The Hack You Need To Know Next Time You Make S'mores

S'mores are one of America's most beloved camping treats, right there with trail mix and Jiffy Pop. History tells us that, while the exact origins of where the s'more came from are still unclear, we can thank the Girl Scout Troop Leader Loretta Scott Crew in 1927 for giving us the first recipe for the modern-day s'more (via POPSUGAR.). The recipe, scarcely unchanged since being written in the 1920s, calls for two graham crackers, a piece of chocolate, and a marshmallow. It's one of those recipes that stands perfectly fine on its own and requires no special ingredients or tricks to improve on it.

Of course, that doesn't mean that getting creative with this gooey marshmallow sandwich isn't a welcome idea. You could, for example, add cinnamon, Reese's peanut butter cups, pretzels, and a wide variety of other toppings to make your s'mores stand out. If you don't happen to be near a roaring campfire nor have the tools to start one, you can follow Sunny Anderson's recipe for "no-bake" smores as a way to scratch that itch and enjoy the taste of smores without the heat of a campfire (via Food Network).

But let's say that you want to follow the original, classic recipe. You have your chocolate, graham cracker, marshmallow, and a ripping hot campfire to roast your marshmallows over. How can you improve upon this classic treat without changing any of the fundamental ingredients? 

Instead of changing ingredients, try changing what you're roasting your marshmallows with.

When you're cooking s'mores out in the great outdoors, chances are you're probably using either a stick you picked up off the forest floor or you have your own special "s'more stick" you bought from home. While these are all good options that have served us well for years, there's actually another stick you should be roasting your marshmallows on — and it's edible too!

According to Epicurious, you should use Pocky to roast your marshmallows. Pocky is a long thin biscuit of Japanese origin that is usually dipped in chocolate or a variety of flavors, such as strawberry or matcha. Epicurious explains that to prepare a "Pocky s'more," simply skewer your marshmallow onto the dipped end of the Pocky stick and roast the marshmallow over your fire or oven burner the same as you usually would. Once you finish roasting the marshmallow to your preferred doneness, you can simply eat the marshmallow and pocky stick together without the need for chocolate or graham crackers.

Duff Goldman also has a similar idea of using Pocky and s'mores together. His recipe is a bit more complex, however, calling for the toasted marshmallow on a bed of chocolate mousse and homemade graham crackers with the Pocky sitting on top as a garnish. A "deconstructed s'more," if you will.

No matter if you use Pocky or not, as long as you're licking gooey marshmallows from your lips well after the fact, then you had a good s'more.