I really wanted to post a timely s’mores recipe, but Kenny and I were away. And not only were we away, but we were also at a hotel hosting the Girl Scouts for National S’more Day. Talk about hitting pay dirt! There were s’more kits and fire pits everywhere.

Now that I’m back, I wanted to pay my respects to what is truly a marvelous holiday. Sorry if I’m a few days late! But these s’mores cookie cups should be worth it. They’re chocolate chip cookies filled and topped with everything you need in a s’more: the chocolate and marshmallow love. I’m excited to have these in the house!

The other day, I had a good belly laugh, and I really needed it. I’m sure you understand. They can be hard to come by, those hearty belly laughs, but they’re the best.

Kenny has this habit of sneezing his way through the first few hours of the morning. Some mornings are more extreme than others, and so I often don’t even notice. When I do, I usually just make sure he doesn’t have a cold before I give him a kiss.

Anyway, the kids and I were sitting at the kitchen table having a peaceful breakfast when Kenny sneezed. He was walking around gathering laundry, and he sneezed again. And again. And again. The poor guy was just on a roll.

For some reason, the kids and I found this to be massively hilarious. I can’t really explain why, but the symphonic sneezing had us in stitches. We laughed until our sides hurt. Well, except for Kenny. He was waiting for one of us to say, “Bless you.” Which we did eventually.

It just felt good to laugh, especially with my children. I have to be the disciplinarian so often, which means that I don’t always have the ability to just burst into laughter. I should do it more often, though, because it’s a quick and easy way to get some therapy.

Do you know what else is quick and easy? Yep, these s’more cookie cups!

I used refrigerated cookie dough.  It was the gluten-free kind, too. Immaculate Baking makes the best GF cookie dough! The inside is filled with a large piece of Hershey’s chocolate and half a marshmallow, and then the whole thing is topped with the other marshmallow half. Inside the oven, the marshmallow inside melts, but that just makes for more gooey goodness. And that flavor remains!

There’s plenty of time in life to be serious. Sometimes it’s better to let your guard down and be silly. Having an easy treat along the way doesn’t hurt, either. After all, it’s much cheaper than a therapist’s office!

If you’re not familiar with poker terminology, let me rephrase that. It’s never decadent enough. We can always do more to make our baked goods push glorious boundaries. Brownies are particularly conducive to letting the crazy out. They’re like the best chocolate canvas ever.

These fudgy guys are a lot of fun. The bottom layer is chocolate graham crackers, followed by brownie batter with chocolate chips inside. So there’s the “triple” in the title. And then the whole kit n’ kaboodle is topped off with jumbo marshmallow slices. Aww yeah.

One of the reasons that I love to bake is that daydreaming has always been a huge part of my life. Whenever I’m off in other worlds, I imagine anything from new versions of cities I live in (I’ve dreamed an entirely different D.C. from the one people know and love) to baked goods. But sometimes, my daydreaming can really startle me with its power to completely transport me away from the present moment.

For instance, I sometimes daydream through a whole hour-long workout. Sure, my brain checks in now and then to make sure I’m still moving, but I will honestly not remember doing a lot of it. That doesn’t happen most of the time, but when I’m preoccupied or upset or trying to work something out, that other part of my brain takes over while my body just does whatever it’s supposed to do.

This morning, I was sweating through my favorite barre workout, Physique 57. It’s 57 minutes of working different muscle groups in intervals with the help of a ballet barre (yep, I actually own a barre), a ball, and some weights. Some days are easier than others. There are the days that it doesn’t really seem too terrible at all, while on other days, I actually groan out loud after a particularly grueling set.

Today was neither, because I was too busy daydreaming. This time, I was thinking about something that happened 15 years ago in my first year of teaching. It was Back to School Night, and I said something to a group of parents about the ninth grade class I was teaching at the time, and how my goal was to extend on what they learned in middle school. One person in that room went to a middle school teacher she knew and told him that I’d been trashing middle school teachers for not doing their jobs well enough.

