Because it’s summer and because I think we’re all kids at heart, it’s time for another s’mores recipe. S’mores will never go out of style, and don’t let anyone tell you differently. I didn’t grow up eating s’mores as a kid, but I can tell you that I’ve since fixed this problem and have been doing everything in my power to eat them as often as possible now as an adult. You might recall that these S’mores Doughnuts have a special place in my heart, forever and always, along with these S’mores Cookie Sandwiches and S’mores Cupcakes (from way back when). These S’mores Eclairs are no different, and in fact, they might just be my new favorite s’mores dessert. Don’t tell the doughnuts though, because they’ll get upset. If you’re an eclair lover then you’ll go crazy for these, and what’s more they’re so much easier than the classic recipe because you don’t have to worry about making a pastry cream for this one. They’re filled with store-bought marshmallow fluff instead!
I hope you all enjoyed last week’s giveaway! I loved reading all of the entries. It was the highlight of my week, each night reading them before bed. And by the sounds of it, many of you had a fun 4th of July. Thank you to everyone that participated and a huge congratulations again to Alexandra Robertson for winning last week! Good news for everyone else is that you all have three more chances to win! This week’s giveaway is another signed copy of my cookbook The Slider Effect, and 2 professional-grade baking sheets and 2 wire racks that fit in the baking sheets perfectly. I can’t tell you how these save my life every day when cooking, but particularly when making sliders. I use them throughout the book, and even mention them in the first chapter as being a staple in slider making. You need them in your kitchen. Trust me.
(Please forgive that janky image above, it’s bringing down my blog post but I wanted to show what the prize is). To enter, leave a comment below letting me know what your favorite childhood summer memory is?! As always, my mamma will be picking the winner at random. It’s one of her greatest pleasures in life, what can I say? You should also know us well by now, and know that we love lots of details. Tell us why this is your favorite memory, what made it so special, what traditions you did with your family during the summer, etc. I love reading all of your comments so feel free to give me your whole life story. Remember, let’s keep things fair with only one entry per person, and if you win this prize (or won last prize), you can’t enter the following weeks or this week. Sorry but I want everyone to have a fair chance. You have until Friday night to enter! Good luck, I’m rooting for you!
Let’s begin by making the pastry for the eclairs. This is a traditional pastry called choux pastry which is cooked on the stove for a bit and used for things like cream puffs and eclairs. It can seem a little daunting at first, but I promise it’s super easy! Before you’d have to mix everything by hand, but I’ve learned that you can easily throw it into a stand mixer and have it do all the work for you!
In a medium saucepan bring to a simmer the water, butter, salt and sugar. Keep an eye on it, because you don’t want it to boil rapidly but just simmer. Remove from the stove and immediately stir in the flour. Stir rapidly until the mixture comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, for about 30 to 60 seconds. Return to the heat and continue to stir and cook for about 30 seconds longer.
**Note: Use a wooden spoon and make sure to continue to stir nonstop because you don’t want the dough to stick and burn.**
Transfer the dough to a bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then use a rubber spatula to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl. The dough should be thick and fall slowly from the paddle.
**Tip: The key is to mix rapidly after each addition of an egg so that the dough mixes well with the eggs. Also, you can do this by hand, just make sure to stir very fast and well with a wooden spoon.**
Transfer the pastry dough to a large pastry bag, fitted with a plain medium circle tip. Pipe out the eclairs onto two baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
**Note: Make the logs about 3 inches in length and keep about 2 inches of space in between each, to allow space for the puffing and spreading of the pastry during the baking.**
Brush the surface of each with a simple egg wash (an egg whisked with a splash of water). Use your fingers to smooth out any little lumps or points in the dough.
Bake for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees F, then lower the heat to 375 degrees F and continue to cook until puffed and lightly golden brown, about 25 minutes longer.
