Such a simple and quick way to enjoy a summer treat. So loved are s’mores, it’s a favorite flavor of coffee, ice cream, breakfast cereal, oatmeal, coffee and coffee creamer, and even vodka. (Can’t understand the vodka thing – I’ll have to give it a try . . .) America has a love affair with s’mores. With this recipe, you can enjoy these tasty treats year ’round.
I always have graham crackers, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and marshmallows on hand, but not always a bonfire. These sweet yummy bars are an awesome substitute. So simple and quick to make, the pan cuts into 24 bars. There’s plenty to share with minimum effort.
You only need graham crackers, chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, butter and sugar. This recipe makes a buttery, crunchy bottom crust – I just love that.
Try this step with any cookie you’d like to turn into a crust: chocolate or cinnamon-honey grahams, vanilla wafers, chocolate sandwich cookies, whatever you can think of. Utilize a food processor to quickly turn the crackers into crumbs. For these bars, I used regular graham crackers – this is a good crust for a pan of cheesecake bars, too!
Once the crackers are crumbs, I add the sugar and melted butter to them. Whir a few pulses until the mixture looks like wet sand. Dump the mixture into a foil lined 13″ x 9″ baking pan, and pat it all into place. Bake at 350ºF for 12-15 minutes, until the crust begins to brown.
I’ve never tried to melt chocolate like this before, but it is a fabulous method. Three cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a 4-cup microwave proof vessel – 2 minutes later, and you have the perfect melted chocolate. Simple & quick!
Spread the melted chocolate over the slightly cooled crust. Drop 1/2 of the mini-marshmallows over the chocolate, Press them so the marshmallows are slightly submerged into the chocolate. Top with the remaining marshmallows. Pop under the broiler for another 2 minutes or so until the marshmallows are melted and golden brown. Be sure to keep an eye on the the broiling part – it doesn’t take long to go from golden brown and delicious to black burned and yucky. Although, if a few get a little browner than the rest, no big deal. That’s how real s’mores look anyway, right?
- 2 sleeves of graham crackers, pulsed into crumbs with a food processor
- 2 sticks butter, melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 3½ cups mini-marshmallows
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray the bottom of a 13" x 9" baking dish with cooking spray. Line the baking dish with aluminum foil, leaving enough to over hang on the sides. (You'll use the extra foil as handles to lift the finished bars out of the pan.)
- Spray the inside of the foil and the sides of the baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Break apart the graham crackers, and put in the bowl of a food processor. At first, pulse the crackers, then turn the processor on until the crackers turn into crumbs. (You may have a stubborn few crackers in chunky pieces - just pulse until they're all crumbs.)
- Add the sugar to the crumbs in the food processor - pulse a few times to combine.
- Add the melted butter. Whir the food processor until the crumbs look like wet sand.
- Pour the crumbs into the prepared baking dish. Evenly distribute the crumb mixture and pat the crust into place. Bake until the crust begins to brown - 12-15 minutes. Remove the crust, and allow to cool while melting the chocolate.
- Put 3 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips in a microwave-proof measuring cup. Cook on high power for 2 minutes. Remove and stir until all the chips are completely melted.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the crust.
- Sprinkle ½ mini-marshmallows over the chocolate. Pat down until they're halfway submerged. Sprinkle the remaining marshmallows. Place under a broiler for 2 minutes, until the marshmallows are golden brown and begin to slightly melt.
- Cool the bars and refrigerate for an hour or so, until the bars are set. Lift the whole pan of bars out of the baking dish. Put on a flat surface or cutting board, and cut into bars.
Don't be afraid to flavor the chocolate with coffee, orange, or vanilla extracts. Or use milk chocolate chips in place of semi-sweet.
These would be great as a special treat in a kid's lunchbox!
