfire for s’mores at camps in the Virginia Blue Ridge mountains when the sun went down in the sky. In the night the mountains have an dark, eerie feel, surrounded by quiet trees, cool crisp air.  Spooky Halloween.

Making Home-Cooked S’mores

I don’t have a campfire; but my oven broiler works to make s’mores. Place the graham crackers on a baking sheet. Use either homemade graham crackers or purchased ones. For the homemade graham crackers, I used Martha Stewart’s Living Magazine recipe. See reference.Add a marshmallow to the center of each graham cracker.Broil on the center rack of oven for several minutes until the tops of the marshmallows are brown. Keep a close watch on the oven  — you don’t want burnt marshmallows.Using tongs, turn the marshmallows over. You must roast both sides, the marshmallows are not soft if roasted on only one side.

Before placing back in oven, top with several pieces of a Hershey’s milk chocolate bar. Broil for a minute or two longer until the marshmallows are golden brown and the chocolate begins to soften and melt. Any brand of chocolate bar can be used; traditionally Hershey’s brand is the one for s’mores.If desired, top with another graham cracker. I preferred open face s’mores for this blog post. These smelled and tasted like the real thing. A delicious gooey treat!

Reference: Star S’mores. Martha Stewart Living, July 2012
(//www.marthastewart.com/904186/star-smores)

Trick-or-Treaters at Our House

Here’s a sampling of the trick-or-treaters who stopped by our house. A total of 355 youngsters came for candy treats.  Here is the first group of trick-or-treaters. You can see from how this mom is dressed that it was a warm night.

The trick-or-treaters ranged from all ages — infants to adults (although adults don’t trick or treat or wear masks–they are just along as chaperons). Not this many children live in our neighborhood. As with many suburban areas, an influx of visitors from parts of town that aren’t so safe at night come to trick or treat. We think that this year those displaced from flooded areas added to the crowd.

Years ago we  turned our garage into a haunted house including smoke and spotlights, scary music, cardboard tunnels to crawl through and our kids and friends dressed up in spooky costumes. Folks returned every year for the haunted house. Trick or treating has definitely change over the years — we go with the flow. I think that setting an example of being a friendly neighbor is important. And my husband loves to hand out the candy!

The parent chaperons enjoyed themselves, last night.Seeing double?

Trump.

What’s this all about?

Princess.

And spooky.

Let’s be cool.

Yes, cool.

Mary Had A Little Lamb — mom is Mary.

Cutest baby lamb.

Best dog costume – the Wonder-Bread Dog.

Creative costumes; good weather; fun family night. Let’s hope this tradition can continue.