Ah S’mores. With only three ingredients and minimal preparation, it’s one of the easiest and most delicious treats to whip up (and an excellent way to lighten your cooking load!). If you’ve ever wondered when this classic creation first appeared around campfires everywhere, we’ve got answers.

Some Mores

If the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “S’mores” is Girl or Boy Scouts and campfires, you’re not alone. In fact, the first published recipe for “Some Mores” appeared in the 1927 Girl Scout guidebook, Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts, and is credited to troop leader Loretta Scott Crew. (Thank you Loretta!) While the guide contained lots of handy scouting knowledge – including 12 ways to build a campfire – it’s the recipe for “Some Mores” that has stood the test of time.

However, while the Girl Scouts were the first to publish a recipe, they weren’t the first to combine S’mores flavors. In the Victorian era, funeral cakes sometimes included marshmallow and chocolate. Decades later, snack companies introduced two s’mores-like cookies: Mallomars – a graham cracker cookie, topped with marshmallow and coated in chocolate – were first sold in 1913, and MoonPies – marshmallow sandwiched between graham cracker cookies and dipped in chocolate – hit the market in 1917.

Why we always want S’more

The exact evolution of S’mores may be a bit messy, but the reasons we love them are clear. When you place a gooey, toasted marshmallow (with a crunch, if you like them charred) on a square of creamy, just-starting-to-melt chocolate, sandwiched between two crunchy graham crackers, the combination of flavors and textures hit all the right notes. It’s no wonder that so many snack products today – from cookies to cereal to candy corn – emulate S’mores flavors.