Smores Bars

I am not a big marshmallow fan.  I can do without Rice Krispie treats.  And Rocky Road ice cream is NOT my favorite.

But Smores.

Oh, how I love smores.

In fact, I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to them.  "More Smores". 

The unfortunate thing is my hubby is not the smores fan I am.

So I don't try out the smores recipes nearly as much as I want.  Well, due to that and the fact that I would weigh a LOT more if I did.

But every now and then I figure out a way to do it.

Like when we are going to a cookout.

Perfect time.

So this past week, I decided to try Smores Bars.

They looked easy.  Required little preparation.  And they could be made ahead of time.

The only "warning" I feel like I should give is to let people know ahead of time that they are cold.

My kids all complained a little at first because they think "smores" and think "warm".

Yet it didn't stop one of them from eating the bars.

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted (plus a little more for greasing purposes)

1 cup graham cracker crumbs (I just threw a "sleeve" of crackers into the food processor and whirled away), plus 2 graham crackers broken into large pieces

3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk (not quite a whole can)

1 1/3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

1 cup mini marshmallows

Directions:
Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with aluminum foil and butter/grease.  I did do this but I actually think next time I would just grease the baking pan itself with the butter or cooking spray.

Mix the melted butter and the graham cracker crumbs together in a bowl with a fork until moistened. 

Press firmly into the bottom of the baking dish.

This is the only area I had trouble. I pressed as much as I could but my crumbs just never stuck together. I don't know if I should have used more butter, pressed more, or what.  Don't get me wrong, it was still tasty.  I just couldn't get it to gel.  I think next time I make these, I will do something similar to what I do with the pretzels for pineapple fluff.  I think I will "bake it" at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes...just enough to make it a bit crunchier/more together.  I will let you know how that goes. :)

Next, heat the chocolate chips and the condensed milk over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth.  Once smooth, remove from the heat and add in the salt and vanilla.

Quickly, pour over the graham cracker and spread. You have to work quick or it will start to harden.  I found that if I held the spatula vertically and started in the middle to spread to the sides, it worked much easier. Otherwise the graham crackers try to go with the chocolate. :)

Next, pour the marshmallows over the top and push down into the chocolate.

Finish by pressing in the broken pieces of the 2 graham crackers in the "holes" left by marshmallows.

Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or so before cutting/serving.

Enjoy!

Grilled Smores

We are on vacation this week (if you wondered about the lack of posts...that would be due to lack of cooking :).  We typically eat breakfast at our rental (in this case, a beach house) and then eat a light lunch or dinner there also.  We then go out to eat for the other meal.

Tonight we had some friends come over (also vacationing here) for dinner.  We grilled burgers and hot dogs and tried to use up some of our extra foods from the week since it is the last night.

But I wanted some sort of dessert.

I was in the mood for smores or something chocolatey.  It is really hard to cook in someone else's kitchen though.  So I needed simple.

I went to my first choice (always).  Pinterest.

Nope.

Good food but nothing as simple as I wanted.

It just so happens I was reading a magazine at that time that had a recipe for Grilled Smores.

And it was simple.

We just needed to pick up a few basic ingredients.

I will say that they taste nothing like smores (or I didn't think so).  But that didn't stop me from eating one.  And wanting to eat more.

Ingredients:
frozen pound cake (I used the Sara Lee family size...actually 2 since we had so many people), thawed and cut into slices

a bag of mini marshmallows

a bag of mini chocolate chips (though really the little Hershey's bars would work too)

Directions:

Place some mini marshmallows and chocolate chips on the sliced pound cake.  Top with another slice. 

Grill, flipping after the chocolate and marshmallows start to melt and the pound cake gets "toasty".

Enjoy.

Like I said, simple.  And not a pure smores by any mean.

But a sweet treat just the same.

Reba

Candy Cane Marshmallow Pops

I am not a big marshmallow fan. I mean, I like them on Smores but that is about it. However, when I saw this "recipe" on Pinterest, I was intrigued. I loved the simplicity of the colors. Also, recently, we received a Fondue Pot from my sister/her family for Christmas. Not long ago, we used it. One of the things my sister had included in our bag of goodies was marshmallows. Big marshmallows. For the first time, I dipped a marshmallow in melted chocolate. Oh yum. How did I now know what I was missing? After that, I was determined to make this recipe.

So, the other night, I decided to create a few treats for the kids' teachers. This was one of the "creations".

Very simple.

But SOOO SOOOO good.

I wish I had saved a couple more for myself.

Ingredients:
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli because they are a favorite, but I am sure chocolate almond bark would be good too)

1 bag large marshmallows

candy canes (both crushed and whole)

Directions:
Melt chocolate according to directions on the package. I melted mine in a double broiler insert that sits on a pan of hot water on the stove.

Stir frequently.

Take mini candy canes and stick one into each large marshmallow. Now you have something to grasp hold of if needed. :)

Dip the marshmallows about halfway into the chocolate. Immediate roll in crushed candy canes/peppermints.

Refrigerate to harden.

Enjoy!