S'Mores Bars

Ahhh... summer is finally here. And what says summer more than s'mores around the campfire? 

So my sister-in-law actually challenged me to this recipe. Having never made up a recipe from scratch, I thought it was going to be stressful. I mean, the Husband can tell you I'm a by-the-recipe kind of girl. 

But... here's the secret.... it was actually really fun! And it turned out really well! Obviously I would probably try a few tweaks when I make it again, but I'm pretty proud of the end result. It's edible. It might even be incredible. It's definitely incredibly edible.

And it's easy too!

Your ingredients: chocolate chips, graham cracker crumbs, cinnamon, butter, sugar, vanilla, and little marshmallows. I mean, you can use big ones but I think that little ones probably work best.

 Mix up your graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and cinnamon and press it into the bottom of a very greased 9X13, and bake it for about 8 minutes.

Pour a good solid layer of marshmallows on there, then stick it back in the oven for about 5 minutes

It's hard to see, but look for when the marshmallows start subtly melting together. You don't want them to be a total gloopy mess. Let them "retain some of their marshmallowness," as the Husband put it.

In a double boiler (or a made-up double boiler like mine), put in the chocolate chips, butter, vanilla, and a sprinkle of sugar. The reason that doesn't look like enough is because it wasn't. I wound up having to make a second batch of this to cover the whole pan. But don't worry. Thanks to my error, you won't make the same mistake.

Once it's melted and smooth, pour it over the marshmallow layer. It'll look like this, mmmm. Please ignore the blue glow from my computer screen, sorry but a girl's got to have music while she makes up a recipe.

Then just sprinkle a few graham crackers on top to capture the sandwich-y feeling of a true S'More, and refrigerate!

Mmmm... yeah, that's real.

S'Mores Bars

3 cups graham cracker crumbs

6 cups of marshmallows 

1 tsp. cinnamon

4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 sticks butter

sugar

2 tsp vanilla

splash of milk

Preheat oven to 325°. Melt 3/4 cup of butter and mix with 2 1/2 cups of the graham cracker crumbs. Add cinnamon, mix until crumbly. Press mixture into the bottom of a well-greased 9x13 pan. Bake the crust for about 8 minutes. Pour 6 cups of marshmallows onto the crust, until covered, then bake for another 5 minutes, or until marshmallows start to stick together.

In a double boiler, melt together chocolate chips, 2/3 cup butter, vanilla, and a sprinkle of sugar. When smooth, pour over the marshmallow layer. Sprinkle remaining graham cracker crumbs on top of the chocolate. Let cool for 15 minutes, then refrigerate.