I want S'more Bars

When I was a Junior in High School my American History teacher gave me my first real taste of what a lecture-style college class was going to be like. He would start the class off by writing about 12 words on the blackboard and then he would spend the rest of the class lecturing- sans notes- and would continue for the entire 50 minute period- no grilling the students or reading aloud from a text book. Also, like a college class he didn't really care if people payed attention or not- after all they would ultimately decide their own fate when the tests rolled around. It was more like watching a show on the History Chanel than high school- I loved it! In fact, I liked it so much that I got the History Award when I graduated (yay dorks!). Well, not everything from that class has stuck with me (in fact- it probably wouldn't do me any harm to flip on the History Chanel every once in a while!) but what did stick with me are the funny bits of trivia that my teacher wove so seamlessly into the long accounts of the Civil War or the Great Depression. I will always remember that Amelia Bloomer invented a wonderful new and modern style of undergarments which gave women a whole new sense of freedom when moving around- yep you guessed it- bloomers, the original granny-panties! Another interesting little fact was about Sylvester Graham- a health nut who in 1822, invented a diet to keep the body in good working order. The diet was extremely high in fiber consisting mainly of raw veggies and a special little side dish called the Graham Cracker. Now this treat has actually come a long way from its conception (it used to be like a giant crunchy Fiber One tablet)- but the name has stuck.


So after that extremely long winded introduction- let's all say a big thank you to Mr. Graham for his marvelous invention which gave way to the even more marvelous s'more and the possibly even more marvelous s'more bar! I love s'mores- I think my favorite thing about them is that smoky sugar flavor that comes from roasting the marshmallows over an open campfire. Sadly, this is a flavor that many s'more bars lack because they are baked at home in the oven. Well the great thing about these s'more bars is that you get that wonderful toasted flavor by broiling them for a little under 30 seconds. Although these aren't the prettiest dessert ever, they are unbelievably delicious- I was sort of shocked at how great they turned out! Here's the little recipe I cooked up last night:

S'more Bars

1 1/4 cup Graham cracker crumbs or crushed Graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/8 tsp. cinnamon (you won't actually taste a huge cinnamon flavor but it gives the crust a little something)
1 cup white chocolate chips
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
about 2 cups mini marshmallows (enough to cover the top)

Mix the Graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter, and cinnamon together in a bowl and press the mixture into a well buttered 8 inch square glass baking dish. Bake the crust for 6 minutes at 375 F. Mix the white chocolate chips with the semi-sweet chocolate chips and sprinkle them evenly over the hot Graham cracker crust. Return the dish to the oven for 2 minutes, until the chips have just begun to melt. Remove the dish from the oven and cover the chocolate with the marshmallows and press gently into the slightly melted chocolate.

Turn the oven up to high broil and move the baking rack to the highest position in the oven. When the oven is heated, place the dish in the oven for about 30 seconds- pay VERY close attention because the marshmallows brown very quickly. When the tops of the marshmallows are a deep brown (do not be tempted to pull these out too soon or you will miss out on the campfire taste but also be careful that they do not turn black) remove the dish to a cooling rack and allow it to sit at room temperature for one hour.


After the dish is cool to the touch, place it in the refrigerator for one hour to help the chocolate to firm up. Using a sharp knife cut the s'mores into squares- the melted marshmallows are very hard to cut through because they are so sticky- so it will help to clean the knife after each cut.