We’ve been on the hunt for these specific graham crackers we remember from our youth. They were like regular graham crackers except they were covered in a healthy dusting of cinnamon sugar on top that would stick to your fingers and sprinkle your surroundings. Mister remembers a generic version being available at local family-owned markets dotted around his neighborhood. I remember getting them from regular grocery stores in either the brand name Honey Maid or store brand versions. We ended up with a box each of the name brand and generic. It’s been awhile, so maybe we’re misremembering, but what’s available today isn’t as heavily seasoned, let’s say; still good, though, since cinnamon makes everything better. Nostalgia is a powerful force.
After eagerly snacking on these childhood faves for a while, the novelty sort of ran its course and they sat unenjoyed in the pantry for a bit. Digging around one day, I discovered almost an entire box of them were still leftover, and they were serendipitously rooming next to a bag of marshmallows. These two were clearly destined to be s’mores. But I wanted something different: easy, no-bake and not made in individual portions.
And so, a gooey marshmallow krispy treats situation began to take shape. The crushed up graham crackers begged me to ham up their cinnamon flavor, so I added a generous dose to the melted marshmallow mix, along with some always-necessary vanilla extract. No s’mores are complete without chocolate, so that was obviously the next addition. Not wanting to overpower the beautiful cinnamon notes, I opted to sprinkle chocolate chips only over the top of the bars once they were cozily nestled into their pan. This way, each bite gets enough chocolate to harken back to the classic s’more, yet the cinnamon graham cracker is every bit the star. This is a fun and easy make that can be customized with different add-ins and flavors. I just remembered that we used to get chocolate graham crackers, too. Hmm…
