Ginger S—mores — The Fire That Stays Lit

Halloween. The hollow does not get many trick-or-treaters. Connie made a small bowl of candy anyway. The neighbor's grandchildren came up. They got the bowl.

Connie made jam Saturday afternoon. Wild blackberries from the patch up the hollow. Twelve jars. The pantry is filling for winter.

I went up to Earl's grave at the Evarts cemetery Saturday. Brought a beer. Drank half. Poured the rest on the dirt. Some traditions are mine alone.

Sunday service at Harlan First Baptist when we go. Pastor preached about Ruth and Boaz. The choir sang. Connie wore her gray dress.

Travis sent a photo of Earl Thomas riding on the mower with him at a job site. The boy is wearing a Hensley Landscaping T-shirt that's too big. Three generations on a mower. I saved the photo.

I sat on the porch with bourbon at sundown Friday. The fog rolled into the hollow the way it has every fog of every year. The porch was the porch. The bourbon was the bourbon.

Connie cut my hair on the porch Tuesday afternoon. She has been cutting my hair for forty years. The barber in Pineville cannot do what Connie does, which is also love.

I sat at the kitchen table Tuesday night working on the recipe project. Mama's soup beans. I cannot get the words right yet.

Connie read aloud from a novel Tuesday evening while I worked on the bench. Some Appalachian writer she had picked up at the library in Whitesburg. The voice was the voice of where we live. We listened together.

Amber sent the kids' school photos this week. Nadia is taller every year. Marcus has Amber's serious face. Little Betty has Mama's eyes.

Drove the truck to the dump Saturday afternoon. Saw three deer crossing the road on the way back. The mountains have been giving back this year.

The creek was running clear Sunday afternoon. I watched a kingfisher work the riffle. Did not move for an hour. Some Sundays the watching is the worship.

I split a half-cord of wood Saturday. Slowly. The back does not let me work fast anymore. It got done. The wood was for the smokehouse.

My back was tight after the wood-splitting Saturday. Took an Aleve. Slept eight hours. Got up.

Worked on a basement remodel job in Lexington. The work was good. The pay was good. The body is tired.

Read the paper at breakfast Tuesday. The county news is not great. The mines have not come back and they will not come back. The young people leave. The hollows empty. We stay.

The neighbor up the road — Old Roy, eighty-seven, lives alone — had a small heart scare. We took him soup beans Tuesday. Cornbread too. He cried a little when he ate. We all cry over soup beans eventually.

Drove to Pineville for parts Wednesday. The hardware store man knew me. We talked about the weather and the price of feed. Forty minutes for a five-minute errand. That is rural Kentucky.

I checked the truck oil Saturday. The mileage on this truck is criminal.

The dog — old Beau, fifteen years old — slept by the wood stove all afternoon Tuesday. He used to be a hunting dog. Now he is a heating pad with opinions.

I’ve been sitting with this recipe the way you sit with a thought you can’t quite put down — the same way I’ve been sitting with Mama’s soup beans, trying to get the words right. Connie read aloud Tuesday evening while I worked on the bench, and old Beau slept by the wood stove, and the hollow was quiet in that full way it gets in late October, and what I kept thinking about was warmth — the kind you build slow and tend careful. These Ginger S’mores are that kind of thing: a small tradition with a little more heat in it than you expected, spiced up just enough to remind you the fire is still going.

Ginger S’mores

Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 5 minutes | Total Time: 10 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 8 ginger snap cookies (or ginger thin cookies)
• 4 large marshmallows
• 2 oz dark chocolate (about 2 squares from a bar), broken into 4 pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional, for dusting)
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional, for extra heat)

Instructions

1. Prepare your base. Lay out 4 ginger snap cookies on a heat-safe surface or plate. Place one piece of dark chocolate on top of each cookie.
2. Toast the marshmallows. Thread marshmallows onto roasting sticks or skewers. Hold over an open flame, campfire, or fireplace, rotating slowly until the marshmallow is golden brown and puffed all around — 1 to 2 minutes. Alternatively, place marshmallows on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil on high for 60 to 90 seconds, watching closely.
3. Assemble. Slide the toasted marshmallow off the stick and onto the chocolate-topped cookie. Press a second ginger snap firmly on top to sandwich it together, holding for a few seconds while the marshmallow and chocolate begin to melt together.
4. Finish and serve. Dust lightly with cinnamon if using. Serve immediately while warm. The ginger in the cookie deepens as the heat from the marshmallow comes through — eat them slow.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 185 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 29g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 115mg