S'mores bars

This is a recipe my sister-in-law made for the family Christmas party. It was awesome, and I asked her for the recipe back in January (I know because I wrote it down on the back of an envelope, with a January postmark. Elementary, my dear Watson!) but I didn't get around to making it until now! Seb requested these bars for his birthday, which provided the motivation to buy marshmallow creme (which had been the sticking point for me earlier). (Sticking point! Ha!)

I had to use 5 of the big IKEA chocolate bars for the chocolate layer, which pained me somewhat (because I like to just EAT those!) but it was worth it. These are delectable. BETTER than s'mores, in my opinion, because the graham cookie crust is softer and chewier and more delicious than a real graham cracker, and the chocolate layer has just the right soft-but-biteable consistency (the kind you rarely achieve in an actual s'more). I'm debating whether it would be more proper to call them just "s'more bars", but no; I think the original treat is "s'mores," and then you add a "bars" to it.

Well. Use Hershey's chocolate if you wish, of course, but you really can't beat the IKEA bars. And I like to toast the whole pan under the broiler for a minute when they're done, if the marshmallow layer didn't get browned enough. These are the perfect late-summer treat to eat outside on August nights and pretend you're camping, when you don't want the bother of real camping. Yum!

S'mores Bars


1 c. butter, softened
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
2 2/3 c. flour
2 c. graham cracker crumbs (about 15 full-size crackers)
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
5 large chocolate bars (the really large ones)
3 c. marshmallow creme

Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar; beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix graham cracker crumbs with other dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and mix till combined. Divide dough in half. Press half of dough into 9x13 pan to make crust. Bake for 15 minutes.

Remove hot crust from oven and lay chocolate bars on top, breaking to fit perfectly. Spread marshmallow cream on top of chocolate to make a marshmallow layer. Then crumble the remaining graham-cookie dough over the marshmallow layer. Bake again for 10-15 minutes more at 350. (Stick under the broiler for just a minute or two if the marshmallows need more browning.)  Cool completely before cutting.