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Some days you just want an ooey, gooey s’more. Today? Is one of those days.
On the ooey, gooey, chewy front, we had something BIG happen last week. Big! Huge!
Jordan got her braces off!!!! (You can see her pretty smile here.)
She’s had her braces for about 2 1/2 years. (She’s 10, if you’re keeping track.) She got them years before all of her friends and she got them off just as they’re all starting to get them on. That’s because (1) we have really big teeth and really small palates and (2) she sucked her thumb for about 5 years.
{When she stuck her thumb in her mouth at 4 months and finally stopped crying I was elated. 6 years later at the orthodontist? Not so much.}
As I’d promised her, we went to this fabulous Willy Wonka-esque candy store for lunch that day. She picked out a pound of various jelly beans, taffy, caramels, and gummies. I’m letting her go hog wild on chewy things until Wednesday when she gets her permanent bottom retainer. (Such a buzzkill.)
And then in about 2 years we’ll get to do it all over again…with phase 2. (Again…total buzzkill.)
One thing she could always enjoy, even with braces? S’mores.
Because it’s well established that I don’t do outdoor s’mores, I make indoor oven s’mores. I don’t even like making s’mores in my backyard, so the oven is it for me.
“No, child of mine, love of my life, we never ever play with fire. Never get too close! Never light a match! Fire is BAD!”
“Sure honey, go stick that long flammable tree stick in the fire. Be sure to catch the marshmallow. Lean over the fire, why don’t you?”
Me and fire aren’t friends.
Me and s’mores are friends…when I can broil the marshmallows in my oven.
Oh, and when the s’mores are on top of a blondie and instead of regular chocolate you use Nutella.
Yes, that. I bought Nutella for you guys. See what sacrifices I make for you?? (Because now I have a jar of Nutella that I’ll eat with a spoon.)
Okay so let’s break down these bars.
The blondie base is my favorite blondie recipe. It’s a basic recipe that you can do so many things with. In fact, I’ve use this same exact recipe to make Loaded Chocolate Chip Bars, Caramel Crunch Blondies, Toffee Blondies, Butterscotch Gooey Bars…and so on.
The blondie is full of butter and an extra hefty dose of brown sugar. The 2 full cups of brown sugar makes these stay soft for days. And, well. 2 cups = good. You can make the bars a few days ahead of when you’re going to make the s’mores without any issue.
(If you don’t want to make these s’mores blondies – why not?? – you can use this base recipe with any number of mix-ins. Use your favorite candies!)
Once the bars are cool, don’t cut them. Slather them with Nutella instead. Or, if you don’t have or like Nutella (!!!) you can use any chocolate spread you want. There are so many kinds out there now; Hershey’s and Reese’s both have a version. Or use peanut butter!
Sprinkle the top with mini marshmallows and then broil them for just a few minutes. Don’t walk away from the stove! You don’t want them to burn. Cut and serve the s’mores bars that day, if possible. Marshmallows go wonky once they’ve been heated and left to sit overnight.
So, to recap: the best blondies ever, chocolate, and gooey marshmallows.
Or, as I call it, breakfast.
Okay fine. Not breakfast. Lunch! 🙂
S'mores Blondies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup Nutella or other chocolate spread
- 4-5 cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13” pan with foil and spray well with cooking spray.
- Mix butter and brown sugar with a stand or a hand mixer until crumbly. Mix in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Mix in salt, baking powder, then flour. The mixture will be wet.
- Spread in prepared pan. The mixture is wet so it’s best to spray your hands with cooking spray and then smooth the dough with your hands to get an even layer.
- Bake for about 22-25 minutes until they start to turn golden. Err on the side of under baked with these - they’ll finish baking as the cool and you don’t want them over baked. Cool completely before continuing.
- Frost with chocolate spread and top with marshmallows. Broil on high for about 1-2 minutes, watching them closely to make sure the marshmallows don’t burn. Once you add the marshmallows, these are best eaten the same day.
Sweets from friends:
S’mores Toffee Bark by Inside BruCrew Life
S’mores Cheesecake by Life, Love, and Sugar
S’mores Rice Krispie Treat Pinwheels by Mom on Timeout
Nutella, blondies, smores…I think you just put the holy grail of desserts into one recipe!
Congrats to Jordan for her brief respite from orthodontia. What a cross for her (and you $) to bear!!
Thanks Averie! Ugh, next time no insurance. !!!
Jordan must be so excited to be free from braces. I had mine for almost four years during high school and it was the worst. I love the idea of oven s’mores. I’ve never tried them. My family’s motto is “It isn’t a party until something catches on fire”…It’s actually pretty terrifying. We’ve had a plastic decoration turkey catch on fire, part of our couch due to a candle being too close, and my dad’s leg at a graduation party! Yeah. Lots of fire in my life. I’d rather have s’mores any day!
Oh my gosh!! How terrifying. I hate fire so much, probably why I hate outdoor s’mores!
I love the flavor combination with the blondie, nice change of pace.
Thanks Lori!
Aw, Jordan must be so happy to get her braces off! I had mine for 13 months and I remember the first thing I ate was an apple; the best apple of my life! Smores bars look amazing, especially with the nutella. I love making smores by fire however, we make them indoor in winter with our fire as in the summer, it is too windy for a campfire in Scotland!
Haha – she’s eating her first apple right now! She was so excited!!
Okay, I’m terrified of fire. So much so that once I was making penne a la vodka and when the pan caught fire, I just screamed. A lot.
My son was a thumb sucker too (until we literally hired a “thumb lady” to detox him), so yep, we’re facing years of orthodontia. Congrats on being done with phase one!
These bars look magnificent. And much better than cooking over an open flame [insert scream of terror here].
I would have screamed too! I hate fire!! And good luck to him, she had it bad before even the thumb. Thank goodness they do two phases now; I had to have 4 adult teeth pulled when I had mine!
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