Kinnikinnick’s graham-style crackers will make you want S’more

Product: Kinnikinnick Graham Cracker Style S’moreables – $4.59+

Remember those nights in the summer, either at camp or at home, when you’d sit around a fire and roast marshmallows on a stick, layer a graham cracker half with a piece of a Hershey’s bar, slather on the toasted, gooey marshmallow, and smoosh it all together with the other half?  That was the life, yes?

S’mores are every campfire’s guilty pleasure.  But I had to give them up.  Three years ago, when I became a vegetarian, marshmallows were nixed from my diet (they have gelatin in them).  And then, a year ago, when I had to go gluten-free, my graham crackers went bye-bye as well.

I’m not going to lie, it was not easy to give up my S’mores.  Especially when I would attend a bonfire and watch everyone make them.  It was a bummer, for sure.  But, you know, you just get used to it.

Does that mean the craving goes away?  Of course not!

And then grocery store karma happened.  I had one of those magical moments when I was walking through the small gluten-free section of one of the grocery stores in town when I spotted these on the bottom shelf.  Kinnikinnick Foods had come out with a Graham Style Cracker that they were marketing as (ready for this?) S’moreables.  And right there…right on the front of the box, screaming at me from the bottom shelf, was a delicious, ooey-gooey looking S’more made from these gifts from gluten-free heaven.

I was sold.  And so was that box because, budget or not, it found its way into my grocery basket and then in my pantry soon after.

Last night, without a dessert prepared, I decided to bust out my impromptu S’mores as my treat.  But these were not just any S’mores, friends.  Nope…I made mine a Gourmet Gluten-Free Vegetarian S’moreable Treat.  Too much Top Chef?  Perhaps.  But I went all out.

I admit it…I was immediately skeptical about this product after busting open the box and pulling out a cracker for myself and my roommate.  They are much smaller than an actual graham cracker is, and they look like little sheets of cardboard.  Looks can be deceiving though, so I ran with it and prayed that it would be delicious.  After breaking them in half, carefully, with the assistance of a butter knife, I grabbed a Ghirardelli Intense Dark Chocolate Hazelnut square from my chocolate stash and placed them on one side of the cracker.  Because I am a vegetarian, I reached for marshmallow fluff for the marshmallow bit of this treat.  But…how to get that roasted flavor?

Simple.

Kitchen torch.  And I just happen to have one.  (Too many cooking shows bring about spontaneous purchases).

A simple torching of the fluff, and the marshmallow-goodness was roasted as though it had been done over a fire.  AWESOME!  So, it was with great trepidation that I flipped it over onto the chocolate half, and delivered one to my roommate while I toasted up the fluff for the other one.

But when I heard an approving sound from the other room, I knew we hit gluten-free money!  Gone was my concern over the appearance of the product.  With my kitchen torch now stored, I joined my roommate in the other room with my own gourmet s’more.  One bite…and it was better than anything I had before.  The crackers not only smelled like ‘real’ graham crackers, but the taste was so close you’d be hard pressed to tell me these were gluten-free.  Amazing, sweet, delicious and the texture was dead on.  I was beyond impressed.

Even better…only 60 calories a cracker.  Guilt-free graham cracker style dining.  YES!!

Kinnikinnick impressed me once again with one of their products.  I am honestly loving finding brands where every product I have tried has been great.  When I find a name I can trust, I tend to stick with it.  Kinnikinnick is becoming one of those gluten-free brands that I could just go to and find something good without having to worry about it.

If it’s been awhile since you’ve had a S’more due to gluten intolerance…well, those days are numbered.  Find these crackers and treat yourself to that campfire treat…right in the comfort of your own home.  Oh…and if you don’t have a kitchen torch, you can toast up marshmallows (if you aren’t vegetarian) or the fluff in the oven via the instructions on the box of S’moreables.

So here’s to those summer nights filled with a messy handful of graham cracker, chocolate and marshmallow goo.  Because anyway you toast it up…that’s just good stuff.