S’more Nacho by Kate Heyhoe, from Macho Nachos

Got the munchies? S’more Macho Nachos are fast treats and don’t require an open flame.

From Macho Nachos (Kindle; Apple/iTunes) by Kate Heyhoe

As a Camp Fire Girl, I‘m not sure which part of s’mores I enjoyed more—the process of browning (or more often, blackening) the marshmallows on skewers over an open flame and then smooshing them between chocolate bars and graham crackers, or actually eating them.

S’mores remain a popular treat for kids and a nostalgic one for adults. Nouveau S’mores have been popping up in fine dining restaurants coast to coast. Some establishments actually let you toast your own marshmallows at table over small pots of red-hot coals. Even The French Laundry (which some consider America’s finest restaurant) serves s’mores, albeit with premium Valrhona chocolate, made-from-scratch marshmallows and homemade whole-wheat honey graham crackers.

Not to be outdone by s’more mania, the Macho Nachos version adopts the motto “the s’more the merrier.” Nutty peanut butter, thinned with a touch of maple syrup, “glues” tiny marshmallows and chocolate to a flour tortilla wedge, edged with a border of crunchy, buttery graham cracker crumbs. Just 3 minutes in a hot oven for golden, pillowy, marshmallow treats. One bite and off you go down memory lane—widened and repaved, but nonetheless, a merry pathway back to younger days. Makes one 8-inch flour tortilla; serves 3 to 6

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons nutty peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs
• 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
• 1 8-inch flour tortilla
• Nonstick spray
• 20 to 30 mini-marshmallows
• 2 tablespoons chocolate sprinkles or semisweet mini chocolate chips

1. Heat the oven to 475˚F. with an oven rack in the second position, about 7 inches from the top of the oven.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the peanut butter and maple syrup.

3. In a separate small microwave-safe bowl, toss together the graham cracker crumbs and the butter. Microwave on high, 10 to 15 seconds or until the butter is melted enough to mash into the crumbs with a fork; the mixture should resemble coarse sand. (Or, melt the butter and mix it into the crumbs.)

4. Slice a flour tortilla into 6 wedges. Arrange the wedges on a baking sheet. Lightly spritz the wedges with nonstick spray. Flip the wedges over. Lightly spritz the other side.

5. Smear a layer of the peanut butter mixture on top of the wedges. Gently press the marshmallows into the peanut butter. Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs around the edges of the wedges, as a border. Toss the chocolate sprinkles in between and around the marshmallows.

6. Bake for about 3 minutes, until the marshmallows are toasty and golden on top. The nachos will be very hot, so cool them on the tray 1 or 2 minutes before serving. Serve warm, preferably with tall glasses of cold milk or a hot cuppa joe. Makes one 8-inch flour tortilla; serves 3 to 6