Three Tarts’ marshmallows

Photograph: Roxana Marroquin

No longer just the airy accessories for winter cocoa or summertime s’mores, marshmallows are quite desirable snacks in their own right. We bet you’ll agree after a trip to Chelsea confectionary Three Tarts (164 Ninth Ave at 20th St, 212-462-4392). Since the sweets spot opened two years ago, pastry chefs Sandra Palmer and Kiyomi Toda-Burke have experimented with flavors that complement the seasons. Right now, there are seven options imbued with the fragrant, fresh tastes of summer. The mango and passion fruit, for example, pop with bright, tropical flavors, while the yuzu packs a tart wallop. The basil marshmallow—“It sounds weird, but it tastes really good,” co-owner Marina Brolin assures us—is ideal for a steamy, lazy day: It’s an herbaceous, frothy pick-me-up. Made fresh daily and cut into generous squares for a dollar a pop, these pretty treats are an indulgence we can afford to give into again and again.