The classic s’mores—graham cracker, chocolate, marshmallow, graham cracker—always felt messy and a little underwhelming to me. Even when the chocolate and marshmallow are perfectly melty, the whole thing tends to fall apart.
So I solved that minor dilemma with gluten-free s’mores parfaits. They capture all the flavors of a traditional s’more but in a tidy, layered form. Even if you enjoy the rustic, gooey campfire version, these parfaits are a crowd-pleaser and much less messy.
You can top these parfaits with almost any cookie, but I used round soft gluten-free graham cracker cookies for the authentic s’mores taste and texture. If you prefer, use gluten-free chocolate graham crackers or a Nabisco-style gluten-free graham cracker—either works well.
To keep the parfait from becoming cloying, I reduced the sugar in the chocolate pudding. The marshmallow fluff remains quite sweet, and it needs that sugar to set properly—homemade marshmallow fluff relies on sugar for structure—so balancing sweetness between the two layers is key.
These parfaits benefit from being made ahead. Refrigerate them uncovered for a day (hold off on adding the cookie until serving), and both the pudding and fluff will firm up so the jars look neat rather than dangerously full. The result: s’mores flavor with far less mess. Consider this an unofficial, delicious way to kick off summer.
Gluten Free S’mores Parfaits
Equipment
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6 8-ounce jars or ramekins
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Candy thermometer
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Stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment or handheld mixer
Ingredients
Chocolate pudding layer
- ¼ cup (36 g) gum-free gluten free flour blend (23 g superfine white rice flour + 8 g potato starch + 4 g tapioca starch)
- ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons (20 g) unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-processed preferred)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups (24 fl oz) milk, at room temperature
- 3 egg yolks (75 g), at room temperature
- 3 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (or your favorite chocolate)
- 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter, chopped
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Marshmallow layer
- 1 ¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (4 fl oz) water
- ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 egg whites (50 g), at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Soft gluten free graham cracker cookies (for topping)
Instructions
Make the chocolate pudding.
- In a medium heat-safe bowl, whisk together the gluten-free flour blend, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Stir in ½ cup of the milk, then add the egg yolks, whisking after each addition. Set aside.
- In a heavy-bottom saucepan, heat the remaining 2½ cups milk to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
- Remove the hot milk from the heat and slowly whisk it into the egg-chocolate mixture a little at a time to temper the eggs, whisking constantly.
- Return the combined mixture to the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until the whisk leaves a clear trail in the pudding (about 2–3 minutes).
- Remove from heat, stir in the chopped chocolate, butter and vanilla until smooth.
- Transfer the pudding to a bowl and press plastic wrap directly onto the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool.
Make the marshmallow fluff.
- Combine the sugar, water, cream of tartar and salt in a medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until the syrup reaches the softball stage (240°F on a candy thermometer).
- Remove the syrup from the heat and let it cool briefly. Meanwhile, whip the egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk (or in a large bowl with a handheld mixer) until soft peaks form. With the mixer on low, slowly pour the hot syrup down the side of the bowl into the whipped egg whites.
- Add the vanilla, increase the mixer to high, and beat until stiff peaks form, about 5–7 minutes.
Assemble the parfaits.
- Divide the chocolate pudding among six 8-ounce jars or ramekins, creating a thick base layer. Add a thinner layer of marshmallow fluff, then another layer of chocolate pudding and finish with a generous dollop of fluff.
- Refrigerate the parfaits; they can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Add the graham cracker topping right before serving.
- Top each parfait with a soft gluten-free graham cracker just before serving for the full s’mores effect.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.