Jack-o-lantern S’mores

Last week on Facebook, I asked for your help on how I should welcome some new neighbors to our street. We were so excited to welcome new neighbors with young children to our block that I knew I wanted to do something special to welcome them. I got an overwhelming response of baked goods and I made a note and got to thinking.

It was the next day that I was chatting with Channing about her Boo’d Box and a light bulb went off. I decided I should combine the two and create a Boo box with some tasty home made treats for our new friends.

But, I was stumped as to what treats to make. I knew I wanted them to have a Halloween theme….but also wanted them to be preschool friendly and not too scary.

That’s when I decided to see what the amazing folks at Imperial Sugar had up their sleeves. We were fortunate enough to meet some of the lovely ladies from Imperial Sugar at Blog Elevated this year as they showed us how to make DIY Homemade Sugar Scrubs. They were so awesome that I knew they would be my answer……and I was totally right!

I will admit that at first, I was a tad intimidated to give homemade marshmallows a whirl. I am not the worlds best baker and the thought of trying something new worried me a little.

Turns out though, I had nothing to be worried about. They were SUPER easy to make and they are oh so delicious if I do say so myself. I mean yes, they were for our new neighbors, but I couldn’t deliver them without testing one {or two} out first.

Here is what you need to get started.

Supplies:

• Nonstick Spray
• 3 envelopes gelatin (7 teaspoons)
• 2/3 cup room temperature water (1)
• 2 1/2 cups Imperial Sugar Extra Fine Granulated Sugar
• 3/4 cup water (2)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-3 drops orange food coloring
• 1/2 cup Imperial Sugar Confectioners Powdered Sugar
• 16 – 20 graham crackers
• 16 – 20 Chocolate bars
• Chocolate chips
• Buttercream frosting
• Cellophane bags
• Decorative ribbon

Now, lets get started.

Directions:

1. Evenly spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan and set aside.
2. In a bowl of a stand mixer combine gelatin and water (1), fit with whip attachment and set aside.
3. In a saucepan combine sugar and water (2) and cover with a lid. Boil for 3 minutes and remove lid. Attach a thermometer on side of pan and boil until syrup reaches 240°F. Do not stir syrup as this may cause it to crystallize.
4. Remove from heat, engage mixer in medium speed and while whipping pour hot syrup in a slow and steady stream onto whipping gelatin. Once all combined engage mixer in high speed. Add salt.
5. Whip until mixture feels lukewarm and looks like marshmallow fluff, about 8-12 minutes.  Add 1 – 2 drops of orange food coloring during mixing.
6. Scrape marshmallow into prepared pan. Spread evenly. Dust with powdered sugar.
7. Allow to cool, preferably overnight while covered with plastic food wrap.
8. Next day remove from pan and using a pumpkin shaped cookie cutter, cut out shapes. Generously toss in powdered sugar.
9. Prepare Buttercream Frosting (or use store-bought if time is of the essence.)
10. Using a pastry bag with a small tip use frosting to“glue” chocolate chips for the eyes, nose and mouth. If you do not have pastry bags, place icing in a large plastic bag and cut off one of the bottom corners for easy squeezing.

I mean seriously, they are SO good. And cute. Look how precious that little jack-o-lantern face is.

Once our treats were ready, we got our box all ready to go.

Thanks to our best friend the Target Dollar Spot we were able to snag some fun little Halloween themed coloring pages, stickers, and glow sticks to add to our pumpkin bucket.

Megan was SO excited to deliver the box to our new friends. She insisted she hold it while we walked down the street.

And of course we are happy to report that our new friends loved their treats and we enjoyed getting to visit and chat with them and welcome them to our neighborhood.

Check here for more yummy edible treats from Imperial Sugar!

What is your favorite way to welcome new neighbors? Do you go the baked goods route or do you do something else?

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Imperial Sugar. While we were compensated, all thoughts and opinions are 100% our own.