Peanut Butter Cup Baked S'mores

We had our second annual end of the school year/beginning of summer barbeque at our house.  It's a nice way to start the summer.  Kevin does the barbequing and I do the sides and dessert.

I went with the summer time theme and made another s'more treat.  This time I used peanut butter cups instead of plain chocolate.  These are by far my favorite baked s'more that I have made. 

Peanut Butter Cup Baked S’mores 
From: Mels Sweet Life (adapted from Pinch of Yum and Sprinkle Some Sunshine)

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
16 peanut butter cups
1 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff*

This is not marshmallow topping. See previous post about fluff.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line an 8×8 baking dishing with parchment paper; coat lightly with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl of the bowl of stand mixer, beat butter and sugars until fluffy.  Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.  Scrape down the sides.  With the mixer on low, stir in the flour, baking powder, salt, and graham cracker crumbs until mixed.
3. Spread 2/3 of the dough on the bottom of the prepared baking dish.  Lightly press the peanut butter cups into the dough, then spread marshmallow fluff on top.  Press the remaining dough on a non-stick surface into the shape of an 8×8 square.  Place the square on top of the fluff and press down lightly.
4. Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown.  Allow to cool for at least two hours to give the bars a chance to set, then remove from the pan and cut into squares with a large, sharp knife.

Baked S'more

For Memorial Day we went to a barbeque at Crissy Field in San Francisco.  We were supposed to bring something to share, so I decided on another baked s'more.  This was different than the first one that I made and I liked it way better.

Baked S'mores
 From: The Apron Gal

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla 
1 1/3 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 5 full graham crackers)
1 tsp baking powder
2 or 3 super-sized (5 oz.) chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff* (or mini marshmallows if you must!) 

This is not marshmallow topping.  See previous post about fluff.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom of  pan.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.

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. Place chocolate bars over dough. Two 5 oz. Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly [for 8 by 8] side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer. [use 3 Hershey's for 12 by 8 pan]

Spread marshmallow fluff evenly over the chocolate layer.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the creme. This is most easily done by putting the second half of the dough in a gallon size freezer bag. Use your palms or rolling pin to flatten it out, and then use scissors to cut down both long sides of the bag, so it will open up book-style. Open it up carefully, and the dough will stick on one side of the bag. Then place the bag, dough side down, on the other three layers. From there peel the bag up and carefully spread the dough where it is uneven.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely or almost completely for the melty factor before cutting into bars.

Mine was a little extra gooey.  I sent my husband to the store to get the ingredients.  He bought marshmallow topping instead of fluff.  They were still very yummy.  We just needed lots of napkins.

I only got one picture of the the dessert, but here's a shot of us with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. 

S'more Cobbler

It seems that there are S'more inspired recipes all over the Internet.  I love S'mores and with summer approaching, it seemed appropriate to try one of the baked S'more recipes.

This was pretty quick and easy to whip up.  It uses cake mix and chocolate pudding.  I brought to a famiy pot-luck and everyone agreed that it was yummy.

S'more Cobbler
From: Tablespoon.com

Ingredients:
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 cup whole milk
1 5oz chocolate pudding (cook and serve)
1/2 cup butter
6 whole graham crackers

1/2  cup mini chocolate chips

40 marshmallows

 

Directions:

Combine milk and pudding mix and place into greased 13x9 baking dish.

 

 

Place graham crackers (broken in half) on top of pudding mixture with space in between each one.

Add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips. (I forgot chocolate chips, so I had to pick out the chocolate chips and M&M's from a trail mix).

 

Spread DRY cake mix over top and place the butter by tablespoons on top of dry mixture. Make sure it is really spread around.  This is what moistens the cake. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Mix slightly so there aren't large areas of dry ingredients.

Add marshmallows and bake for 8-10 minutes and if needed 1-2 minutes under a high broiler to brown.

