From the Murphy family fire pit to yours — how to build the tallest s’mores tower you can.
The summer Kat came home to Criss Creek, her niece Tory walked into Millie’s kitchen with a platter of chocolate chip cookies in one hand and heartbreak on her face.
“Who’s going to help me build the ultimate s’mores tower this year?” she said, leaning her chin on Kat’s shoulder. “Jack always made sure mine was the tallest.”
It’s a small moment — one of dozens in Summer in the Moon Garden that makes Criss Creek feel like a place you’ve already been. It’s not just s’mores. A tower. A competition. A family tradition with rules only the cousins know.
That detail stuck with me after I finished writing the book. Because every family has one of those things that sounds ridiculous until you’re standing at the fire pit at ten o’clock, genuinely invested in whether your structure will hold.
In Criss Creek, it’s the s’mores tower.
The Rules of the Tower
The goal is simple: build the tallest freestanding s’mores structure you can using only graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. No skewers. No toothpicks. No cheating.
The catch is that s’mores are inherently unstable — melted chocolate slides, puffy marshmallow shifts, and graham crackers crack under pressure. Building tall requires a little patience and a little strategy. Here’s what works.
What You Need
- Graham crackers (full sheets)
- Hershey’s milk chocolate bars
- Large marshmallows
- Roasting sticks or skewers
- A fire or campfire-safe heat source
- Steady hands and competitive spirit
How to Build a Tower That Actually Stands
Start with the right foundation.
Break a full graham cracker sheet in half so you have two perfect squares — not the rectangle. The square gives you a more stable, even base. Set one square flat on your plate or a clean surface.
Break your chocolate to fit.
Snap a section of Hershey’s bar to match the graham cracker square. Lay it flat on top of the cracker. This even chocolate layer is your base — it matters more than it looks.
Get your marshmallow hot. Really hot.
Toast your marshmallow over the fire until it’s deeply golden and soft all the way through — not just scorched on the outside. You need it hot enough that when it hits the chocolate, it starts to melt it. That melted chocolate is what binds the layer together. A barely-warm marshmallow won’t do it.
Press firmly, then wait.
Slide the hot marshmallow onto the chocolate and press the second graham cracker square down on top. Hold it for a few seconds, then set it aside and let it rest for two to three minutes before you even think about stacking another layer on top.
This is the step everyone skips. Don’t skip it. The marshmallow and chocolate need to cool and set slightly — just enough to hold — before they can bear any weight. Stack too soon and the whole thing collapses. Wait it out, and you’ve got a solid first story.
Repeat and stack.
Build your second layer the same way — graham square, chocolate, hot marshmallow, second graham square, press, wait. Then carefully set it on top of your first layer. Keep going as high as you can.
The tallest towers belong to the patient builders.
Tips for Winning (or at Least Not Losing Too Fast)
- Even layers matter. A lopsided marshmallow is a structural liability. Try to center it on the cracker every time.
- Chocolate placement matters too. If the chocolate hangs over the edge, your next cracker won’t sit flat.
- Cool hands help. Warm hands transfer heat to the structure and soften the set. Handle your layers gently and quickly.
- Wind is your enemy. Build near the fire but out of the breeze if you can.
- Have extra supplies. Towers fall. That’s half the fun. Build again.
Make It a Criss Creek Night
In Summer in the Moon Garden, the s’mores tower is part of a bigger tradition — the Murphy family cookout, the fire pit, the cousins competing while the adults talk too late into the night. It’s the kind of evening that feels ordinary while it’s happening and unforgettable once it’s over.
You don’t need Criss Creek for that. You just need a fire, some chocolate, and someone who’s convinced their tower will be the tallest.
And if your tower falls — which it will, at least once — just roast another marshmallow and start over. That’s the rule.
If you want to spend more time in Criss Creek with Kat, Tory, Aunt Gertie, and the rest of the Murphy family, you can read the opening chapters of Summer in the Moon Garden free right here: