S’mores Latte

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INGREDIENTS

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½ teaspoon chocolate syrup (1½ tablespoons more latter)

2 tablespoons crumbled graham crackers

1½ tablespoons chocolate syrup

⅔ cup whole milk

⅔ cup espresso or strongly brewed coffee

1½ tablespoons mini-marshmallows

1 teaspoon chocolate shavings* (optional)

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* = Can be made using chocolate bar and grater.

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Serves 1. Takes 15 minutes.

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PREPARATION

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Wet both sides of the mug’s rim with ½ teaspoon chocolate syrup. Roll mug  in crumbled graham crackers. Use hands to pat crumbled graham crackers to inside rim. Add 1½ tablespoons chocolate syrup and milk  to small pot.  Heat mixture using medium heat until nearly boiling. Stir constantly. Add coffee to mug. Add heated syrup and milk. Stir with spoon until well blended. Sprinkle latte with mini-marshmallows. Top with chocolate shavings.

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TIDBITS

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1) People love S’mores. People crave latte. So which is better in a head-to-head catchup, S’mores or S’mores Latte?  But first what is a S’more? A S’more consists of toasted marshmallows and chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers.

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2) Which has the more toastable marshmallow? S’mores does. The large marshmallow used in S’mores lends itself better to toasting on stick over a campfire. The min-imarshmallows perform poorly here. S’mores – 1, S’mores Latte- 0.

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3) Do you have a campfire in your home? Probably not. S’mores – 1, S’mores Latte – 1.

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4) Do you want to go camping out in the creepy, crawly cold woods just to use a campfire? Probably not. S’mores Latte – 2, S’mores: -1.

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5) Which is better at fighting off a charging Tyrannosaurus Rex? I suppose you could hit the T-Rex with your S’more, but at best it’ll just stick to the fearsome beast, because of the melted marshmallows. Or, you could throw your hot S’mores into the monster’s eyes, blinding it for minutes while you make your getaway. S’mores Latte – 3, S’mores – 1. A convincing victory for S’mores Latte. Yay.

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– Paul De Lancey, The Comic Chef, Ph.D.

My cookbook, Following Good Food Around the World, with its 180 wonderful recipes, my newest novel, Do Lutheran Hunks Eat Mushrooms, a hilarious apocalyptic thriller, and all my other books, are available on amazon.com.