Peanut Butter S'mores Tart
My husband and I have been trying to celebrate Fourth of July correctly for years.
Year one? We tried camping. In July. In Tennessee! Who does that? We didn’t. We grilled hot dogs, ate s’mores and drank beer after a long hike at Old Stone Fort, and then promptly un-pitched our tent, packed up and went home to sleep in our tiny, air-conditioned apartment. I was so sunburned I forgot I was from Florida.
Year two? We decided to trek over to the Hot Chicken Festival. Whoever decided to throw an outdoor festival honoring some of the spiciest, greasiest food ever in the middle of a proper 100+ degree Nashville summer is just cruel. After an hour and a half of waiting in line for chicken, I turned sheet white, couldn’t see anything, had to be carried to our car, and we went home and were both fast asleep by 8 pm in our tiny, air conditioned apartment.
Year three? We went to the lake with some friends and had an amazing time. I got home and was covered in mosquito bites and one very unfortunate tick incident which I cannot discuss. It took me three weeks to heal, all of which I spent in our tiny, air-conditioned apartment.
Year four? I don’t remember, because we stopped celebrating outdoors, and I stopped getting dehydrated, sunburned and mosquito-bitten.
The point of the story is that one incredibly life-changing moment came from these failed attempts at honoring the stars and stripes. In our year one celebration, we forgot to buy Hershey’s bars. But since we had Reese’s cups in our tiny, air-conditioned apartment, we brought those instead. One bite in and we both fervently decided that it was hands down the best addition to an already perfect dessert. I’m normally a classics gal. Give me the cheese pizza, the turkey sandwich on white bread, the pasta with olive oil and salt. But if we’re handling s’mores, and we certainly are, you gotta hand over the peanut butter.
So this year, since we no longer celebrate Fourth of July, I decided that we needed a new summer tradition. I hereby welcome you to a proper celebration of National S’mores Day. This peanut butter s’mores tart is the answer to your summer craving without the expectation of being outdoors for prolonged periods in Tennessee between the months of June and September. A truly magnificent ode to cap off the summer that requires zero camping, and very little oven time. And while it looks like a lot of steps, trust me, it’s worth every single bite.
God Bless Tiny, Air-Conditioned Apartments.
Peanut Butter S’mores TART
INGREDIENTS:
Graham Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbles
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
140 grams butter, browned and slightly cooled
Peanut Butter Caramel Filling
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
2 ounces butter (1/2 stick)
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter (not the natural kind!)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
Chocolate Ganache
3 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Toasted Marshmallow Topping
3 egg whites, room temperature
2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup water
3/4 cup brown rice syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla (extract, or 1/2 tablespoon paste)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350F.
Graham Crust
In a medium-sized bowl, combine all ingredients with a fork until well mixed. If you only have whole graham crackers on hand, use a food processor and pulse until mixture resembles wet sand. Should be able to ball up in your hand when squeezing a spoonful and stay well formed when you open your hand. If not, add another 1-2 tablespoons of melted butter.
Form and press crust into a a 9” tart pan, pressing to flatten evenly along the bottom and sides. Bake in oven for 10-20 minutes, or until edges are barely darker than the bottom.
Peanut Butter Caramel Filling
While crust is baking, combine sugar, brown rice syrup and water in a heavy bottomed pan. Cook on medium-high until mixture is a dark, amber color, or about 10-12 minutes. Take off heat and add in heavy cream, butter, peanut butter and salt. Mixture will bubble up and steam quite a bit, so to avoid burns, use a large, heat-safe spatula to combine. Stir until combined and pour directly into warm tart crust. Let set by cooling at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
Chocolate Ganache
Once the caramel filling is cool, you can start your ganache. Pour chopped chocolate into a wide, heat-safe glass bowl. Add heavy cream in a small sauce pan over the oven on medium heat until bubbling, about 1-2 minutes. Pour over chocolate and let sit for 1 minute. Using a spoon or small spatula, stir until mixture is homogeneous and shiny. Pour directly over cooled tart and let set, 30-40 minutes at room temperature.
Toasted Marshmallow Topping
Using a heavy bottomed pan, heat water, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and brown rice syrup on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes, or until it’s at the soft-ball stage (around 235F if you have a candy thermometer, or a thick, rolling boil for about 2 minutes if you don’t).
While you are heating the syrup, prepare your egg whites. In a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine eggs, sugar and cream of tartar if you are using it. Whisk on medium to medium high until soft, shiny peaks form (they should be closer to stiff peaks, and not at all bubbly, or when you add in the hot syrup, the eggs will lose their air and flatten).
Once the sugar mixture is ready, turn the mixer on medium to medium-high and VERY SLOWLY pour in your sugar into the egg mixture while the mixer is running. It should double in size! Very fun to watch. Let mixer run for 5 minutes. Add vanilla and mix for one more minute. Let mixture cool for about 20-30 minutes.
Using a large spatula, spoon marshmallow topping over the tart. To get the wisps to a desired shape, use the back of a small spoon in a gentle swooping motion. With a kitchen torch, lightly brush the topping with the edge of the flame until browned throughout. If you don’t have a kitchen torch, use your oven’s broiler setting, keeping the oven slightly ajar and keeping an eye on it the entire time.
Serve immediately! Can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days.
