During the lowest temperatures of the polar vortex, and during the darkest nights of evening snow-shoveling in preparation for the morning, visions of blow-torched marshmallow cookie sandwiches have kept the home fires warm until the next time we can experience the real deal - firing up the little delight to hit the sweet spot of a chocolate craving!

And I don’t even normally like marshmallows (except for these, melted, it seems). Which is why it has taken me until now to finally visit Hudson Valley Marshmallow Company and actually experience one of their toasted marshmallow s’more bite sandwiches between two cookie crackers (your choice of chocolate chip, chocolate chocolate or cinnamon), smushed into your choice of a single square of dark or milk chocolate (made by Alps Chocolate, right down the street!), and blow-torched to perfection by the marshmallow-ista. (What would you call the barista of a marshmallow bar, anyway? We’ll call her a marshmallowista.) Check out this video of her torching the marshmallow, and the special smush it gets once melted.

”My torso is famous,” said the marshmallowista. That’s how many customer videos she’s been in while custom-torching marshmallow s’mores for people. The Violent Femmes played on the speakers in the background while we customers grappled with the tough choices among marshmallow combos, selecting first the flavor of the marshmallow, which is made here in Beacon in the commissary kitchen of More Good. (Yes, there is an entire outfit behind the tea room further up Main Street in the center of town, where brands like this are born and fly the coop into kitchens of their own someday.)

If you like gingerbread and pumpkin spice, you will face a tough choice between the two. For me, the choice is clear: salted caramel marshmallow between two chocolate chocolate cookie crackers (you can always mix and match), and a square of milk chocolate. Fire it up!

There is a growing number of marshmallow roasting gifts in the store. You could of course buy bags of the small-batch marshmallows (see their clever bags of black coal at Christmas), and a personal marshmallow roaster, should you want to start roasting inside your kitchen.

Valentine’s Day is just an excuse to buy these things, as eating these little s’mores any day of the year would give the same satisfaction as eating a giant cookie or brownie. 

The choice is yours. A warning: BJ’s legendary three-layer cakes are right next door. Find this strip of storefront heaven on the west end of town, toward the DMV. Also be warned: Hudson Valley Marshmallow is only open Thursdays to Sundays. But they are open until 8 pm. So all you commuters and neighboring shop owners who close and come home at 6 pm have no excuse for not going!