**Tip: Try not to open the oven door too many times, because it’ll deflate the pastry if you continue to let in cool air. I’d open it once, just when you lower the heat.**
Let the eclairs cool on a baking sheet until completely cooled off. Turn the eclairs over and then using a very sharp pairing knife, make two little cuts on either end of each pastry. This will make it easier when you go to fill them. Fill a pastry bag, fitted with a small plain circle tip, with the marshmallow fluff and then fill each eclair.
To make the ganache, mix together the chocolate, butter, salt and heated cream until smooth and melted through. Dip the top of each eclair into the ganache and return to the baking sheet. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle with crushed graham crackers and top each with three mini marshmallows.
Use a kitchen blowtorch to toast the marshmallows. We need that torched marshmallow taste for a classic s’mores dessert. If you don’t have a kitchen torch, then you can omit this step and leave them plain.
Serve the eclairs right away or store them in the fridge until ready to eat. They can be kept chilled in the fridge for at most two days. Anything longer would make them chewy and weird in texture. As they chill, the marshmallow fluff will become runny.
**Note: Keep them covered loosely with plastic wrap or store them in an airtight container to keep them as fresh as possible while in the fridge.**
These would also be great if you cut the baked eclair shells in half along the top, fill with vanilla ice cream, top with the top half and freeze until solid. Then proceed with the steps as written. Dip with chocolate, top with graham crackers, and marshmallows. You’d end up with the best ice cream s’mores eclairs ever!
If you’re in need of more eclair inspiration, make sure to check out these Pistachio Eclairs from two years ago! They’re filled with a pistachio pastry cream and dipped in dark chocolate and sprinkled with more pistachios.
Don’t forget to enter below for a chance to win a signed copy of my cookbook and the baking sheets and cooling racks I used throughout the book! They come in handy for all of your slider making needs. Remember that it’s one entry per person, anyone is allowed to leave a comment, and you have until Friday night to enter. One winner will be picked at random and will be notified via email. If you don’t win this prize, come back next week as there will be two more chances to win! Good luck, I’m rooting for you!
**UPDATE: Congratulations to Marisa Franca for winning the second prize!! And a thank you to everyone who participated. Remember to check back in on Monday for another chance to win!**
S'mores Eclairs
Ingredients
Pastry
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup 1 stick unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 4 large eggs
- 1 large egg whisked with a splash of water
Filling and Topping
- 1 16-ounce container marshmallow fluff
- 1/3 cup crushed graham crackers
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
Ganache
- 8- ounces dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan bring the water, butter, salt and sugar to a rapid simmer. Remove from heat and immediately stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Keep stirring rapidly until the mixture comes together for about 30 to 60 seconds. Return to the heat and cook, constantly stirring rapidly, for about 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, and stir on medium. Slowly add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix once more. The batter should be thick, but fall slowly away from the paddle. Transfer to a large pastry bag fitted with a plain circle tip.
- Pipe out the eclairs onto the prepared baking pans, to about 2 inch think logs. Make sure to leave about 2 inches of space apart. Brush the surface of each eclair with the egg wash and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and continue to bake until puffed and golden brown, about 25 minutes more. Let the eclairs cool completely on the baking sheets before filling.
- Using a small sharp pairing knife, make 2 little incisions at the bottom of each eclair on either end, this will make them easier to fill. Transfer the marshmallow fluff to a piping bag with a small plain circle tip. Fill the eclairs with the fluff and return to the baking sheets.
- To make the ganache, heat the cream over medium heat until little bubbles form around the edge. Place the chocolate, butter and salt in a small bowl. Pour the hot cream over the top of the chocolate and let sit for about 5 minutes. Whisk until melted through and smooth.
- Dip the top of the eclairs into the ganache and return to the baking sheets. While the ganache is still wet, sprinkle the tops with crushed graham crackers and place three mini marshmallows on top of each. Torch the marshmallows with a kitchen blowtorch. Serve immediately or place in the fridge until ready to eat. They can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days.
I was left home alone in the summers, and was mostly bored to tears. One of my greatest pleasures was spending hours on the phone with my best friend, Lisa. We would talk for 5 hours at a go, clicking over for call waiting, hanging up to go to the bathroom, calling each other right back. We had so much fun. These days, I spend my summers trying to having fun with my kids, making memories.
