S'mores are the quintessential sweet summertime treat, loved by children and adults alike. Often made over a campfire or backyard fire pit (or even on the grill), s'mores can be created in the kitchen using an oven but they are so much more fun when whipped up in the out of doors.

If you do choose to create in the kitchen set your oven to 425 degrees for optimum melting of marshmallows. Place the assembled s'mores on a lined cookie sheet and bake for 2 to 3 minutes or until the marshmallow, cheese etc is properly melted and lightly browned. Toppings like frosting should be added once s'mores are out of the oven and cooled slightly.

The typical s'more consists of three ingredients: graham crackers, marshmallows and chocolate. But the s'more offers itself up to both sweet and savory options as well as a foundation for adding more adventurous selections to create a uniquely delicious dish.

In place of chocolate bars, try the following:

Hot fudge topping or chocolate syrup
White chocolate
Chocolate ganache
York Peppermint Patties
Nutella
Peanut butter or Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
Other candy bars such as Twix, Kit Kats, Snickers and Milky Way Bars
Chocolate cake frosting

Switch out marshmallows for these options:

Flavored marshmallows
Caramel
Cookie dough
Cream cheese
Vanilla or 'white' cake frosting
Any type of cheese including Brie, Gouda, etc.

Break away from the Graham cracker and give these a try:

Chocolate Graham crackers
Waffles
Tortilla
Ritz or other crackers
Donuts
Buttermilk biscuits
Crescent rolls
Your favorite cookie: chocolate chip, shortbread, Vanilla Wafers, sugar, Oreos, etc.

Now, try adding s'more adventurous ingredients including:

Bacon
Fresh fruit-bananas, strawberries, peaches, apple, etc
Fruit preserves-fig, apricot, blueberry, etc.
Nuts
Sea salt
Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, etc.

Let your creative dessert juices flow.

Mix and match your favorites. Try savory options, such as biscuits, cheddar cheese, apple and apricot preserves or new sweet versions like sugar cookies, marshmallows topped with Nutella and chopped hazelnuts with a dash of sea salt.

For a fun food event, gather a variety of ingredients from each category and allow people to assemble their own s'mores. You'll be surprised at the unique discoveries.