This was on my to-make list for a long, long time. And what tipped the scales and caused me to finally bake a S’mores pie was that I had a surplus of Biscoff cookies and graham crackers. And I figured, if this is not a sign from the universe that I needed to make a S’mores-flavored dessert, then I don’t know what is. I love S’mores. Dark, bitter chocolate, crunchy, nutty graham cracker, and a crisp, toasted marshmallow with a gooey center, there is just a lot of texture and contrast in three easy to prepare ingredients! I unfortunately am not one of those people who had childhood memories of going camping and making S’mores by the fire. However, I do have adulthood memories of going apple picking with my friends in Oak Glenn, and making S’mores at a bonfire near the apple orchard, so I do have some S’mores-specific memories. Outside of apple picking S’mores, my sister and I used to make S’mores on the stovetop using chopsticks to skewer the marshmallows and the gas stove, which while not entirely safe for two children to do, was a ton of fun nonetheless. Seeing the marshmallow change color as the sugars caramelize is so fascinating, and it is one of the more magical, transformative aspects of cooking! There is something satisfying about a nicely torched marshmallow or meringue, be in in a S’more, or on a S’mores pie, like in this recipe!

For the components, true to a classic S’more, this pie features three main components, one for each classically featured ingredient. We have a Biscoff-graham cracker shortbread crust, made by finely grinding down Biscoff and graham crackers, and mixing that with flour, sugar, butter, and an egg yolk to make a rich, buttery crust with all of the warming, spiced flavors of Biscoff cookies and graham crackers! The dough itself is quite delicate, since there is nowhere near as much gluten as a crust made with just flour, but it is like a gingerbread cookie on steroids and with the finickiness. With the filling, we have a nama chocolate filling. Nama chocolate is a Japanese style chocolate ganache, made from a high cream to chocolate ratio and using a little alcohol, in this case, chocolate liquor, to make the ganache set soft and silky. Nama chocolate is popularly served like a truffle, coated in cocoa powder, but in this case, we are using that melt-in-the-mouth chocolate as the filling for the entire tart shell! And then the marshmallow component. Usually with a pie with a torched marshmallow-like situation, meringue is used. In the case of my recipe, we are hybridizing a marshmallow with a Swiss meringue, whisking gelatin powder into the egg whites over a double boiler with sugar to pasteurize the egg whites and hydrate the gelatin powder(fun fact, egg whites are mostly water, so the gelatin is taking full advantage of that liquid content), before the entire thing is whisked into a pillowy soft meringue-marshmallow love child. The Swiss meringue marshmallow does require an insane amount of whisking, but if you use a stand mixer, your life will be a lot easier. I really loved this iteration of S’mores, because it not only presents and serves nicely, but the pie actually does capture the flavors of an American classic.

For the Biscoff-graham cracker shortbread crust:
1/2 cup finely crushed Biscoff cookies
1/2 cup finely crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tbsp granulated sugar
1 stick unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
1 egg yolk

In a food processor, blend together the Biscoff, graham crackers, flour, sugar, butter, and salt until a fine crumb forms. To that, add in the egg yolk, mixing until everything pulls together into a dough. Refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thickness, Drape the dough into a 6-inch ring mold that has been placed onto a lined sheet tray, pressing the dough against the sides and trimming off any excess dough. Freeze the dough for 1 hour. Then weigh down the dough with parchment and baking weights and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees F. Remove the baking weights and parchment and bake the tart shell for another 10 minutes at 350 degrees F. Allow the shell to fully cool before unmolding.

For the nama chocolate filling:
3/4 cups heavy cream
3 tbsp unsalted butter
a pinch of salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 tbsp chocolate liquor

In a pot, heat up the heavy cream, butter, and salt. Once everything comes up to a simmer, take the pot off heat and add in the chocolate chips. Allow the chocolate to sit in the mixture for 1 minute before stirring to combine. Finish with the liquor. Pour the mixture into the baked shell and freeze everything together for at least 2 hours.

For the Swiss meringue marshmallow:
2 egg whites
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar*
1 tbsp gelatin powder
a pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl over a double boiler, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, gelatin, and salt until the egg whites are frothy and the sugar and gelatin powder are fully dissolved into the egg whites. Transfer the bowl from the double boiler into a stand mixer bowl. Add to the mixture your vanilla extract and whip everything together with a whisk attachment until stiff peaks form and the meringue-marshmallow batter is tripled in volume. Spread the marshmallow over the top of the tart and toast with a blowtorch to finish.