Time for Some S’mores

For Richard’s birthday, I decided to make him Peanut Butter S’mores bars rather than a cake, just because it was way too hot to bake a cake and I knew my buttercream frosting would become a melted mess in the heat. And considering our freezer is already packed, making an ice cream cake was not an option.

Richard loves peanut butter and chocolate, so I knew I had to make him something with his favorite sweet combination. And what could be better than s’mores with the addition of peanut butter?

Not much!

These s’mores bars are seriously decadent, definitely not a light healthy everyday choice (but perfect for a birthday indulgence). I probably shouldn’t have doubled the recipe – their addictiveness is dangerous and it’s simply not good to have so much temptation in one big pan.

They taste even better when they’re warm, if that’s possible. So I recommend popping your s’mores bar into the microwave for about 20 seconds before consuming. And then give into the compulsion for more (if you’re not too full from the sweet richness already) and serve yourself another bar.

The recipe I used for my Peanut Butter S’mores is from the Pinch of Yum blog – I changed it up a bit and, as I mentioned, nearly doubled the recipe. The original Pinch of Yum recipe can be found here.

Here’s how I made my Peanut Butter S’mores. I highly suggest that you make these for yourself sometime soon – happy baking (and eating)!

What you need:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 Hershey’s giant milk chocolate bars, 7 ounces each
1 1/4 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
2 jars marshmallow cream, 7 ounces each
Wax paper or parchment paper

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prep your baking pan (size 9×13); coat with nonstick cooking spray or line the pan with parchment paper.

Cream your butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs and vanilla and then add the flour, baking powder and salt.

Stir in the graham cracker crumbs. The mixture should come together like cookie dough. Yum.

Take about a 1/2 to 2/3 of the dough and press it into the bottom of the baking pan, as evenly as possible. Lay the chocolate bars on top of the dough in an even layer (3 of the giant Hershey’s bars should be just enough for a 9×13 pan).

Melt the peanut butter for about 15 seconds in the microwave. Spread it over the chocolate bars.

Dump the marshmallow cream on top of the peanut butter layer and spread it out evenly.

Cut a piece of wax or parchment paper that is about the same size as the 9×13 pan. Roll out the remaining graham cracker dough on the wax/parchment paper until it’s about the same size as the paper. Now comes the tricky part – you have to peel the dough off the paper and carefully place it on top of the marshmallow layer. Don’t worry if the dough breaks, just fit it into the pan as neatly as you can so that it covers the marshmallow.

Bake the bars for about 30 minutes. The top crust will be a golden brown and the marshmallow layer will be puffed up. It’s easiest to slice and serve the bars once they have completely cooled.

Heaven in a pan. Happy Birthday, Richard!!