During the summer my sister and I would play outside all day, getting extremely dirty, just stopping for food and something cold to drink. We would have a fort in the woods with my neighborhood friends. We would swing on monkey swings and run around making lots of noise. Then we would rush home for dinner. Our mom would make sure we were cleaned up to eat. Then after dinner the play resumed and we would listen for the music from the ice cream man. That would cool us off! Bath time came and soon it was bedtime. We would sleep soundly and awaken to another day of play. Some days hide and seek came into our play. The good old days were tons of adventure and fun.
A favorite memory from summer:
We lived on a small farm during my early childhood. We had some milk cows, several dogs, a goat, two horses, chickens, ducks, & come fall, a turkey that we would raise for Thanksgiving dinner. We had a fair sized vegetable garden that my Mom would can & freeze from during harvest time. But the best memory I can remember was picking tomatoes from the garden, still warm from the sun. I’ve never had a tomato that has tasted as good as those tomatoes. Sweet, juicy, meaty. Loved those years & wish every child could grow up with those kinds of memories!
My mamma and papà worked full time and on days off and vacations they were always working on our older house. There was always something to do so we didn’t go anywhere except for one day. We went to Geode Lake and mamma packed a picnic lunch and we spent the day outside just relaxing and enjoying. I treasure that time because I KNEW they did it for me. They wanted me to have a day on a beach playing in the water and enjoying summer. My parents were the most unselfish people I’ve ever met. I miss them every single day.
My favorite memory is the homemade peach ice cream my grandmother would make from the peach trees in her yard. It would be churned in an old hand-cranked ice cream churn that we all took turns cranking until it got too stiff and then my grandfather would finish it up.
I have tried for years to make ice cream that tastes as good as my grandmother’s did, but I just can’t quite get it right.
I was obsessed with Slip N Slides as a child, but they were expensive and never held up to summer-long wear and tear. So, my mother instead just laid out a blue tarp in our backyard and let the hose run down it! It wasn’t as sleek as the original Slip N Slide, but it was still just as fun!
We love having family bbq during the summers!!
grpwing up in India summers were synonymous with mangoes and to this day, the sight of the fruits ripening on the tree..waiting for them to attain the desired ripeness..fighting over them..and finally sucking on them whole, with all the juices dripping down the arm (which will be licked with as much gusto) shall remain a summer fave
We used to spend every weekend in the summer at our cabin in northern Minnesota. And my favorite memory is being pulled by my dad tubing! He would always try to throw us off the tube and it was sometime terrifying, but so so fun!
Since my family is from Greece and I am 1st generation in the United States, my parents would take us to Greece every summer (and i thank them for this as i speak the language fluently and have had the opportunity to experience Greece’s culture first hand. I associate summers with eating gyros, my grandmas home cooked meals, my grandma stuffing food down my face because she never though i ate enough, clear water beaches, playing marco polo in the water, watermelon….lots of watermelon and family always in each others faces 24/7!!
My husband loves sliders! This would be the perfect book to help me come up with ideas.
Homemade popsicles
making fresh black raspberry ice cream with my grandparents on their old-fashioned hand-cranked machine! ice cream never tasted so good. 🙂
Favorite summer memory is picking wild raspberries and blackberries on trails in the woods at the campground three generations of my family went to every July. They never made it back to the house, much less into baked goods, but finding berries with extended family was something small I looked forward to every year.
I loved everything about summer. Swimming so long we turned into prunes, lunches that were eaten with still wet hands so we could get back into the pool as quickly as possible. Not to mention the no cook days. We would go to the farm down the road and get fresh breads, buns, an assortment of lunch meat. My mom would make some “salads” tuna, macaroni, etc. And that would be our meals for the day. It was great. Egg bun with mozzarella, thick slice of brunschweiger, and a schmear of may was my favorite!
