Chocolate peanut butter s’mores

Nothing but sweetness in Ottolehni’s new book. We mostly know s’mores from American films, where they are eaten around a campfire. Here’s how to make them at home, including peanut butter.

Ottolenghi and his writing partner Helen Goh on this recipe: “This is our version of the chocolate- and marshmallow-filled crackers for which marshmallows are traditionally melted over a campfire, placed between two biscuits and finally dipped in melted chocolate. These are slightly more elaborate, but surely there must be a scouting badge available for homemade marshmallows, don’t you think?

Helen’s childhood memories of Wagon Wheels – chocolate-coated round biscuits with marshmallow in the middle – are responsible for her tendency to make the simple version, without the crunchy peanut butter in the filling. Yotam, on the other hand, with childhood memories full of nutty tahini, would definitely like peanut butter in the filling. Both versions are delicious.”

Method
For the biscuits, put the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high to high speed for 2 minutes, until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and, once incorporated, add the maple syrup and ground peanuts. Sift in the flour and salt and mix into the butter mixture until you have a cohesive dough. Turn it out onto a clean work surface and gently knead it into a ball in a few seconds. Wrap loosely in cling film, press into a round disc and refrigerate the dough for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Line two baking sheets with baking paper and set aside. Remove the dough from the refrigerator 5 minutes before rolling it out so it can soften slightly. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface into a sheet just under ½ centimetre thick; you can also cut it in half before rolling if you find that easier. Cut out 44 rounds from the dough using a 6 cm round cutter and place them on the lined baking sheets. Bake for about 15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through, until the biscuits are firm and lightly golden brown around the edges. Remove from the oven and leave to cool gently on the baking sheet.

Once the biscuits are cool, turn them over so the undersides are facing up. Spread peanut butter on 22 biscuits and set aside.

Make the marshmallows. Put the gelatine leaves or powder in a small bowl. Pour over 40 millilitres of water and set aside. Put the sugar, glucose, vanilla seeds and remaining water in a saucepan and place over medium heat. Bring to the boil and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until the mixture is very lightly amber-coloured and thickens (the thermometer should read 128 degrees).

Keep a close eye on the sugar mixture as it simmers, and when the temperature reaches 120 degrees, put the egg white in the bowl of a stand mixer. Start by whisking the egg white by hand (because there is not yet enough egg white in the machine to whisk), until it holds stiff peaks. From this point on, let the mixer do the work. Remove the pan of sugar syrup from the heat once it reaches 128 degrees, let the squeezed-out gelatine leaves or powder with its soaking liquid slide into the syrup and stir everything together. With the mixer running, gradually pour the hot sugar syrup over the egg-white foam, and continue beating until the mixture is glossy, very thick and the mixer bowl is cold: about 15 minutes.

Immediately spoon the marshmallow mixture into a piping bag and pipe it in a circular shape over the 22 inverted, still uncoated biscuits, generously covering the entire base with marshmallow. Place the peanut-butter-coated biscuits on top of the marshmallow biscuits and gently press them together. Treat all the remaining biscuits in the same way and leave them to set for 30 minutes.Mix the chopped peanuts and sea salt in a small bowl, rubbing the salt finer between your fingers as you do so. Set aside.

Melt the chocolate. Put the chocolate in a small bowl and place it over a pan of gently simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Hold the peanut-butter side of the ‘sandwich’ and gently dip the marshmallow side into the melted chocolate so that the biscuits are coated. Sprinkle a little of the peanut-salt mixture over the centre of the biscuits (on the melted-chocolate side) and leave them to set firmly before serving.

You will need a piping bag with a 1 cm nozzle. You can invest in a piping bag with several different nozzles, or buy a disposable piping bag and cut a 1-centimetre opening at the end. You will also need a sugar thermometer to make the marshmallows.

You can make the biscuit dough a day in advance and store it in the refrigerator. Once baked and filled, the biscuits can be kept in a tightly sealed container for 3 days.

Sweet
Yotam Ottolenghi & Helen Goh
€29.95
Fontaine Uitgevers