Cherry S’mores Bites (Vegan)
All your favorite classic s’mores flavors are packed into a bite-sized treat with a cherry twist. This fun, easy summer dessert is made without dairy and eggs.
These delightful treats capture all the classic flavors of s’mores with a unique cherry twist. They feature a buttery graham cracker crust sweetened with coconut sugar, topped with a creamy layer of dark chocolate, and finished with a homemade meringue infused with tart cherry powder. A bite-sized take on a classic dessert with a cherry upgrade. These cuties are dairy and egg-free, easy to prepare, and sure to be a crowd pleaser at your next summer gathering.
What you will need:
To make Cherry S’mores Bites, you will need these classic ingredients: graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows. This recipe also requires cherry powder, which I sourced from Food to Live’s organic cherry powder available on Amazon. For the homemade vegan meringue, be sure to have aquafaba (the liquid from canned chickpeas) ready.
- Graham Crackers
- Plant based butter with salt
- coconut sugar
- chocolate – I used Lindt Excellence 70% bar
- aquafaba – liquid from a can of chickpeas
- cane sugar
- vanilla extract
- cream of tartar
- cherry powder – I used Food to Live organic cherry powder ( ordered from Amazon)
How to :
This recipe requires a mini muffin tray. I prepped my pan by cutting parchment paper into small strips to create small slings for each cup. The slings will make lifting the cups out of the tray much easier. Set the tray aside and prepare the Graham Cracker layer.
To prepare the Graham Cracker layer, start by finely crushing the Graham Crackers and melting the butter. Add the crushed Graham Crackers, coconut sugar, and melted butter to a bowl; stir until all ingredients are well incorporated and a wet, sand-like consistency is achieved.
With the small slings placed in the mini muffin cups, divide the graham mixture among 20 cups. This is about 1/2 tablespoon of the graham mixture per cup. Firmly press and pack the crumbs into each cup. Place the muffin tray in the refrigerator so that the graham layer can set.
While the Graham layer is setting, prepare the chocolate layer. Add the chocolate and butter to a pan. Place the pan over medium-low to medium heat. Stir regularly as the chocolate and butter begin to melt. Once melted, set the chocolate aside to cool slightly.
Once the layer of Graham crackers has cooled and set, the chocolate layer can be added to the cups. Divide the chocolate evenly among the 20 cups, pouring it over the Graham cracker layer. This will be approximately 1/2 tablespoon of chocolate per cup. Return the tray to the refrigerator so the chocolate layer can cool and set properly.
While the chocolate layer is setting, prepare the meringue. I decided to make an Italian meringue because it is the most stable, and I wanted to be able to pipe the meringue and it hold its shape. Add the aquafaba, cream of tartar, and vanilla extract to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk attachment. Whip the mixture on high speed until stiff peaks form. This process will take about 12 minutes. Once you are halfway to achieving stiff peaks (about 6 minutes left), start making the sugar syrup. Add the sugar and water to a saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat, bringing the mixture to a simmer. Stir occasionally. Once a digital thermometer reaches 240°F, remove the pot from the heat.
Once stiff peaks have been achieved and the sugar syrup is ready, reduce the mixer speed to low and gradually drizzle the sugar syrup over the meringue. After adding the syrup to the bowl, increase the speed to high and whip for 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to slow and add the cherry powder one tablespoon at a time. Once the cherry powder has been added, increase the speed to high and whip long enough to incorporate all the powder.
Take the tray from the refrigerator and remove the graham/chocolate cups from the tray. Add the meringue to a piping bag (fitted with the piping tip of your choice) and pipe equal amounts of meringue over the chocolate layer of each s’mores bite. Decorate each s’mores bite with a little crushed graham and a sprinkle of cherry powder. For best results, serve these s’mores bites the same day. You can prepare the chocolate and graham layers in advance, but the meringue should be made on the same day. Store them in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve them.
Alright, let’s get started. Please make, bake, and enjoy!
Cherry S’mores Bites (Vegan)
Ingredients
Graham Layer
- 6 sheets graham crackers – finely crushed
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 3 tbsp plant based butter with salt – melted
Chocolate Layer
- 150 grams dark chocolate – I used Lindt Excellence 70% bar
- 2 tbsp plant based butter with salt
Cherry Meringue
- 4 tbsp aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas)
- ½ cup cane sugar
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp cream of tartar
- 3 tbsp cherry powder – I used Food to Live organic cherry powder
Instructions
Graham Layer
- Prep a mini cupcake tray. I cut parchment paper into strips to make mini slings for each cup; this helped when it came to getting the cups out of the tray. This recipe makes 20 s'mores bites, so you only need to prep 20 of the cups.
- Add the finely crushed graham crackers, coconut sugar and melted butter to a bowl; stir to combine, it should look like wet sand.
- Divide the graham mixture among the 20 cups – its about 1/2 tablespoon per cup. Firmly press down and pack each cup. Place the tray in the refrigerator for the graham layer to set.
Chocolate layer
- Place the chocolate and butter in a pan. Place the pan over medium-low to medium heat; stir regularly as the chocolate and butter begin to melt. Once melted, remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- Remove the tray from the refrigerator and add the chocolate layer to the top of the graham layer. Divide the chocolate among the 20 cups – its about 1/2 tablespoon of chocolate per cup. Return the tray to the refrigerator for the chocolate layer to set.
Cherry Meringue
- Add the aquafaba, cream of tartar, and vanilla extract to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk attachment. Whip on high until stiff peaks are achieved – this took me about 12 minutes.
- While the aquafaba is whipping, prepare the sugar syrup. Add the sugar and water to a pan. Place the pan over medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Keep the mixture at a simmer until it reaches 240F.***the sugar syrup will not take long to prepare, so start it when you are half way to achieving the stiff peaks ( 6 minutes left ).
- Once stiff peaks have been achieved and the sugar syrup has reached 240F – slow the whisk speed on the meringue to low and slowly drizzle the sugar syrup over the meringue. Once all of the sugar syrup has been added to the meringue, increase the speed to high and whip for 3 minutes.
- Slow the speed to low and add the cherry powder one tablespoon at a time. Once all of the cherry powder has been added, increase the speed to high and whip just long enough to incorporate the cherry powder – one to two minutes.
Assembly
- Remove the tray form the refrigerator. Remove the graham/chocolate cups from the tray. Place the meringue in a piping bag fitted with a piping tip of your choice. Pipe equal amounts of meringue to the top of each chocolate layer. Decorate each smores bite with a little crushed graham cracker and a dusting of cherry powder.Store the s'mores bites in the refrigerator until they are ready to be served. The cups can be made ahead of time. Prepare the meringue the same day you plan on serving them.Store the smores bites in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
