DinoS'mores!

As all great predators in the animal kingdom know, food is better when you can play with it! These dinos'mores can be used in a classroom setting to teach how paleontologists uncover fossils, at parties for a fun treat, or just when you feel that cretaceous craving.

Please be warned: this project is VERY MESSY. (and VERY FUN!)

Ingredients:

• Chocolate of your choosing, in small, even-sized pieces (in this example I’ll be using chocolate chips)
• Graham crackers
• Butter
• Brown sugar (I recommend dark brown sugar, but light or regular granulated sugar will work as well)
• Mini marshmallows or mallow bits

*Note: Amounts are not included in this Instructable because the amount of ingredients required will depend on the capacity of your molds. To make 1 egg with several dinosaurs (most will be used as extras/backups, I used 1 12 oz bag of chocolate chips and had a bit of melted chocolate left over, 1 sleeve of graham crackers, 1/2 a stick of butter, and 1/3 cups of brown sugar).

Supplies:

• Microwave-safe bowl
• Mixing bowl
• Spatula
• Measuring cups
• Digital thermometer
• Dinosaur-shaped candy mold

Optional supplies:

• Mallet
• Egg-shaped mold (be sure your egg mold is large enough to fit your dinosaur(s)!
• Double boiler
• Plastic bags or squeeze bottles

Chocolate can be a bit... temperamental to work with, and requires a bit of speed and dexterity to work with. That's why I like to start by making my "dirt", which can be set aside until later.

Our dirt is a modified graham cracker crust, which really helps the s'more vibe come through. While the amount of dirt you need will vary depending on how many/the size of the eggs you make, a basic ratio is:

• 1 part graham cracker crumbs
• 1/5 part melted butter
• 1/3 part brown sugar

Start by placing your graham crackers in a sealable bag, releasing as much air as you can. Using your hands or a mallet, crush your graham crackers into a fine dust. If you are making this recipe with children, you can triple bag your graham crackers, place them on the floor, and encourage your kids to do their best impression of a T-Rex stomp! If you are making this recipe alone or with adults, I certainly wouldn't judge you for doing the same.

Next, empty your graham crackers into a mixing bowl. Place your butter in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in small increments (10-15 seconds at a time). To avoid spatter, remove and mix every 10-15 seconds until the butter is 2/3 melted or so. Stirring the butter will melt the rest, and will leave you with a lot less cleanup.

Add your butter and brown sugar to the graham crackers and mix. If you want to include marshmallow "eggs", this is a great time to mix them in as well. Your mixture should be compactable at this stage. If it's still pretty loose, you can add small amounts of butter and/or brown sugar to thicken.

Set your tasty, tasty dirt to the side for now, it's dinosaur time!

There's a few different ways to melt your chocolate. The process of melting and cooling chocolate is called "tempering". A well-tempered chocolate is shiny on the outside, and has a good snap when you bite into it. A poorly tempered chocolate is still delicious, as 99.5% of chocolate is, but may have a waxy coating or a marbled pattern known as "bloom". Serious chocolatiers, and 5ivecents at the beginning of this project, use a double boiler to temper their chocolate, as the indirect heat provided by the simmering water in the lower part of the boiler melts chocolate evenly, leading to a nice temper. Double boilers can be a pain to clean and after 4 rounds of wonky dinos are at significant risk of being chucked through a window, so here's the microwave method:

Place your chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. I like using a large glass measuring cup because of the built-in spout.

Microwave for 30 seconds. "What?" you may be thinking, "This clearly isn't enough time to melt my chocolate. It's practically solid, you fool". By microwaving your chocolate in intervals and stirring between, your chocolate gets heated relatively evenly through, and will crystallize properly, leading to that nice, shiny temper.

After 30 seconds, your chocolate should be starting to melt on the bottom. Stir and microwave in 10-second intervals, stirring between, until your chocolate is 80% melted. Using your thermometer, take the temperature of your chocolate. You want to aim for 90-105 degrees Fahrenheit (slightly less for milk or white chocolate). If your chocolate is too hot, you can add more room-temperature chocolate bit by bit to bring the temp back down.

Once you have achieved a good melt, gently and slowly pour your chocolate into your dinosaur molds. Once filled, give your mold a few small, sharp taps on your prep space to make any bubbles rise to the top. Set aside to cool at room temperature (ideally ~68 degrees Fahrenheit).

Once your dinosaurs have cooled completely, pop them out of your molds and clean up any messy edges if needed. Confession: Sometimes I make my edges messy on purpose so I'll feel justified in eating all the extra chocolate later under the guise of "making everything look nice". Not that I need any excuse to consume as much chocolate as humanly possible.

Pick out your dino(s) and bring out your dirt. This part is going to be especially messy, fair warning. Form a rough egg shape around your dinosaurs with your dirt. If your dirt is too loose, add a little more butter and/or sugar.

There's a few different ways to make your egg. If you do not have an egg mold or don't want to bother with it, you can temper your chocolate using the steps above, then gently dunk your egg and set aside to dry. Depending on how much it keeps its shape during this process, you can decide if you want to call it an egg, a meteor, or a "shut up, it's fine, just eat it".

If you have an egg mold and would like to bother with it, temper more chocolate using the steps above. Pour a healthy blob of chocolate in your mold and swirl around to cover the sides.

Place your dirt ball (so appealing) in the chocolate egg. You can add additional dirt, marshmallow "eggs", or dinos if you need to fill some room.

In the other half of your egg mold, pour in more chocolate and swirl to cover. Moving quickly, bring both halves of the egg together and secure. Roll your egg around gently to get an even coating of chocolate. Set aside to cool at room temperature (ideally ~68 degrees Fahrenheit).

Once cooled, carefully and gently remove your egg from the mold. To eat, tap with a mallet, smash on the counter, or just go to town on it like a one-person herd of velociraptors (not recommended, your stomach would hurt terribly). For the budding paleontologists in your life, you can provide them with a small brush to uncover their fossils.