Yahoo Lifestyle The Best S'mores Maker for Your Next Party
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The Best S'mores Maker for Your Next Party
You don't have to stop roasting marshmallows for s'mores when cold temperatures roll around thanks to indoor s'mores makers. They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and styles, including electric, ceramic, microwave-friendly and more. Some s’mores makers require little more than an outlet or an oven (and a great indoor s’mores recipe!), while others use fuel gel to get a flame going.
In the Good Housekeeping Institute's Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab, we test a range of kitchen appliances from fondue pots to electric tea kettles to cool kitchen gadgets. When testing the best s’mores makers, we made three s'mores on each s'mores maker using Jet-Puffed Marshmallows, Hershey's Milk Chocolate and Honey Maid Fresh Stacks Graham Crackers. We weighed a variety of criteria such as assembly, preheat and cook time, experience, s’mores quality and ease of clean up. Because marshmallows are a key component of a great s’mores, we also carefully evaluated each marshmallows’ texture after roasting and awarded a marshmallow score on a scale of 1 to 5. A score of 5 indicated that marshmallows obtained a golden, crispy exterior and soft gooey interior.
What to look for when shopping for a s'mores maker
✔️ Style: Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab Director Nicole Papantoniou says that the first factor you should consider when shopping for a s'mores maker is the style. Do you prefer an indoor s'mores maker, a portable outdoor-only s'mores maker or one that can be used both indoors and outdoors?
✔️ Heating source: The second question you should ask yourself is whether you prefer an electric s'mores maker, one that uses canned chafing fuel (or a similar heat source), or one that can be used in the microwave or oven? If being able to roast marshmallows on sticks is important to you, the best fit is an electric s'mores maker or one that uses fuel. In addition, we found that marshmallows that were roasted with a flame resembled campfire marshmallows most closely and generally scored higher, but marshmallows roasted in an electric maker weren't far off. It's also important to note that electric s'mores makers will cost less money down the line since they don't require the additional purchase of canned chafing fuel.
✔️ Size: The last factor to consider is the size of your s'mores maker and whether you have enough space to store it. Some s'mores makers are light and come with trays that break apart for easy storage, while others come with heavier ceramic plates or contain multiple pieces and parts.
Below are our favorite, top-tested s’mores makers for all occasions, whether that be a s’mores birthday party for kids, a cute date night for two or a quick afternoon snack.
amazon - 2/8
S'mores Roaster
Chef'n
crateandbarrel.com
$49.95
The Chef’n s’mores maker was a favorite in the Good Housekeeping Institute’s Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation lab. We not only thought this maker looked adorable on a dinner table, but it did a fantastic job at churning out golden campfire-style marshmallows and 5-star s’mores. One tester absolutely loved how you can place graham crackers and chocolate on the maker’s sides so it warms up (and the chocolate melts) as you roast your marshmallows.
The lab also liked how this maker is suitable for indoor or outdoor use. We do want to point out, however, that it’s critical to buy a 6.1-oz gel can for this maker, or extinguishing the flame can be a hassle. And though waiting 10 minutes for the ceramic plate to preheat left us feeling impatient, we found the overall experience to be well worth the wait.
Marshmallow score: 5
Total time (includes prep time, roasting one marshmallow and assembling one s'more): 15 to 20 minutesChef'n - 3/8
S’more To Love 6 Count S’more Maker
S'more to Love
amazon.com
$19.99
If you need a s’mores maker that’ll feed several hungry folks at once, the S’more to Love maker stands out by enabling you to make six s’mores per batch! It also comes at a great price and can be reused time after time. For this s'mores maker all you need is an oven, toaster oven or grill and some oven mitts. Because you have to preheat the oven or grill, this s’mores maker isn’t the fastest option on this list, but we found the final result to be six fantastic warm s’mores with a gooey marshmallow and melted chocolate.
Even though you likely won’t get a campfire-style golden marshmallow with this s’more maker, if melty chocolate is a priority you won’t find a better fit. We suggest keeping a close watch while making these so you don’t accidentally overcook your s’mores and end up with messy chocolate and marshmallows everywhere. But if you do, a quick rinse of the basket in the sink will do the trick!
