S'more Cookie Bars

Do you ever get fixated on one thing? Like an intense craving for something and that's all you can think about for days? This happened to me recently and the result were these s'more cookie bars. 

I've been craving s'mores since two weeks ago when we visited my in-laws at their camping site for a day. The kids put together a fire pit and there was roasting of marshmallows and making of good ole s'mores. But unfortunately for me on that day, I was fasting and was unable to indulge in the festivities. Bummer right? That's how my fixation with s'mores started and last weekend I settled the score with these bars and boy just looking at them satisfied my s'more craving.

This is an incredibly quick and easy recipe to make. You start with a graham cracker cookie dough that is topped with a layer of  marshmallow creme (or fluff). Top that with hershey chocolate squares and then add a layer of mini marshmallows. Finally, top with the remaining graham cracker dough. Oh and sprinkle some chocolate chips on top too just because you can never have too much chocolate. Such goodness my friends!

You get a soft, chewy graham cracker cookie bar that is filled with ooey gooey melted chocolate and marshmallow and is everything a s'more should be! A lot better in my opinion, but you can be your own judge. Since I am not a fan of camping, I got my campfire treat in my living room without the dragon flies!! If it wasn't so hot outside, I would have turned on the fireplace to set the mood :) (Hmmm, I just might make this again in the winter!)

Whether you are heading up to camp or just a family BBQ, these will be a great hit so bring them along. Just try not to taste them before the party starts because I can't promise how many might make it! 

S'more Cookie Bars
Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 cup Graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
7 ounces jar of Marshmallow Creme (Marshmallow fluff)
6 (1.55 oz Bars) Hershey's Chocolate bars, unwrapped and cut in squares
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 x 8" square baking pan with baking spray and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until well combined, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
Reduce speed to low and stir in flour, graham cracker crumbs and baking powder until just combined.
Divide the dough in half and spread half at the bottom of the pan. Smooth with a rubber spatula. Evenly spread the marshmallow creme over the dough and smooth. Place chocolate squares on top of marshmallow creme. Top chocolate with the cup of mini marshmallows. Top with the remaining half of the dough. Spread with a rubber spatula. It is OK if you can still see the marshmallows. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the cookie dough.
Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow cookie bars to cool COMPLETELY in pan before cutting. Otherwise you may end up with some oozy marshmallows (it's not the end of the world).

Chewy Toffee Bars

Nostalgia hit last week and I found myself thinking about my childhood and missing home. It's been so long since I've been home and had food from my mom's kitchen. This led me to thinking about (and missing) my dad, who would always bring home toffee after work and it was just the best treat ever!

To be honest, I have never been a 'sweet' kind of girl. I don't know why because my little sister is a chocolate magnet and yet we grew up in the same house. But for some reason, toffee is different. It was my go-to candy growing up.

 
Toffee, most commonly called English toffee in the US, has just the perfect amount of sweetness without being overly sweet. I've not had one in a very very long time and I was prepared to fix that.

So when I saw these chewy toffee bars in this month's Food Network Magazine, I knew I had to make them. Finding the toffee was the most difficult part of the recipe; I spent hours looking down candy aisles at different grocery stores. In the end, I found chopped pieces at a local frozen yogurt dessert bar (totally not kidding).

The recipe is pretty straightforward and it took only 20 minutes to assemble the ingredients, mix and get them into the oven. The resulting brownie-like bar was chewy, crunchy, perfectly sweet, and brought back to so many happy memories!