My favorite childhood memory is catching lightening bugs. And now that I think about it, this is the second summer that I have not seen any.
i’ve been seeing so amazing eclairs everywhere (obsessed with the l’eclair de genie instagram account, and i’m still drooling over staring at the eclairs from disneyland and the pastry case at the austin whole foods)! these sound so unique and tasty, too! and the more eclairs the better (;
these look adorable and delicious and remind me of one episode of The Great British Baking Show that I just watched on Netflix (so good!!). My favorite summer memory is spending a week in the Outer Banks in my family’s cottage in Nags Head with my family. My mom grew up going to the cottage every summer and we continued the tradition with my sister and I. I haven’t been in almost 10 years but I look back on those summers fondly (eating Dairy Queen dipped cones and seafood almost every day – heaven !)
My favorite childhood summer memory is our summers in Iowa! Catching lightning bugs, sleeping on the sun porch during thunderstorms and going to the state fair.
My favourite memory is filling up our little swimming pool at my grandparents house and playing in it all day.
One of my favorite summer memories is spending time with my grandparents at their small wheat ranch. So fun to be in the country – baking with Grandma, spending time outside, doing chores with Grandpa.
My favorite summer childhood memory is staying out past dark playing kick the can with my neighbors.
I’ll always remember our annual roadtrips from Texas to Michigan. Cramped cars with MacGyver-ed TV/VCR setups and long hours. It was always worth it because of all the food-related memories: a family tradition of ice cream before dinner when we got to my aunt’s, my first bratwurst, my first strawberry shortcake, my first Mackinac fudge… it was the best!
Can’t wait to try making these!
My parents, although being very conservative, are really quite free-spirits at heart. Every summer solstice they would throw a midsummer night eve’s party for our little family. Our garden (which was a magical, place, with rooms made out of grapevines and tree’s pruned for canopy) was trasformed into a fairy like state. They would put out a tent and badminton and hang candle lit latterns in the trees. All morning, I would help my mother bake in preparation for the feast that we would have. At the end, they would turn on the Anne of Green Gables soundtrack and we would waltz under the stars. It really was magical.
My favorite childhood memory was spending Friday nights sleeping over my Nana’s house. We used to watch The Flintstones, and my snack after dinner was a package of Hostess orange cupcakes. I would eat the cupcake part first and save the icing for last 🙂
My favorite childhood memory is spending Saturday nights over at my best friend’s house, listening to to the weekly top 40 hits on the radio and eating Cherry Garcia ice cream. You know, back when my metabolism could process a pint of ice cream a week. Oooh the good old days
My favorite summer childhood memory is going to family reunion and drinking homemad lemonade under a huge shade tree with my brothers
My favorite memory was eating lychees outside because we weren’t allowed to inside since we were messy and they were sticky. And then throwing the pits in the bbq cuz they would explode!
My favorite childhood summer memory is going to the beach with my family and hanging out with my much older sister. I’m sure she wasn’t thrilled to have her baby sister tag along, but I thought it was great.
I would have to say my favorite memory is pretty boring but as a child the nigh orchid kids and I would play outside all day together. Until the sun went down and your mom would call you in to the house. No video games or tv just a lot of running and using your imagination.
Climbing a big pecan tree in our yard, and reading books. 🙂
Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s was an entirely different world. My mother had 6 children, not much money and never a quiet moment. Each summer we would load up in the family station wagon, complete with wood paneling, and drive 2 hours to Zena Oklahoma to Granny’s house where she would leave us ALL for 3 to 4 weeks. Zena is a lovely community, off the beaten path about half way between Jay OK and Grove OK, although we though it was a banishment to the past. Granny and Papa lived on a farm and he worked from sun up to sun down. Granny worked for the USP delivering mail for Rural Route 3. We were left to work the garden, gather eggs, and stay out of trouble. My Grandmother had a love for stemware, depression glass, and all things “fancy”. We had the run of the farm and the house with just a few restrictions. We were not the swim in any of the pond, the water moccasins were faster than us. We were not to answer the telephone unless it was our ring, party line. And under no circumstances were we to play with Granny’s “fancy” dishes. Well……… As soon as we finished our chores, (yes children had chores!) we would dress in my mother’s old prom gowns and MAKE real lemonade and toast with homemade bread and homemade sweet creamy butter. We used the fancy stems to toast our fancy selves and cut the butter slathered toast into tiny triangles and served them on fancy clear pink and green plates. Thinking about my Summer’s on the farm bring a smile to my heart. Oh, by the way, we weren’t fooling anyone. Years later Granny told me she always knew and she always made sure she had plenty of lemons, loaf bread, and butter❤️.
