It's been almost four and half years since I last posted but I these bars were such a hit, I felt compelled to share the recipe. I hope you enjoy them!
Sticky S'more Blondie Bars
Yield: 20-40? It all depends on how you cut the bars.
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon Kosher salt*
1/2 cup of crushed graham crackers (I took one "block" and crushed them on the counter while they were still in the bag).
2 cups packed brown sugar (light or dark works, but I prefer light brown)
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
S'more Topping
1/4 to 1/2 a cup of crushed graham crackers
6-8 oz of 72% dark chocolate, finely chopped. I used the BIG red Pound Plus bar from Trader Joe's but you can use any good quality chocolate. Don't use semi-sweet or milk chocolate. It will be too sweet. I don't recommend chips as they don't melt as evenly but you do you.
1 bag of big marshmallows, cut-in-half (using clean scissors make this easy!). I used all but nine of the big marshmallows. You could also use small marshmallows. It's up to you!
Make sure your oven's rack is in the center of the oven.
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch pan or spray with Pam for Baking (it's awesome!)
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt* and set aside. (*Only add the salt if you're using unsalted butter.)
In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
Stir in the flour mixture in two or three batches. (Tip: I highly recommend mixing it by hand first before turning on the mixer or flour will get everywhere.)
Add 1/2 cup of crushed graham crackers into the batter and mix well.
Spread evenly in prepared pan (mixture will be thick and somewhat cookie-batter-ish.)
Bake 25-30 minutes or until surface springs back when gently pressed.
Take the blondies out of the oven and immediately spread the finely chopped chocolate on top. Let it sit for a minute or two and then spread the melted chocolate around. Then top with 1/4-1/2 cup of crushed graham crackers. It's up to you how much you want.
Turn on your oven's broiler to high.
Top the melted chocolate and graham crackers with the marshmallows, cut/sticky side down facing down towards the chocolate until the entire pan is filled with marshmallows. (Note: you may be tempted not to cut the marshmallows but it may make cutting the bars really tricky later.)
Get a piece of tin foil ready. You may need to use it as a shield. It should be around 10-11 inches (wider than your pan)
With your broiler on high, put the bars into the oven but keep the door open. Put your phone down and watch your bars or they will burn! Within about 20-30 seconds, you'll start to see the tops of the bars turn golden brown. When I made my bars, the middle part of the bars got brown faster than the edges so I shielded them with the tin foil so I could get the rest of the marshmallows brown without risk of burning the marshmallows in the center. Once you're happy with how brown they are, take them out of the oven and let them cool on a cooling rack. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to make sure nothing is sticking.
Tips for cutting the bars
- Don't be in a hurry. Take your time.
- Get a clean wet cloth and a dry cloth ready.
- I used a bench scraper but any metal straight edge would work (spatula?). If you don't have either, a sharp knife would work too.
- Cut straight down and through to the bottom of the pan. The chocolate will be the hardest layer to get through so you may need to use some muscle. Pull the cutter up and out and wipe it down with the wet cloth (or wash it) and dry it. Repeat. Do this over and over until all the bars are cut. Remember to take your time! Don't be tempted to pull the knife through the blondies or the marshmallows stick to it, dragging blondie, graham crackers and super sticky marshmallow through your bars and things will get very messy and ugly.
If you need to stack the bars to transport them, put a piece of wax paper between layers to keep the bars from sticking together. This is especially in hot weather.
