S'more bars

When I think about summer quite a few things come to mind; sun, street festivals, poolside cocktails + s'mores. I really like s'mores, unfortunately I don't have the best track record around open fire. I've had quite a few instances where flaming marshmallows or other burning particles have wound up stuck on my body, clothing or hair. I even lit my sleeve on fire once while enjoying table-side s'mores at the supposedly safe Cosi restaurant.

These are a great alternative for those of us who are prone to catching fire. They taste just like a s'more only better. Instead of a plain old graham cracker the marshmallow + chocolate is nestled between an almost brownie like consistency of graham cracker delight. They are best eaten when they are still a bit warm, while the chocolate + marshmallow is still gooey. Enjoy!

S'more bars

adapted from Cooking with my Kid

1/2 cup butter, room temp

1/4 brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

2 king sized milk chocolate bars (I used milk chocolate chips instead)

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/3 cups flour

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Use an electric mixer to cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Set aside. Meanwhile,whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Slowly add flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips over the dough, enough to create an even layer of chocolate. Spread marshmallow fluff over chocolate (I heated the fluff for easier spreading). Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (roll out the dough in flat pieces and lay over the fluff, it's ok if its not perfectly even). Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Be sure to cool completely before cutting into bars.

Gourmet S'mores

S'mores, the good old campfire standby. Who can pass up on the perfect combination of chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers? While I usually take delight in Nabisco graham crackers, Hershey's chocolate, and Campfire marshmallows, I decided to glam the classic up by adding a little oomph to the ingredients.

The main upgrade to the combination was homemade graham crackers, a simple recipe. The grahams taste more like cookies than crackers, but they still have the delicious cinnamon and honey flavors that give graham crackers their distinct taste. After I made the graham crackers, I added in some warm marshmallows and a bit of dark chocolate Ghiradelli pieces and- viola!- a delicious, mature version of a S'more. I am still liking the mallow off of my fingers...

Homemade Graham Crackers

adapted from here, a recipe taken from Miette Patisserie in San Francisco

2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together flour, wheat flour, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and brown sugar for about 2 minutes in a bowl. Scrape down the bowl and beat in the honey. Stir in dry ingredients on low speed. NOTE: the dough is very crumbly, so ball it up to make sure it all sticks together. Scrape the dough out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and pat it into a disc, wrap well. Refrigerate until firm but still pliable, about one hour.

Place the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll it out very thinly, about an 1/8-inch thick. Cut out cookies with a cookie cutter and place on the baking sheets. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar if you like. Chill the cut cookies on the sheets for at least 15 minutes before baking. Bake 14 to 16 minutes until golden. Let the cookies set for a minute before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.