Serving Up {Cookies}: S'more Bars

Tomorrow night my husband and my sons will be participating in a favorite annual event - the Father & Sons camp out!  My boys truly look forward to going camping with their dad every year and this year my youngest will be joining them, so my daughter and I will get our very own girl's night out (or in).

When I think about camping I think about s'mores.  Yum!  S'mores and s'more variations have sure made their mark all over the recipe sites lately.  I, for one, am not complaining.  This recipe for a s'more blondie bar really hit the flavor of a s'more right on the head.  The addition of the graham cracker crumbs is perfect, and I think the texture and flavor were even better the day after.

The best part of the recipe?  All the flavor of the s'more without getting dirty or smelling like campfire smoke.  Definitely a winning combination.

One Year Ago: Coconut and Cashew Granola

                          Granola Pudding Parfait

S'MORE BARS     

(recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe)

printable version

                        

2 cups flour
2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 sticks butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2  eggs
2 cups marshmallow creme
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9X13-inch pan with foil and grease the foil with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until light, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing until combined. Divide the dough in half. Press half into the bottom of the prepared pan until the dough is evenly flattened. Dollop the marshmallow topping on top of the cookie base and gently spread into an even layer. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.

Scatter the remaining dough over the top in clumps. Don’t worry about completely covering the top, the marshmallow and chocolate chips should peek through. Bake the bars until golden brown, about 30-32 minutes. Cool completely. Remove the bars from the pan by lifting out the foil.  Cut into bars and serve.

Serving Up {Dessert}: S'more S'morgasbord

Summer is getting away from me and I'm not sure that I'm okay with that!  So, much like my last post which was more of an idea (hopefully inspiration) than a true recipe, today's post is a fun twist on an American classic...the S'more.  Love them!

I saw the idea for a S'more bar here (love everything on her site) and finally created it for my own family this past weekend when we were at the Oregon Coast.  I don't care if you are a beach s'morer, a campfire s'morer or a backyard s'morer - having the s'more bar was so much fun!  If nothing else, it justifies eating like four s'mores because, hey, you have to try all the variety of options right?

For our "S'morgasbord" (I'm so copyrighting that!) we had...
Cookie Options: Honey Grahams, Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Peanut Butter Chunk Cookies, Crunchy Granola Bars
Marshmallow Options: Regular or Caramel
Chocolate Options: Hershey's Milk Chocolate, Hershey's Cookie & Cream, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, York Peppermint

My favorite combo was definitely the regular marshmallow sandwiched between the honey grahams with the Peanut Butter Cup melting it's goodness out the edges.  Yum!

So with what is left of summer, make sure to plan an outing with your favorite people and enjoy a delightful twist on an old classic!  You may never go back to plain chocolate and graham crackers again!