Lightning Fast S'Mores

S'mores are the perfect seasonal treat for summer, which unofficially begins this weekend since today is Memorial Day. As we remember those who have served and sacrificed for us, we can also celebrate by spending time with those we love and being thankful for the gifts we have. Food is one such gift that we can share with others, so here's an easy treat you can make for family and friends!

Now, I know the whole s'mores process is really more about assembling than actually baking something, but I still wanted to put these up on my baking blog in case others wanted to try them out!

I created the recipe this afternoon when I discovered marshmallows in the back of my pantry that were about to expire and graham crackers that were sitting around doing nothing. I always have some kind of chocolate chips around the house in case of a cookie-baking emergency, which meant I had all the ingredients for a summer sweet that leaves you wanting s'more!

Lacking a camp fire, I simply layered one half of a graham cracker rectangle with a handful of mini marshmallows and semisweet chocolate chips, and microwaved them open faced on a paper towel for about 28 seconds. Then I topped them with the other half of the graham cracker to smush down the gooey marshmallows and create a handheld dessert in literally seconds. Let them cool just a moment and then have one while they're still slightly warm!

Treats don't have to be complicated--what's important is that the people who eat them are enjoying them. My taste tester found them delicious and gobbled two up just like that. I hope you enjoy them as well. Happy Summer!

Kutsinta

Not all experiments succeed. In fact, some fail into melty, odd-shaped blobs. However, since this is a baking blog and I had my first experiment baking with steam and making a new multicultural recipe, I felt it was important to document the occasion.

Since this week is my last Tagalog class of the semester, we decided to all bring in Filipino food (not unlike our previous classes throughout the semester where we decided to all bring in Filipino food...). For something a little different (besides Halo-Halo and bibingka that I made in the past) I decided to attempt Kutsinta, a sweet brown rice cake with a chewy texture, the look of gelatin, and made using a steaming cooking technique. It's also one of my (many) favorite Filipino desserts. To make it from scratch you need lye water, which I do not have. But I did have a box of "Sarap Pinoy" (roughly translated as "delicious Filipino") Kutsinta ready mix! (sold at the local Filipino market around the corner from my house).

All I really had to do was follow the directions on the box. Heat some tap water in the bottom of a double boiler. Empty the kutsinta mix in a bowl with 1 cup of bottled water and stir. Pour the resulting mix into kutsinta molds and steam in the top part of the boiler for 35-45 minutes or until the concoction turns "clear" (or rather, Jell-O-like).

Here were the problems:

1.) I had no kutsinta molds. They were sold out at the market. So I used the only small cups I had--plastic condiment containers. Word to the wise: plastic melts.

2.) I had no idea how high to keep the heat on, and basically ended up boiling off all my water in the second batch. It evaporated while the heat was still on and ended up burning the bottom of my pot while I was waiting for the second batch to finish cooking (sorry, no picture--I was too devastated).

3.) My kutsinta didn't seem to be turning "clear."  Not after 35 minutes. Not after 45 minutes.

I finally took them off the stove to cool, and only then did they seem to get close to the right color. I flipped them over and...

Huzzah! They may be a bit melty, odd-shaped and stamped with what appears to be some kind of product serial number from the condiment containers, but they do resemble kutsinta (as you can see here).

The plastic did not melt into the dessert since I coated the containers with nonstick cooking spray to make sure they slid out easily. So I think the kutsinta is still fit for consumption. Probably. If not, too late--I already ate one for breakfast....

Just top with coconut and enjoy!