Baked Smores Bars

Cookies, good. S'mores, good. S'mores cookies, GENIUS! The concept is simple, but the results are outstanding! They taste better than smores in my opinion. For those of you who prefer the chewy cookie to the crispy cookie, this is for you. Imagine eating a smore, but instead of having a hard, crispy graham cracker on the bottom you have a chewy graham cracker flavored cookie! The bottom and top layers are basically a cookie dough with the addition of graham cracker crumbs. Hershey's bars and marshmallow creme/fluff (the kind you buy in a jar, NOT actual marshmallows) are sandwiched in between.

And while we're on the subject, lets talk about marshmallow fluff. What a mess! I had the hardest time getting the marshmallow creme to spread. I ended up with marshmallow webs extending from the spatula, to my fingers, to the sink. (If you have any tips, please send them my way). In the end I worked it out. And the verdict? Well worth it! These s'mores bars are sure to impress!

One more thing, these are best right out of the oven when the chocolate is still melty and gooey. They also reheat great in the microwave. Just zap 'em for about 10 - 15 seconds! Enjoy.

Baked Smores Bars

Makes 16 bars

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey�s)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350�F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, 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.
3. 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. 2 king-sized Hershey�s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.