Nutella S'mores Bars

Does this look gooey and delicious? Well, it is even more gooey and delicious then it looks...no, really. I mean, it has Nutella in it. Come on. I seem gravitate toward making s'mores desserts this time of year and I think it's giving s'mores their last hoorah before the long winter. Last September I made Peanut Butter S'Mores and while they were a huge hit, subbing in the Nutella really takes it to a whole new level. Of course, it does make them a bit messier. I was too impatient and didn't wait for them to fully cool before I cut into them and I that did not turn out so well. The above was one of the less messy pieces. Why it is when something is a mess we feel the need to sample more?

Nutella S'mores Bars
How I Did it:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Nutella
7 oz Marshmallow Fluff
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper, letting some overlap the edge. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a larger bowl, beat together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add in egg and vanilla and beat until well combined and creamy.

4. Add in dry ingredients in three parts, beating until just combined.

5. Spread just over half of the dough into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Press down and make sure it's fairly evenly spread out. Spoon fluff evenly over dough and then add the Nutella on top of the fluff. It's easiest to do it in this order. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the Nutella.

6. Take the remaining dough in chunks, flatten out a bit and lay on top of the chocolate chip layer. It should be mostly covered with some spaces. It's okay if it is covered less, but do not cover entirely or you will miss out of the gooey effect on top.

7.  Bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Let it cool completely in the pan. Once cool, pull up on the parchment paper carefully to remove from the pan. Cut into bars and serve.

Peanut Butter Chocolate S'Mores Bars

Who doesn't like s'mores? Even people that don't like sweets like s'mores. There is just something about all of the flavors together that is hard to resist! Or maybe it's more the fun of sitting around a campfire trying to craft the best one yet. For me it's both. I am always the person to bring s'mores materials to any campfire. It's not a campfire without roasting marshmallows and what goes better with marshmallows than a little chocolate and graham? One time while was camping, a friend's new girlfriend brought Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to use instead of chocolate bars. Needless to say, she was well loved after that. If you haven't tried it, you really should.

I have made s'mores at home, but it's really just not the same. When you're home with all of your appliances you automatically expect flavor and quality to increase. S'mores are still good, but there is always something that is better. Well, I have found the better. I know these bars looks good, but trust me when I tell you they taste even better. No, really. It's like the perfected s'more... improved. The chocolate (even though it's by far not my favorite chocolate, I had to use Hershey's since it's the flavor of a s'more, and in a s'more I love it) is soft and melty, but won't drip all over you, the marshmallow won't pop out one side and be gone in two bites, and the graham cracker flavor melds perfectly without a messy crunch. I made them for a BBQ and everyone took some home (without me or the host offering), and when I had a piece the next day, I was re-delighted by how tasty it was! The only thing I would change is maybe use more peanut butter cups next time for a stronger peanut butter flavor. Oh, and they are easy to make...maybe I should call them "Oven S'mores"!

Peanut Butter Chocolate S'Mores Bars
How I did it:

1 1/3 cups AP flour
3/4 cup finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
2 extra-large Hershey's milk chocolate bars
8 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
2 cups marshmallow fluff

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9" square baking pan.

2. In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.

4. Slowly beat in dry ingredients until just combined.

5. Spread half of the dough in the bottom of the prepared baking pan, press down into an even layer.

6. Break up chocolate bars and evenly distribute on top. Cut peanut butter cups in half around the circumference and then in half again through the middle. Place evenly on top of the chocolate layer. Spoon fluff on top of the chocolate layers as evenly as you can.

7. Flatten chunks of the remaining dough and place on top of the fluff layer. It's okay if it is not completely covered (the fluff will just poke through), but make sure the spaces are small and spread out.

8. Bake for about 30 minutes until top is lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars. Store at room temperature.

Spring S'mores Bars

Whenever I am making a dessert for a family gathering it is always something of an ordeal. Okay, I am being dramatic, but I prefer making treats that everyone (or most normal people) would enjoy and between my dad and sister that automatically rules out: caramel, peanut butter, coconut, mint, and nuts. Yes, all of the most popular chocolate dessert additions. Way to ruin my baking fun guys! Luckily they both do like chocolate or we would have a situation.

For Easter I told my great aunt that I would make a fun Eastery dessert. Immediately I thought of my s'mores bars and subbing in the pastel marshmallows instead of the plain whites ones. It is so quick and easy to whip up, but it is really one of my favorites desserts I have made. The chocolate is so creamy and is a perfect fit with the graham crackers and especially the marshmallows. Every time I make it I am wowed by how great such a simple dessert can taste!

As it turns out colored mini marshmallows are much harder to find than I expected. I won't tell you how many stores I went to, but finally I found them at Target. What I didn't realize was multi-colored marshmallows are actually fruit flavored. Boo. After a taste test and a dunking in melted chocolate test I found that only the green and the pink would be usable so I picked them out and combined them with some plain white minis. Any suggestions for lemon and orange flavored marshmallows?

I know the amounts seem crazy, but I wanted to make a larger quantity. You could easily cut the recipe in half and instead use a 9" square pan instead - that's what I usually do and it turns out just as well (a bit thinner though).

Spring S'mores Bars

How I did it:

1 cup heavy cream (heavy whipping cream works well)
2 bags (about 24 oz) milk chocolate chips
7 cups mini-marshmallows (I used 2 white and 5 green/pink)
13 oz fudge covered graham crackers (not to be confused with chocolate graham crackers)

1. Cover a 9x13 baking dish with aluminum foil and set aside.

2. Pour the cream into a pot and heat just until bubbles start to form and then remove from heat. {Important: Do not walk away from the cream - it boils over very quickly and then you will not only lose all your cream, but have quite a stinky mess on your stove!} Remove from heat and pour in the chocolate chips and stir until fully incorporated and smooth. Let sit for 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes so it doesn't harden.

3. Add marshmallows - stir until well coated. Gently stir in the graham crackers until also well combined.

4. Pour mixture into the prepared pan and smooth out evenly, pressing down lightly. Refrigerate until set. Cut and serve!

Keep in mind the bar will taste best the first day or two. After that they still taste great, but the graham crackers will start to soften. {Read: I'd still eat them, but would not serve them}