S'Mores Bars

I cut out a recipe for baked s'mores months ago and bought a package of Marshmallow stackers - these cool square, flat marshmallows that are easier to bake with.  Then, I lost the recipe, got busy, and forgot about it.  However, the bag of marshmallow stackers in my pantry has been absolutely taunting my girls . . . every couple of weeks, they bring the bag to me and beg for a marshmallow.  I tell them that we're going to bake with them someday but they're not for eating.  

This week, I decided to finally make the bars when we had company for dinner.  A google search didn't yield the original recipe I remembered which had a graham cracker layer, a brownie layer, and a marshmallow layer on top.  However, I was intrigued by one recipe I read that had a dough made with graham cracker crumbs.  This recipe had Hershey's bars for the chocolate layer and marshmallow fluff for the marshmallow layer so I modified it a bit.  The end result was really good - gooey, so sweet it almost hurts your teeth - just like a s'more should be.  I figure with Valentine's Day around the corner, 'tis the season to eat sweets.  

The first 3 layers in the pan

Before putting it into the oven

Warm and gooey out of the oven

S'mores Bars (makes an 8x8 pan)

Adapted from this blog

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 1/3 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 5 large crackers)

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Half a bag of Marshmallow stackers (see note below about substituting)

Preheat oven to 350 and grease the bottom of an 8x8 pan.  In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugars.  Add the egg and vanilla.  Beat until completely combined.  Next, add the flour, baking powder, and graham cracker crumbs and mix until a dough forms.  

Press half of the dough into an even layer on the bottom of the pan.  Sprinkle with semisweet chocolate chips.  Cover chocolate chips with an even layer of marshmallow stackers.  

Put the rest of the dough on top.  This was a little tricky for me.  You can see from the photo above it wasn't perfect and I had decent luck squishing bits of dough into squares with my fingers and carefully setting them on top of the marshmallows.  I also think my bottom layer was thicker than my top layer which turned out okay.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is lightly browned.  Let cool for a few minutes before serving.  These are best served warm (and cut warm) because the marshmallow layer hardens up as it cools.  You can put any leftovers back in a warm oven for a little bit to soften them up before eating.

*If you can't find marshmallow stackers (flat, square marshmallows), you can cut large marshmallows in half (probably 12-15 cut in half will work in an 8x8) or use 1.5 cups marshmallow creme / fluff instead.