The Hungry MouseS’mores Bars
Psssst, hey, you! You need to make these. Like, now.
I almost never say that, but seriously: You do.
Stop what you’re doing, put on your fat pants, and get yourself into the kitchen. You can thank me later.
These s’mores bars are so good, they should be illegal. Think I’m kidding?
I made these and took them to a party this past weekend, and I got two marriage proposals—neither of which came from my husband.
They’re dense and chewy and have all of that good chocolate-marshmallowy-graham crackery taste that you know and love.
I put them in the fridge for a while once they cooled to room temp, which firmed them up a little and made them really easy to slice.
How to make s’mores bars
You’ve gotta love a recipe that includes 4 oversized chocolate bars and a pound of marshmallow fluff. It’s ridiculous and so happy-making at the same time.
For this recipe, you make a graham-cracker laced cookie dough. Pack half of it in a layer into a baking pan. Cover the dough with whole chocolate bars (yep, you heard me right).
Slather the chocolate with marshmallow fluff (not regular marshmallows).
Then top it with another layer of the dough.
Bake for about 30 minutes, and let them cool completely (the waiting is the hard part) before slicing.
The dough is a little tricky to work with, but I figured out a good way to handle it. Read on for the details.
Where did this recipe come from?
I found this recipe in a roundabout way. It was featured in one of Saveur’s e-mail newsletters, which led me to Risa’s blog Baked Perfection, who credited Nicole over at Baking Bites for the original recipe.
Thanks to you all! This recipe is definitely a keeper. I’m just doing my part in spreading the dessert love around the interwebs.
The only change that I made to the recipe was to increase it to fill a 9 x 13 pan. If you’re thinking: That’s way too many s’mores bars. I’ll never finish them off.
Wrong.
Invite a few friends over. See how many are left. I’m willing to bet you’ll be fighting over the last crumbs just around midnight.
Ingredients for s’mores bars
Use marshmallow fluff, or your favorite brand of marshmallow cream—not regular marshmallows. The other bakers noted that they wouldn’t melt as well. The bars were delicious, so I’m inclined to believe them.
For the graham cracker crumbs, you can smash up graham crackers (use about 7 for an 8×8 pan, or 14 for my 9×13 pan recipe below), or you can be really lazy and buy them ready made. Most grocery stores sell boxes of graham cracker crumbs in the baking aisle.
I opted for lazy, this time. (I blame Penelope.)
For the chocolate bars, use your favorite kind. I opted for the big size of the traditional Hershey’s milk chocolate bar and got rave reviews.
The gal over at Baked Perfection used dark chocolate bars, which sounds really good, too. It’s totally up to you. Basically, you need enough chocolate bars to cover the surface of a 9 x 13 pan in a single layer that’s about a quarter-inch thick. You do the chocolate math.
I used 4 (4.4 oz.) chocolate bars.
These are a ton of fun to make. Let’s get to it!
S’mores Bars
Adapted from Baked Perfection and Baking Bites
16 Tbls. butter (that’s 2 sticks), softened to room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsps. vanilla
2 2/3 cups flour
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 14 full graham crackers)
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
4 large (4.4 oz.) chocolate bars
3 cups marshmallow fluff (that’s roughly one 16-oz. tub of marshmallow fluff)
Yields a 9-inch x 13-inch pan of bars
Serves one. (Or more, if you feel like sharing.)
Preheat your oven & prep your pan
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease a 9-inch x 13-inch glass baking pan and line it with parchment paper, so the paper hangs over the sides a little. (The parchment will make it really easy to air lift the bars out of the pan if you want to.) Set it aside.
Make the cookie dough
Put the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of your mixer (or a large bowl if mixing by hand).
Cream them together until uniform.
Toss in the eggs and vanilla. Beat until the mixture thickens a little and fluffs up.
In a separate bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powder, and salt until uniform.
Toss the dry mixture into the butter / sugar mixture.
Beat to incorporate, just until all the ingredients come together.
The dough will be soft, kind of loose, and a little mealy feeling from the graham cracker crumbs. That’s just fine.
Assemble the s’mores bars
Gather the dough into a ball. Whack it in half with a bencher or sharp knife.
Take one half, plop it in your prepared pan, and smoosh it down so that it covers the bottom of the pan completely in an even layer.
Then, unwrap all your chocolate bars. Cover the dough with a single layer of chocolate, cutting the bars as needed to fit your pan.
Don’t forget about those pesky edges. They need chocolate, too.
It doesn’t have to be a perfect fit (after all, it’s going to melt). Just do the best you can.
Next, cover the chocolate in an even layer of marshmallow fluff. (What’d I tell you? Sticky, ridiculous fun!)
