More Than a Burnt Marshmallow!

It's Wednesday and time for the latest edition of, what shall I bake this weekend? So today I present you with many options for what to do to elevate that childhood favorite, the s'more!

S'more Cookie Bars
Baked Perfection

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 7 full graham crackers)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 super-sized (5 oz.) dark chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Two 5 oz. Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread marshmallow fluff evenly over the chocolate layer.
4. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. This is most easily done by putting the second half of the dough in a gallon size freezer bag. Use your palms to flatten it out, and then use scissors to cut down both long sides of the bag, so it will open up book-style. Open it up carefully, and the dough will stick on one side of the bag. Then place the bag, dough side down, on the other three layers. From there peel the bag up ad spread the dough where it is uneven.
5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars

Makes 16 cookie bars.

S'mores Pops

Joanne and Adam Gallagher

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
• 20 marshmallows
• 6 graham crakers, crushed
• 20 lollipop sticks or skewers
• 5 to 6 plastic cups (helps when drying)

Directions

1. Punch small holes, just large enough for the lollipop ticks to slide through, into the bottom of the plastic cups. Turn upside down.
2. Push 1 marshmallow onto each lollipop stick.
3. Add chocolate chips to a microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave for 20 seconds. After 20 seconds, remove the bowl and stir the chocolate chips. Place the bowl back into the microwave for another 20 seconds and stir again. Repeat process until melted.
4. Working quickly, dip each marshmallow into the chocolate and sprinkle with crushed graham crackers. Slide the smores pops into the upside down plastic cups prepared earlier to allow the chocolate to harden, about 10 minutes.

S'more Brownie Bites

Giada De Laurentiis

Ingredients

• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups mini chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup quinoa flour
• 3/4 cup mini marshmallows
• 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs or 4 large graham crackers, finely crushed
• Special equipment: a 24-count mini-muffin pan, 24 mini-muffin cup liners, such as Betty Crocker mini-size baking cups

Directions

1. Cook's Note: Quinoa flour is available at health food stores.
2. Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 24-count mini-muffin pan with paper liners.
3. Heat the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add 3/4 cup of the mini chocolate chips. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in the sugar, eggs and vanilla. Gradually beat in the flour until the mixture is thick and smooth. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips.
4. Using a small cookie scoop, fill each paper liner with about 2 heaping tablespoons of batter. Push 3 mini marshmallows halfway down into the center of the batter. Sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of the graham cracker crumbs over the marshmallows. Bake until the marshmallows are puffed and light golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes and serve.

Peanut Butter Pound Cake S'mores

Grace Parisi, Food & Wine, December 2008

Ingredients

• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• One 1-pound frozen pound cake, preferably Sara Lee, thawed
• 1/4 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter (not natural)
• 1/3 cup marshmallow fluff
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

Directions

1. Put the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the cream until hot to the touch. Pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand until melted. Whisk until smooth.
2. Preheat a griddle or large skillet. Using a serrated knife, trim off the top and bottom of the pound cake so that the cake is about 1 1/4 inches thick. Carefully split the pound cake in half horizontally. Spread the peanut butter on one half and the marshmallow on the other, leaving a 1/2-inch border all around. Sandwich the two halves together and spread the top and bottom with the butter. Place on the griddle and cook over high heat, turning once, until golden and nearly warmed through, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a work surface and cut the cake into twelve 3/4-inch-wide strips. Serve at once with the chocolate sauce.

Happy baking!