S'mores Cookie Bars

A good friend of ours (who will remain nameless since she hasn't yet "come out" in the blog world) is expecting a little girl in November. We are all over the moon excited for her, and we're hosting a couples' baby shower for the sweet expectant couple in September. I've been put in charge of desserts.

Now, this friend is just a darlin' and wants a good, old fashioned cookout, complete with burgers, hot dogs, and s'mores. The guys will probably completely forget that they're even attending a baby shower, and you know, that's probably for the best. Mike once went to a baby shower and took a bottle of Jack Daniels with a nipple on top for the parents. I thought that was inspired for a single guy - that's EXACTLY what we needed somebody to give us just before we had Avery.

But I digress.

Anyway, I started thinking - as much fun as s'mores are, there's also a certain amount of danger involved. True, that danger provides a lot of the flavor, but I'm not sure what the fire insurance policy looks like for the hostess whose house we're using. Fire + marshmallows + long sticks + alcohol + a crowd of people might not = such a great idea. What to do, what to do......

And then our friend Mary Straton sent me this recipe from Crepes of Wrath....... Yes, I made it. Yes, I ate the entire pan.

S’more Cookie Bars
from Baking Bites

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 8 graham crackers)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars
1 1/2 cups marshmallow Fluff (not melted marshmallows because they harden when they cool)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and/or line 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. Don’t worry if it seems thin; the baking powder will allow it to rise.

4. Place chocolate bars over dough (don’t layer the bars, just break them to fit if you need to), then spread the marshmallow Fluff over the chocolate bars. Finally, top the Fluff with the remaining dough by forming the dough into sheets with the palm of your hands and laying it down (as shown above). Don’t worry if the dough isn’t covering everything! It’ll spread out as it bakes.

5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. If the top is browning too quickly, you can always cover it with tin foil for the remaining baking time. Cool completely before cutting into bars. If you don’t allow them to cool completely, they will crumble when you try to cut them. Makes 16-20 bars.

Thanks to What's Cooking America for the s'more photo and Crepes of Wrath for the fabulous recipe.