S'more Pie

This summer break has sort of gotten away from us. It was the first summer that both of us have worked since before we had children. The girls have been at home all day with mr. (while he tries to work), pretty much driving him crazy. And then we've been at rehearsals and performances most evenings. So we haven't had many traditional summer activities. No picnics up the canyon (yet), no slip-n-slide...it's kind of pathetic, isn't it? So, in a shoddy attempt to mend that, I...made a pie. A pie that I thought would taste like those missed campfires. And...it kind of did...I guess. But can anything really take the place of a s'more? Eaten outside? With hands possibly covered with charcoal and/or pitch? In the dark? Knowing you'll come home smelling like campfire? I really don't think anything can.

I had planned to just sort of make this up from various sources--a basic graham cracker crust,


a BAKED Diner-Style Chocolate filling, a marshmallow topping (which I planned to toast with my kitchen torch).


But then I found this recipe at smitten kitchen and decided to trust her. And it turned out pretty good. Not one of my triumphant baking successes, but good. Good enough, apparently, to cause one of my castmates to piegasm (thanks for the word, Mel!). But for my taste, it wasn't great. I liked the way the torched marshmallow topping got crusty just like the outside of a toasted marshmallow would get. I liked the overall effect. But the chocolate filling...just sort of left me unimpressed. It's different than any I've done before--custardy and baked.


And I don't know that that was the texture I really wanted.

TGIP Rating--smitten kitchen's S'more Pie--PRETTY GOOD. If there's a next time, I'll probably use all but the chocolate filling from her recipe and the BAKED Diner-Style recipe for the filling. See how that goes.

Next Up: Seconda is turning 8. She's been watching Cupcake Wars, and Ace of Cakes, and Good Eats a lot lately, so she has had all sorts of fancy ideas about what sort of cake she wants for her birthday, as you can imagine. I think we've settled on cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes. With raspberry filling and vanilla buttercream frosting.