Finally, you need to add the top crust. This is the trickiest part. Sort of. Grab the other half of the dough.
Smoosh it flat on a board (flour the board lightly, if you want, to make it easier to get the dough off).
Make it roughly the same size and shape as your pan, so you know it’ll be big enough to cover the whole top.
Then, slice it into strips. (The gal over at Baked Perfection recommends rolling it out in a zip-top bag, then slicing the bag off and laying it on in a single layer. You could try that, too.)
Scoop the piece up.
And lay it on top of the fluff.
Now, this is really messy looking, I know. (So messy, in fact, that I wondered at this point if the finished bars would look awful.) It’s OK. Really, it is. The dough has enough butter in it that it really kind of melts together a little in the oven as it bakes. Plus, it’s a s’mores bar. It’s kind of supposed to be rustic and messy looking.
Repeat with the rest of the dough. Your goal is to cover the fluff completely with it, leaving as few gaps as you can.
As it bakes, the fluff will bubble up a little (not a lot) through any gaps you leave.
Bake the s’mores bars!
Pop the pan into your preheated oven. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
Yank the pan out of the oven. Let it cool completely on a rack. If you like (this is what I did), pop them in the fridge when they hit room temperature. It will make them waaaay easier to slice, and you can always nuke ‘em in the microwave for a few seconds to get them nice and gooey again.
Kitchen dog update!
As for Penelope, our new baby Keeshond, she’s doing really well.
She loves to sit and watch me cook in the kitchen—and get her nose into just about anything I’ll let her. Her favorite so far, seems to be fresh basil. She loves how it smells.
And, as you can see, she’s getting along famously with Dexter.
Cheers!
57 Comments on “S’mores Bars”
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nom nom nom! I’m definitely putting these on my “to make” list, I just caught myself drooling!
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How amazing do those look?? I love s’mores anything, seriously. Little Penelope is the cutest thing!
wow, the s’mores bars look so sinful and delicious! i love s’mores! i need to try this recipe. it would be perfect for a party.
What a great summer recipe! Can’t wait to make them!!
YIKES, these look sinfully delicious!
All I can say is WOW!
YUM! Must go get some fluff!!
omg… 1lb+ of chocolate, 1 lb marshmallow fluff, 2 sticks butter… yipes! I bet you have to cut these in TINY pieces for the sweetness factor. Sounds good though.
After sampling a piece, I can definitely say that I will be making a batch for my summer trip to Maine.
I love the gooey middle!
OMG!!! i honestly stopped everything that I was doing and just stared at this recipe!!!!! I didn’t go to make it cuz i don’t have the ingredients, but trust me i will get them very soon!!!!!
I am making these right now, and I am not sure I am going to be able to wait for them to cool! They look soooooo yummy!
i WOULD MAKE SURE THAT IF YOU ARE USING HERSHEY BARS, THAT THEY ARE FROM HERSHEY PA. I HAVE FOUND SOME HERSHEY CHOCOLATES ARE NOW MADE IN MX. THEY ARE NOT NEARLY AS GOOD AND THE TASTE IS DIFFERENT.
This sounds awesome…I can hardy wait to give this recipe a try!
These are going on the Fourth of July picnic – forget the diet – we don’t care about fat, sugar, etc. – list!! Can’t wait to try them!!!!
I made these twice this weekend…THANK YOU…for the top crust, I traced the pan on parchment paper…pressed the dough into shape, and then flipped the whole thing on top of the fluff…easy! Hope this helps! I will be making them again soon….thank you!!
I traced the pan on parchment paper for the top crust….pressed dough to shape, and then flipped it onto the fluff! Easy and pretty! I made this twice this weekend and plan on doing it again this weekend!
Thanks!
These are viciously delicious! If you’re after that satisfyingly sweet, rich, dense, and sticky fix, this’ll do it. Also, I rolled out the top portion of dough in between two pieces of wax paper. I found it was easier than pressing the dough with my hands to get it the size of the pan. I then flipped the dough over the marshmallow and cut away the excess from the sides. I used the leftover dough to make a few cookies, and let me tell ya, that dough makes delicious cookies as well!
Ok. I’m an idiot and freely and unashamedly admit it.
How do you print a recipe? I can’t find a ‘print’ button or a link to a printer friendly recipe.
This looks SO good, and I want to make it (now)!
Thanks.
And thanks for a great site, too…..
Hey!
I actually don’t have a specific “print” button. Just print it from your browser (i.e. go up the the “file” menu in the browser you’re using, and select “print”.)
Right now, we have the recipes set to print without pictures, to keep them short. (With pictures, each post winds up being about 20-30 pages…) That way, you have the instructions for use in the kitchen, but can still peek at the site if you need to check something visually.
Cheers!
+Jessie
Jesse,
You are the goddess!
