Recently I got my hands on food blogger Jessica Merchant’s new cookbook called “Seriously Delish: 150 Recipes for People Who Totally Love Food” ($29.99; published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014).
“Seriously Delish” is my new best cookbook friend — seriously. I am totally smitten. The first recipe I made out of the book was Grilled Plums with Toasted Thyme Crumble, and when one of my co-workers tried it, she just about swooned. It was THAT good.
With September here and the nights turning a bit cooler, I grow nostalgic for childhood, for sitting around an open fire and making s’mores amid the delicious telling of stories about ghosts, UFOs and strange creatures in the woods, so when I found S’mores-stuffed Strawberries, I knew I had to try the recipe.
I love strawberries. They’re great by themselves, but here they become an ingenious delivery system for the almost-mystical taste of the beloved campfire treats.
S’MORES-STUFFED STRAWBERRIES (Page 237)
12 large fresh strawberries, hulled
2/3 cup marshmallow creme
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/3 cup graham cracker crumbs
1. Take each hulled strawberry and gently cut out more of a hollow into the center. Fill the centers of the strawberries with marshmallow creme — I find it is easiest to do this with a piping tip and a pastry or plastic bag.
2. Melt the chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave. Stir in the coconut oil until it is melted. Fill a small bowl with the graham crumbs. Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper. Dip each strawberry into the chocolate, leaving the top quarter exposed, then lightly into the graham cracker crumbs. Place on the baking sheet to set.
3. If desired, before serving you can toast the top of the marshmallow creme with a kitchen torch. I love storing these in the fridge and eating one for a sweet snack.
Note: The coconut oil helps the chocolate firm up. If you’re not a fan, leave it out.
Our assessment: In one word, DELICIOUS! They are so easy to make. You can hull the strawberries with a sharp knife. If you want to hull out more, try a serrated grapefruit spoon.
I definitely recommend using the coconut oil to help set the chocolate. Because strawberries contain so much liquid, they get pretty juicy on the second day. For that reason, I don’t recommend saving them for leftovers. You can always make fewer of them at a time.
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