Instead of giving me the benefit of the doubt, or letting it go, or doing anything that would have been appropriate, this teacher (or bully, really) wrote me the nastiest e-mail about how I clearly could teach him so much about how to do his job, seeing as how I was brand-new and he’d been doing it for 16 years. The e-mail was sarcastic, vitriolic, and completely the wrong message to send to a new teacher.

I never told this person what I thought of him, but part of me has always wanted to tell him that, despite his best efforts, I’m still teaching. And 15 years later, I could tell him that I actually do have a lot to teach him about doing his job because I would never do what he did to me. New teachers should be counseled and guided and encouraged. They need support, not sarcasm. The fact that this man believed a rumor about someone he didn’t even know is one thing, but how he acted on it was even worse. And I’ve never forgotten his name. Someday, I might need it.

So as I thought about him during squats and reps, I came to the same conclusion I always come to. He’s a life lesson, a great example of what not to be. And that’s probably it. Besides, I’m so much cooler. I make triple chocolate s’more brownies, for heaven’s sake. And if I ever met him, I wouldn’t share. So there.

Apparently, it was national s’mores day a couple of weeks back. Well, I’m always late to the party when these supposed holidays come up. I need a day planner that tells me what food day it is. That would help. But I didn’t want you to think that I don’t love s’mores with all my heart, so here you go.

They’re easy, fun, and perfect to eat while daydreaming. Though to be honest, I try not to daydream when I’m eating brownies. That’s the best time to be present. You can save the mental vacations for working out and other unpleasantness!

A few years back, I almost got suckered into buying a s’mores kit. Have you seen them? They’re kind of awesome. There’s this little tiny fire pit (maybe two inches in diameter or so) in the middle of a circular tray that holds graham crackers, chocolate bars and marshmallows. You’re supposed to roast the marshmallow over the little fire and then put it all together.

Sounds good, no? Unless you’re me. See, I tried it, and then I set the marshmallow on fire. And then I screamed. A lot. Because fire terrifies me. Until my friend just looked at me and said, “I think you can blow that out.”

And you know what? She was right, and I did. And I screamed a little less the next time I made fire during an ill-advised foray into vodka sauce. But it was still traumatic.

As a result, I’ve become a big fan of marshmallow fluff. No need to roast a thing! True, it’s missing that campfire flavor, but better safe than sorry.

Besides, you won’t miss anything with these s’mores. A thick layer of Nutella cookie dough pairs with marshmallow fluff and graham crackers to make you happy. Why didn’t I think of this before? I’ve spent years spreading Nutella on graham crackers, but I never thought of the cookie dough until recently. It adds quite a bit of texture and tons of fun to the whole s’more experience!

And as always, this cookie dough is egg-free. Even better, the recipe is no-bake, perfect for warm weather! The recipe yields a lot of dough, so there’s plenty to eat off the spoon while you make the s’mores. Or, if you like, you can find other uses for the leftover dough. I’ll be posting one of those ideas Friday!

But focus for now on these. Because they’re easy and fun and the perfect way to usher in summer! It’s summer, right? Any day now? Hello?

And honestly, there’s no better way to celebrate camping season (and Nutella Week!) than with this cute riff on a classic favorite. Grab some of these and find a nice patch of grass somewhere!

Cookie Dough:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/4 cup Nutella
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk (I used two-percent)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup flour

You Also Need:

• 1 box plain graham crackers
• 1 jar marshmallow fluff (you will have plenty left)

Instructions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, Nutella and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the milk and vanilla and mix again. Add the flour gradually, beating until a soft, workable dough forms.

Take the graham crackers and break into squares. On one side of the graham cracker, spread a generous amount of fluff to cover the area of the cracker. On the other side, press about 1 and 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of cookie dough, working the dough toward the edges.

Place the two graham cracker sides together, pressing firmly, and set aside.

Note: if you want more marshmallow, spread a layer of fluff on both sides before pressing on the cookie dough.

When your s’mores are assembled, pipe some Nutella onto the tops just to be cute!