Smores Bars

I hope that you had a good 4^th of July! We didn’t do much, but it was a lovely day. We usually stay home and make sure that our kitties are ok. Thankfully, fireworks are banned in the city I live in, so we don’t hear too many, but on the 4^th it is typically noisy. I did have time to bake on the 4^th, and I couldn’t think of anything more appropriate that Smores Bars.

I’ve made a couple of smores-inspired treats, and I was really shocked that I hadn’t made a type of smores bars. Recipes vary a lot, and some don’t seem to have the classic three ingredients: graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate (Hershey) bars. These have all the right ingredients, with a graham cracker base, marshmallows in the cookie and as a topping, and Hershey bars as a topping.

Baking with marshmallows is always an adventure. So often they melt and become a gooey mess in the oven. I was a bit unsure about baking the marshmallows on top of these bars for the full baking time. They did melt some but are generally still recognizable as a marshmallow. It’s somewhat hard to tell when these bars are done baking, I made sure that mine were fully set and didn’t jiggle when I moved the pan. I’ve had bars that looked baked but were completely doughy when you cut into them. These do taste a lot like smores, but without the camp fire smoke!

Smores Bars

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

3/4 cup butter, melted

1 cup sugar

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup mini marshmallows

1-1/2 Hershey chocolate bars (each "Hershey" section broken or cut in half)

1 graham cracker, broken into pieces

1/2 cup mini marshmallows

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9” x 13” baking pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Make sure the foil is long enough that it hangs over the sides of the pan. This will become a handle when you need to remove the bars from the pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together the ½ cup melted butter and graham cracker crumbs. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Place the pan in the freezer while you prepare the cookie dough.

In a larger mixer bowl, add the ¾ cup melted butter, sugar and brown sugar. Beat on medium until combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Add the chocolate chips and 1 cup mini marshmallows. Stir into the dough with a spatula.

Remove the pan from the freezer. Drop the dough in spoonfuls over the graham cracker crust and then carefully spread the dough in an even layer. Top the dough with the broken Hershey bar pieces, graham cracker pieces, and mini marshmallows. Press into the dough slightly.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until lightly browned and the bars are set.  Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting into bars. To cut into bars, lift the cookies from the pan and peel away the foil. Cut into squares.

Recipe from Glorious Treats