i remember endless summer days full of sprinkles, ice cream trucks, sidewalk chalk, and pool days!!! seriously, didn’t know how good i had it back then 🙂
My brother and I spent most of the summer swimming at the neighborhood pool and playing card games – Gin Rummy, the occasional crazy eights, and Spit, my personal favorite.
My favorite childhood memory was riding my bike to the beach almost everyday.
My favorite memories of summer must be playing under the sprinklers in the back yard-not worrying about school!
Thank you for sharing this! My husband loves eclairs – his favorite dessert. I look forward to he and I creating these together. When his landscaping slows down in the winter – we create together in the kitchen.
I love the idea of your new book – we enjoy small dishes – they are fun and we can try a larger variety of dishes due to the size.
Summer. My favorite time of year…then and now. We spent most weekends heading north to Decorah, IA where my family would meet my grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins for weekend camping and fishing. As a teenager, this was HORRIBLE to me…I hated fishing, no place to get ready and do my hair, blah, blah, blah, but…once I was there, I loved being with my grandparents. My grandma taught me to cross-stitch and needlepoint, while the rest of the gang went fishing. We’d sit at the picnic table, hunched over our projects, talking about everything and nothing. At the end of the day, we’d pack our supplies away and whisk up a batch of homemade vanilla ice cream. Grandpa would return to the campground, setup the hand-crank machine and then the “fun” began. My brother, cousins and I took turns crank-crank-cranking that stubborn, old machine, but the end result. Oh my. That cold creamy goodness was heaven. I still think of that ice cream, and no matter how hard I try to replicate it (even using Grandma’s recipe), nothing tastes as good.
My favorite summer memory growing up was staying for a week at a time with a cousin whose family had a farm and horses. (For a horse-mad girl who didn’t get her own horse until she was 16, it was heaven.) We would ride trails in the woods; swim with the horses in the pond; ride down to the local small general store, tie up the horses to the hitching post and buy snacks to eat on the way back home. Total bliss…
I have lovely memories of the softball field as a kid.
These look delicious and amazing! Would love to bake them with my daughter.
My mom would also take me to my grandpa’s house and we would work his garden with him in the summertime. Was wonderful to see the produce grow and then eventually eat it.
My favorite childhood memory was sitting in the kitchen with my grandpa. He was eating potato and leek soup and I said I’d like some of that and he said well you can try it but I don’t think you’re going to like it. He gave me a bowl and I ate it all up. He thought it was the funniest thing a kid liking a potato and leek soup and he even told this story at my wedding.
Eating blue moon ice cream with my little sisters, and then having to wipe them up with numerous wet wipes!
my favorite summer memory/memories would be the summers I spent with my grandparents in the country. I learned to love soap operas. I ate very well and nature was my radio. What’s not to love?!
My favorite childhood memory is from the Fourth of July. I was so tired from swimming in the lake all day, eating lots of good food, and playing with my cousins. It was nighttime and I was sitting on my dad’s lap while watching the fireworks with some oldies playing in the background. I remember not ever wanting that day to end! I was 25. (JUST kidding!)
My favourite memory? Definitely going up to my grandmother’s home every summer holiday. My cousins and I would climb up to the roof, where we hosted our secret stuffed animal club. We would have secret meetings and spy on our family through the rooftop. We thought we were clever and sneaky, but in reality, our family knew we were watching them the whole time!