Marshmallow Stick

When to use this

• Campfire dessert
• Hot dog roasting
• Quiet pre-dinner activity for kids

What you need

• A green willow or hardwood stick (about ¾ inch thick, 3–4 feet long)
• A knife
• A seat

Step by step

1. 1.Find a stick about as thick as your thumb and as long as your outstretched arm. Green willow works well — it bends without snapping over a fire.
2. 2.Sit down. Hold the stick well away from your body, the carving end pointing forward.
3. 3.Use push cuts to remove all bark from the last 12–18 inches. Bark in a marshmallow is unpleasant.
4. 4.Taper the working end to a clean point with the same technique as a sharpened stick.
5. 5.For a two-prong fork: split the last 3 inches lengthwise with a careful, controlled push cut, then sharpen each prong.
6. 6.Smooth the stripped section with light pull cuts (with a thumb-assist) so there are no splinters.

What success looks like

A long, smooth, two-pronged or single-point stick that doesn’t shed bark into your s’mores.

Pro tips

• Green wood is the right call here — dry sticks burn, green sticks just darken.
• A two-prong stick holds two marshmallows side by side, which is exactly what kids want.

Common mistakes

• Using a dry/dead stick — it’ll catch fire halfway through your s’more.
• Skipping the bark-removal section. Bark cooks into the marshmallow and tastes terrible.

Variations

• Twin-fork (two prongs)
• Single point with a notch behind the tip to keep the marshmallow from sliding off
• Carved grip: shallow stop-cuts in a ring at the holding end so it’s easy to find in the dark