 

 

 

Rice Krispies Treats

I had to present at a district wide grade level meeting.  This is an after school meeting and I knew that a treat would make the teachers happy.  I was looking for something simple, but a little different.  I found some great Rice Krispies Treats on my favorite blog, Glorious Treats.

One batch would not be enough to feed everyone, so I decided to make two different types.  I went with S'mores and Cookies 'n Creme.  Both were a big hit.  Teachers may not remember what the presentation was about, but they remembered my treats.

Cookies 'n Creme Rice Krispies Treats
From Glorious Treats

6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

20 regular oreos, crushed/chopped (about 2 1/2 cups crushed)

5 cups mini marshmallows

3 Tablespoons butter

Directions-

1.  Put rice krispies treats into a large bowl.  Spray a 9x13" casserole dish or cake pan with non-stick spray, set aside. 

2.  In a large plastic (ziplock type) bag, crush oreos (I used a large, flat bottom mug).  You want to have some crushed into small pieces, and some bite size chunks.  Add oreos to rice krispies and stir to combine. 

3.  In a large microwave safe bowl, heat butter and marshmallows together (about 3 minutes).  They expand a lot, so make sure you use a BIG bowl.  When the marshmallows are puffy and mostly melted, carefully remove from microwave and stir to fully combine the butter, and make sure the marshmallows are fully melted.  

4.  Pour melted marshmallows over cereal and oreos and use a spatula sprayed with non-stick cooking spray to quickly combine all the ingredients.  When everything is combined, spread mixture into the prepared 9x13" dish.  Use the spatula to press the mixture around the dish, and flatten as needed.

5.  Allow to cool (about 20 minutes) before cutting into squares.  

Makes about 24 (2 inch) squares

S'more Rice Krispies Treats
From Glorious Treats

3 Tablespoons butter

4 cups mini marshmallows (or about 40 regular/large marshmallows)

5 cups Rice Krispies cereal

1 cup Golden Grahams cereal

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

(Top layer)

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate (or about 1 cup chocolate chips)

10 full sized graham crackers, broken in half (slightly more or less, depending on the pan you use)

40 large marshmallows (approximately)

Directions-

1.  Butter (or spray lightly with cooking spray) a 9"x13" pan.

In a large microwave safe bowl, place 3 tablespoons of butter (cut into a few pieces), and 4 cups of marshmallows.  Microwave about 3 minutes (stirring after 2 minutes)  watch the microwave, cooking times may vary.  Cook in microwave until butter and marshmallows are melted.  Stir gently. 

2.  Add Rice Krispies and golden grahams cereal and stir to combine. (try using a plastic or silicone spatula sprayed with a bit of cooking spray).

Add mini chocolate chips, stir quickly, and immediately pour mixture into prepared 9"x13" pan.  Press into pan (with spatula). 

3.  Melt semi-sweet chocolate (or chocolate chips) in a microwave (at 50% power), in 30 second intervals, stirring between intervals.  Heat until just melted.  Spread chocolate on top of Rice Krispies Treats in pan.

4.  While the chocolate is still warm, lay graham cracker squares on top, leaving a tiny bit of space between each cracker.

5.  Put entire pan of treats in the fridge or freezer (or a cool location) until the chocolate has set (about 10-15 minutes).  Cut into squares with a sharp knife, using the lines between the graham crackers as a guide.  Place treats on a large baking sheet, separated slightly. 

6.  Cut large marshmallows in half, (just a couple at a time), and place cut side down onto graham crackers, (as shown below).

7.  When all the graham crackers are topped with marshmallows, use a kitchen torch (or propane torch) to toast the marshmallow.  If you don't have a torch, this would be a great excuse to get one... OR, you can toast the marshmallows in the oven.  Preheat your oven to broil.  Place baking sheet of treats in the oven, leaving the oven door slightly ajar.  Broil about 30 seconds, watch them, they can burn quickly!


I think that I'll have to find some other Rice Krispies recipes because they are easy and yummy.