Marshmallow score: 2
Total time: 20 minutesThe Fulham Group - 4/8
Electric S'mores Maker
Nostalgia
amazon.com
$24.99
We were impressed with this s’more maker and how quickly it roasted marshmallows. The electric grill heated up in five to 10 minutes, and the plastic tray, which breaks apart for easy storage, was quick to assemble. Though the grill surface is smaller than other electric s’mores makers on this list, it’s the perfect choice for two people.
One tester did remark, however, that the accompanying forks were too small for comfort and felt their hands were too close to the heat source. Nevertheless, this s’mores maker produced excellent golden s’mores that we couldn't get enough of.
Marshmallow score: 4
Total time: 10 minutesNostalgia - 5/8
Ceramic Smores Maker
Chicago Metallic
amazon.com
$45.28
This Chicago Metallic model is a smart choice if you’re looking for a s’mores maker that has an actual flame and will remind you of roasting marshmallows by the campfire. It's one of the few makers on this list that can achieve that beloved crispy, charred texture (though you’ll have to be careful). One of our testers admitted that she accidentally lit her marshmallow on fire three times the first time she tried the s’mores maker and found the flame height intimidating at times.
But on the bright side, this s’mores maker doesn’t require any preheating — once you’ve set up your maker, all you have to do is light the fuel gel to get started. It’s the perfect choice for a date night or a smaller group since you have to be right above the flame to achieve the best results. Just keep in mind that this s’mores maker is on the heavier side and will require more space to store in your kitchen cabinet.
Marshmallow score: 5
Total time: 5 minutesChicago Metallic - 6/8
Prep Solutions Microwave S'mores Maker
Progressive
amazon.com
$10.99
The Kitchen Appliances and Culinary Innovation Lab absolutely loved how cute, lightweight and easy to use this s’mores maker was and agreed that it’s the best choice for kids. All you have to do is fill the water reservoir, prepare two s’mores and pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds! Each s’more featured warm chocolate and a gooey marshmallow, and we took secret pleasure in smashing the s’mores together with the makers' hands and watching each marshmallow ooze out on the sides.
The main disadvantage of this s’more maker is that you miss out on the joy of actually roasting marshmallows, and you won’t get a crisped exterior like you would from a fire. But this model felt super safe. It’s also extremely easy to clean up as there are no electrical wires or cords to avoid.
Marshmallow score: 1
Total time: Under 5 minutesProgressive - 7/8
Electric S'mores Maker
Sharper Image
amazon.com
$36.99
This s’mores maker is the perfect choice for dinner parties or larger groups of people who want to roast marshmallows at the same time. The grill has a large surface area and produced yummy marshmallows that were golden on the outside, gooey and soft on the inside. Though the marshmallows weren’t exactly the crispy texture you would achieve with a campfire, the final s’more result was similar.
We really liked that the plastic tray was lightweight and had lots of space to set up s’mores ingredients on the sides, but because this s’mores maker is larger, it’ll require some extra space to store.
Marshmallow score: 3
Total time: 10 minutesSharper Image - 8/8
City Bonfires S'mores Night Pack
City Bonfires
citybonfires.com
$36.95
We loved the concept of City Bonfires and found it really fun to be able to light a “campfire” outside (as long as it’s not too windy!). This s’mores maker is portable, lightweight and extremely easy to take with you wherever you go. You can buy the portable fire pit by itself, but we liked that the S'mores Night Pack came with a cool lighter, two roasting sticks and a s’mores kit so you can get started ASAP, and we especially liked that no clean-up is required (though it’s a shame the provided sticks aren’t reusable).
Preheating isn’t required or recommended, but we do advise waiting at least five minutes after you’ve lit the nontoxic briquettes before roasting marshmallows. One tester noted that even though City Bonfires ultimately produced decent s’mores, the deposit from the soy wax wasn’t appetizing and gave marshmallows a black appearance. We also found that marshmallows took a few minutes longer to roast than with other s’more makers.
Marshmallow score: 3
Total time: 10 minutesCity Bonfires
