Fudgy S'mores Bars

After a much needed vacation, I am back in the kitchen with a recipe that is sure to please any crowd. I brought these over to dinner at the in-laws house tonight and they were a hit.

The bars are very simple and come together really quickly, especially if you have a stash of graham cracker crumbs tucked away in the pantry. The recipe takes no more than 30 minutes from start to finish, even less time if you've got graham cracker crumbs on hand. The bars are best eaten within several hours of coming out of the oven, but will keep for several days in an airtight container.

When it comes to graham cracker crumbs, I have found it's easiest to break the graham crackers into smaller pieces before placing them into a large Ziploc bag. Be sure to let all of the air out of the bag before you close it, otherwise you are liable to pop the bag. :) Once sealed, place the bag on a firm surface and run over the crackers with a rolling pin until they reach your desired consistency. I have found that 12 squares (6 full sheets) equals about one cup of crumbs.

Fudgy S'mores Bars
(Source: Pillsbury Baking)

Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (12 squares)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

Topping:
4 cups miniature marshmallows
3/4 cup M&Ms
1/4 cup hot fudge topping, heated

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13x9 inch pan with shortening or cooking spray. In a large bowl, beat crust ingredients with electric mixer on low speed until coarse crumbs form, scraping bowl occasionally. Press mixture evenly in bottom of pan.

2. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle marshmallows evenly over crust; bake 1 to 2 minutes longer or until marshmallows begin to puff.

3. Sprinkly M&Ms evenly over marshmallows; drizzle warm topping over top. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Make 32 bars.

S'mores Cookies

The key to making these cookies is to omit the marshmallows and Hershey's bars until the cookies are almost done baking. This ensures 1) the marshmallows don't get too chewy and 2) the milk chocolate does not get dried out, resulting in a cookie that tastes just as good as the real thing.

S'mores Cookies
(Source: Cookie Madness)

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate (I used milk chocolate and only 1/2 cup)
1 cup miniature marshmallows (approximately)
2 Hershey Bars, broken into pieces (or other favorite milk chocolate)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

2. Cream butter and both sugars with an electric mixer; beat in egg and vanilla. Beat in salt and baking soda making sure they are well distributed and free of lumps; stir in the flour, followed by graham cracker crumbs. Stir in chocolate chips.

3. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets, spacing about 3 inches apart. Bake for 9 minutes. Remove and quickly press marshmallows and chocolate into cookies. Return to oven and cook until done (about 3 or 4 more minutes)

Makes about 2 dozen

Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting

I baked this cake for birthday #2 at work this week and oh, man was it delicious.

I was very hesitant to try this recipe because it got such mixed reviews. Some people thought it was the best cake ever, while others complained that it was dry and bland. I am so glad I tried the recipe because it was truly amazing! It might have been a tad on the dry side, but it was dense and full of the rich flavor of peanut butter.

I frosted the cake with my own (store-bought) chocolate frosting and sprinkled it very generously with Reece's Pieces, which added a surprising (and delicious) crunch. I would also seriously consider using a peanut butter frosting with this cake (you can never have too much peanut butter in my book). This cake is a must for anyone who loves the peanut butter-chocolate combination.

Peanut Butter Cake
(Source: Paula Dean over at Food Network)

1 cup All-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Sugar
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup Peanut Butter
1/4 cup shortening
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 375°F if baking with a metal dish; 325 degrees F if using a glass dish.

2. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together. Add graham cracker crumbs, peanut butter, shortening, milk, and vanilla. Beat mixture with electric mixer on low until moistened, and then beat on medium for 2 minutes. Add eggs and beat for 1 minute.

3. Bake in greased 9-inch by 13-inch pan for 30 to 35 minutes. Do not remove from pan to cool.

S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies

These bars are as good as they look, probably better. The gooey marshmallow layered with melting milk chocolate on a crunchy graham cracker cookie-esque crust makes for a mouthwatering combination of textures full of rich flavor. These bars are easy to make and arguably even more tasty.

S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies
(Source: Hershey's)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars (1.55 oz. each), unwrapped
3 cups miniature marshmallows

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.

2. Beat butter and sugar until well blended in large bowl. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Press half of dough in prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes.

3. Arrange unwrapped chocolate bars over baked layer, breaking as needed to fit. Sprinkle with marshmallows; scatter bits of remaining dough over marshmallows, forming top layer. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or just until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Makes 16 bars.