S’mores Bars

Occasionally I take a treat to the office and people go completely wild. Such was the case with these s’mores bars, which I’ve made twice already this summer and people still ask me to make again. Fear not, coworkers. There will always be more s’mores bars, regardless of the time of year.

These treats are essentially a chocolate chip cookie dough made with crushed graham crackers. A layer of marshmallows, which melts and leaves a delicious flavor and wonderful chewy texture, goes in between two layers of cookie dough. One caveat: the dough is quite thick and rather difficult to spread, but I developed an effective (if not slightly odd) technique for creating the layers.

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 12 full sheets of crackers, see tips below)
  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 2 1/4 cups miniature marshmallows

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 13 baking tin with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

To make graham cracker crumbs, break full sheets apart and place in a zip-top bag. Use a mallet, rolling pin, or the back of a spoon to finely crush into crumbs. It takes about 10-12 full sheets of crackers to make 1 1/2 cups; start with 10 and add more if you need to.

In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture, beating on low to just combine. Stir in graham cracker crumbs, then chocolate chips.

Divide the dough in half; it will be difficult to spread in the pan because it’s so thick, and there’s not a ton of dough.  I took handfuls of dough and flattened them between my palms to create large cookie-sized portions, then placed them in the tin to cover the bottom and spread the dough gently with my fingers to connect the pieces together. Top with miniature marshmallows and repeat the process to cover the marshmallows as completely as you can. It’s okay if a few marshmallows poke through.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the center is still set up still soft. Remove from oven and cool in the pan about 15 minutes, then lift out using the parchment paper and cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into squares. Makes 24.

S’mores Bars

smoresbarsEveryone I know is either going on vacation or just getting back. Lots of beach trips and some hiking adventures, including my own in Wyoming. I visited Grand Teton National Park and hiked about eleven and a half miles there with Roman, my 17-year-old nephew. We also visited Yellowstone and saw some amazing thermal pools, along with Old Faithful. Both Grand Teton and Yellowstone seem like good places to make s’mores, and yet as we weren’t camping – and therefore not near a camp fire – we went s’more-less.

These treats, which I found at Life of a Foodie, are really delicious and very, very much like the real thing. Requiring almost five Hershey Bars and a full jar of marshmallow fluff, they are anything but low calorie. Then again, I guess if you’re hiking all over the wilderness, you can afford some calories for sure.

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 4 sheets graham crackers, crushed to fine crumbs (this equals 1/2 cup)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • About 5 standard-sized Hershey bars
  • 7-ounce jar marshmallow fluff

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8 x 8 tin with parchment paper.

In a mixer, cream butter and sugars until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Add flour, graham cracker crumbs, salt, and baking soda and beat to combine.

Divide dough in half; press half into the parchment-lined tin, then lift it out and place it in the fridge to chill while you make the other layers. Re-line your tin with parchment and press the other half of the dough into the bottom; top with Hershey bars, covering the dough completely. For me, this took four full Hershey bars and about 3/4 of the fifth one, with just a few bricks remaining. Top with marshmallow fluff; I used an oiled offset spatula for this, which worked really well because the fluff is so sticky. Remove the other dough layer from the fridge, carefully peel away the parchment, and very carefully set it on top of the fluff layer.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the top is just golden brown. Remove from oven and cool in the tin for about 30 minutes, then lift out by the parchment and cool completely on a wire rack. I cut my bars when they were still just a bit warm inside, hence the flow of marshmallow you see in the photo. If I make these again, I’ll probably let them cool overnight before cutting them. Makes 16.