A graham cracker, chocolate, and a roasted marshmallow combine to make a s’more.
A classic s’more is assembled by placing a toasted marshmallow and a piece of chocolate between two graham crackers. The marshmallow’s heat softens or melts the chocolate, while its sticky texture helps hold the sandwich together. The result is a deliberately messy campfire treat associated particularly strongly with the United States and Canada.
The name is a contraction of “some more,” reflecting the familiar desire to eat another one. Girl Scout publications and other records from the mid-1920s describe a dessert called “Some Mores” made with graham crackers, chocolate, and toasted marshmallow. The shortened spelling “s’more” became established by the end of the 1930s.
The snack has older relatives. Early-20th-century “Marshmallow Marguerites” combined toasted or baked marshmallow with crackers, and some versions included chocolate. Modern s’mores can be made under a broiler, grill, or microwave, and variations may substitute cookies, flavored chocolate, or peanut-butter cups. Despite those adaptations, the defining combination remains cracker, chocolate, and toasted marshmallow.