Thank you. Worked like a charm (heh heh). Off to bake….
-c
Omg, I made these for my fourth of july cookout yesterday and they DISAPPEARED! There were only a few left today and we took those to the beach with us and they didn’t make it back. It’s a great recipe and even have been asked for it!
I’m always on the lookout for new dessert recipes and I have to say this one takes the cake. I love my sweets, but was not prepared for how rich this dessert is. On the flip side, add some ice cream while it’s still warm and it’s the perfect treat. I highly recommend this to everyone! Easy to make while delicious to eat!
I made these for my hubbie’s birthday, and everyone loved them, we ended up using the leftovers to make ice cream sundaes. Fantastic!
I think I love you. And I too, want to marry you.
This site never disappoints me! Everything I have made from Jesse’s kitchen is always a huge hit. I made these two nights ago and they are perfection! If you can wait, these really taste better the next day. However, you need to lock them up for them to make it that long…
I’m a long-time reader of the blog, but sadly don’t have a lot of kitchen time thanks to 12+ hour workdays. I finally took the plunge and made these S’mores bars as my first Hungry Mouse recipe a few weeks ago for a family reunion/picnic. Loved ‘em, and am having a tough time refraining from making them again! Gotta watch that waistline…
I should also add that refrigerating them overnight per Ms. Mouse’s advice really helped in the cutting process. Once they came to room temp, they oozed a lot more. The oozing made them fun and messy, but I guess I’d suggest keeping them chilled both pre and post-cutting if you want a “neater” snack.
OMG! I’m a huge S’More fan…goes back to childhood summer camp memories. I’ll HAVE to make this for a family gathering. Thank you for passing it along. Those extra tips will help, too.
ADORE Keeshounds! Hubby and I had TWO. We had them for 12 yrs. Sadly they are up in doggie heaven now, but we cherished our time with them. What a wonderful breed to own. I miss them, so will live vicariously now through your updates on Penelope.
seriously, one of the BEST desserts I have ever had. Thanks.
seriously, one of the BEST desserts I have ever had. I can’t wait to share with my friends this afternoon…..or will I??
holy crap. made these yesterday because they seemed fun and not too challenging, and i was a recipe short of a full holiday baking load. SO FREAKING GOOD. my man friend has completely decimated the bars, and now i have (get to) make another batch. quite possibly the best thing i have ever eaten, and my man would say so too if his mouth wasn’t full. thank you!
hi, I just wanted to say I made these today and they were wonderful!
I especially liked how easy they were. I had no trouble! Thanks!
OMG these are fricken AmAzZzZzInG!!! i literally died a little because they were that delicious, mmmmmm
now i want to make moooooore!!!
not gonna lie, i love s mores but these little fun filled treats are going to kill someone, they are extremely good and worth the wait to make but that many cals for one of these things is deadly… WATCH OUT!
Going to make these for my sons Boy Scout Awards Banquet. The food theme is American. How more American is Smores? Here’s to hoping he wins first place.
Oh my Gawd, we made these today for Mother’s day dessert and I could not stop eating them. I ate until I went into a food coma. They were relatively easy to make with all of your helpful instructions. I also made your homemade deli roast beef yesterday. Thank-you=)
I’ve got these in the oven now. Wow, that dough is a pain in the neck, huh?
Ha, yeah, it totally is. Worth it, though. Let me know what you think!
+Jessie
any reason the fluff can’t go first, then the chocolate? the chocolate makes for a better layer to smush the rest of the dough on top, without having to transfer from a board, etc…mine are in the oven now. can’t wait!
Better than S’Mores!! We have made these so many times our teeth ache from the yummy sweetness.
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I made these for my youth group at church! They loved them, teens are not usually overflowing with complements, but they all said how great they were. A crowd pleaser for sure!
This is my 4th time making these. For the top layer I roll it out between to sheets of parchment paper and the flip it into the pan works out very well for me. These have gotten rave reviews at parties… thanks for the great idea and treat to share.
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I made these today and thought I had died and landed in heaven!! YUMMY stuff!! My family loved them also. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe!!
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I LOVE your dogs!! I used to have a keeshond growing up. One of my favorites! And Penelope is super cute!
I also will be trying your bars next, I simply love all your recipes!
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you need a Pintrest button on your page!
Can you use real marshmallows cuz I don’t have the fluff
Your recipe reads “3 cups marshmallow fluff (that’s roughly one 16-oz. tub of marshmallow fluff)” So which is correct, 16 oz, or 3 cups? Because 3 cups = 24 oz.
Making these for my cub scout blue and gold banquet! Can’t wait to try them!
I love your step by steps with pics. I wont make a recipe if I don’t have a visual. You are a-mazing! Thank you