S'mores Bars

Traditionally our family spends the Fourth of July weekend at the lake with friends who may as well be family. We spend hours and hours on the water, surfing, tubing, jumping and cruising with a rinse and repeat on it all until we’re inevitably sunburned and kids are sprawled in every corner of the boat, wrapped in towels and fast asleep.

When we finally make it off the water, its a bit of a race to fire up the grill and make some dinner before its time to head back out for fireworks. Usually by early July there’s limited burning if not a required burn ban so sitting by a campfire making s’mores while we not-so-patiently wait for the fireworks show is out of the question.

This year, I’ve got what I think might be a genius solution to everyone’s love of a s’more, no campfire required. These easy s’mores bars are a total crowd pleaser and so good you’ll be swatting hands away from the pan while they cool.

A cookie bar base is loaded with crushed graham crackers for the perfect flavor but with the ease of making an entire batch all at once. Marshmallow fluff from a container is the perfect yummy filling along with a heavy sprinkle of chocolate chips and a bit more of the cookie base crumbled across the top.

The result is a gooey, sweet, perfect s’more you can bake in the oven and slice into pieces for your whole crowd. We accidentally realized these bars are extra good as a topping to vanilla ice cream so let me be the first to invite you to scoop yourself some ice cream and top it with a piece of s’mores bar.

Wishing you a lovely, safe and delicious Independence Day. Hopefully a s’mores bar is added to the menu, I can promise you won’t regret it.

S'mores Bars

• 1/2 cup softened salted butter

• 3/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 1/4 cup crushed graham crackers (1 sleeve)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 cup marshmallow filling

• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.

In a bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar. Use a handheld mixer to combine, mixing until smooth and creamy, about two to three minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again until combined.

In a separate bowl combine the crushed graham crackers, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. Gently whisk to combine and then add to the butter mixture. Use your mixer to stir until a dough just forms.

Press about two-thirds of the dough into the pan lined with parchment paper, attempting to make an even layer across the bottom of the pan. Spread the marshmallow filling across the top of the dough. This is a bit of a sticky job, so just do the best you can and don’t overthink it too much. Scatter the chocolate chips over the marshmallow filling and then crumble the remaining dough across the top of everything.

Bake on the middle rack in the oven for about 30 to 35 minutes or until the marshmallow filling is a tiny bit browned and golden and the cookie bottom feels firm when a toothpick is inserted into the center of the bars.

Remove from bars from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for at least 20 to 30 minutes, before lifting the parchment paper from the pan and transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Allow the bars to completely cool before slicing into pieces.

For a delicious dessert, add a generous scoop of good vanilla bean ice cream to a bowl and top with a s'mores bar. To take it up another notch, make a homemade ‘blizzard’ by mixing slightly softened ice cream with pieces of the s’mores bar. Scoop into bowls or cones and enjoy!