So the weather here this summer wasn’t that great, for the most part. We had more rain than sunshine and more than one thunderstorm terrorized Southwestern Ontario, at the very least.
But we Canadians are strong. We live through ridiculous winters every year. A little rain is not going to stop us from enjoying the very best of what summer has to offer!
Which, of course, includes campfires and hopefully tons of s’mores. The experience of sitting around a campfire, either at the beach or campgrounds and making s’mores is one that many remember from their childhood or perhaps even last weekend. For most, the coming of fall, and a new school year, means it’s time to pack up the marshmallows and graham crackers for another three seasons, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
There are only a few things in this life better than s’mores, and one of them is pizza. But why stop there? Why can’t you have both?
S’mores pizza is a simple way to settle your s’mores cravings deep into the winter months. With a thin crust pizza shell, melted, toasty marshmallows, crispy graham cracker crumbs, and gooey chocolate, who could ask for more?
But wait, there IS more!
You can customize your s’mores pizza any way you want. In addition to the traditional graham cracker, marshmallow, and chocolate combination, you can add any sweet topping your heart desires. Favourites include a peanut butter or caramel drizzle, mini M&M’s, peanuts, Skor bits, and a chocolate bar chopped into little pieces.
The best part is the secret ingredient: this s’mores pizza uses Nutella as the “sauce.”
Deep into the heart of February, when you’re longing for summer, you’re going to thank me. You’re welcome.
S’mores Pizza
If you want to buy pizza dough from the store, go right ahead. It’ll cut down your prep time considerably. Most grocery stores and Italian delicatessens will sell ready made pizza dough for less than $4. However, this dough recipe is my go-to for all pizzas, and yields fantastic results every time.
Thin crust pizza dough:
-3/4 of a cup of water
-1/2 teaspoon dry-active yeast (found in the baking aisle)
-2 cups all-purpose flour
-1/2 teaspoon salt
Toppings (measurements aren’t important, use as much or as little as you like)
-Mini marshmallows
-Nutella
-Graham cracker crumbs
-Optional toppings, including peanut butter, caramel sauce, mini M&M’s, Skor bits, peanuts, banana slices, etc. Get creative and use your favourites.
Directions:
1) Preheat your oven to 500 degrees.
2) Make sure the 3/4 cup of water is lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water, stirring a few times, until it bubbles.
3) Put the 2 cups of flour into a large mixing bowl. Using your hands, clear a space in the middle of the flour so that you can see the bottom of the middle of the bowl. Pour the water into this hole once the yeast has dissolved.
4) Using your hands or a wooden spoon, slowly mix the flour into the water until it comes together and combines into a ball. Knead the dough until all the flour is incorporated.
5) Place your dough ball onto a clean, floured surface and continue to knead for another five minutes. The dough should stick to itself but nothing else. Use a little more flour if your dough is too sticky.
If you bought pizza dough, start here:
6) Still on a floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into one large pizza or a few smaller ones. Keep turning the dough until you make a thin circle.
7) Place the shaped dough on parchment paper and slide onto a baking sheet (or a pizza stone, or round pizza pan if you’ve got them. Lucky you). Bake the dough (just the dough, no toppings yet) at 500 degrees for five to eight minutes, depending on how hot or finicky your oven is. Rotating the pizza at least once ensures optimal cooking.
8) Now comes the fun part. Take your dough out of the oven and quickly spread a layer of Nutella on it. Then top with mini marshmallows, graham cracker crumbs, and any other toppings you want.
9) Bake for another two to three minutes until the marshmallows have melted and are a lovely golden brown. Remove from the oven, slide out from under the parchment paper, slice, and serve.
Or if you’re eating the whole thing yourself, don’t bother with slicing. I won’t judge.
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