S’mores Are Even Better Without Chocolate

In Trampling and Trailing with the Girl Scouts, published in 1927, you’ll find one of the earliest s’mores recipes. Titled “Some More,” quotation marks included, it calls for 16 graham crackers, 8 bars of plain chocolate, 16 marshmallows, and 8 sticks. “Though it tastes like ‘some more,’” the guidebook reads, “one is really enough.”

Since then, not much has changed beyond the shortened name. There’s nothing wrong with a traditional combo: melty chocolate, crunchy crackers, and golden-gooey marshmallow. But I can never have more than half a s’more with chocolate—too rich, too cloying—and I’d dare to say s’mores are even better without any chocolate at all.

Instead, try lemon curd. When you smear this citrusy spread onto graham crackers and top with a toasted marshmallow, you basically get lemon meringue pie—but you didn’t have to whip any egg whites or futz with a crust. It’s tangy. It’s not too sweet. It’s my ideal campfire dessert on a humid summer night.

I first tried this at a summer wedding in Minnesota eight years ago. The couple had laid out a s’mores bar on red gingham tablecloths, with everything from the traditional chocolate bars to M&Ms to Heath bars to, yes, lemon curd. The groom suggested the last to me, and ever since, it’s been my favorite way to make a s’more.

The best part is that using store-bought lemon curd, like Bonne Maman, is as simple as opening up a package of chocolate. If you’re not a lemon curd fan, what spread is in your fridge or pantry? Fruit jams and jellies like key lime, blackberry, or raspberry are all great options. Or try peanut butter, or even Biscoff cookie butter.

Purists will say it can’t technically be called a s’more without the chocolate, but the jammy version certainly “tastes like ‘some more’” to me.