S’mores are everywhere you look this summer, becoming one of the most popular summertime treats to indulge in. Ooey gooey marshmallow and melting chocolaty goodness abound, whether they come in fudge, pudding, cupcake, ice cream, cookie, or pie form. Try checking out Pinterest for some great new twists on this classic dessert. This version appealed to me because of B.O.B. Bob. There is nothing the man will not eat if you throw Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in it, on it, or beside it.
To be honest, I also had an insane amount of graham crackers and marshmallows lying around, because this summer, we have not used the fire-pit as much as usual. After the first batch of these sweet bars, I also came to decide they needed another dose of chocolate. So, I decided to break my “Use the Whole Bag” rule, and add 1/3 of a cup of mini chocolate chips on top. I just hate recipes that call for using a partial bag of chocolate chips; the leftover unused chips just look so lonely sitting in my freezer.
The exciting part of making this recipe came when I attempted to get the flour out of the cabinet mid-recipe. Notice I said attempted. I ended up knocking out a jar of Hawaiian Seasoning Salt, which of course opened on impact with the floor, and sent salt flying in every direction. I really need a bigger spice cabinet, which means a bigger kitchen, which most of all means an addition to my home. One of these days it will happen, after all, we’re finally getting a new roof this week after eight years of discussing it. That means in another eight, I may actually get the pantry I have wild, crazy, lusty dreams about.
Speaking of dreams, Brenna was upstairs in the office completely oblivious to the fact that salt was now all over the wooden floor. I, on the other hand, was so busy trying to work around the salt that I forgot to put the reserved batter on top of the marshmallows. Luckily, the mistake was caught after the bars had only been in the oven for two minutes. A crisis was avoided, Mr. Dyson came out of the coat closet to do his job, and Brenna didn’t end up licking salt off of her paws for the rest of the day. However, she does seem to be favoring the area of the salt spillage, because I’ve caught her rolling around there a couple of times this week already.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature (Extra for Greasing Dish)
- 2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Egg, Room Temperature
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Sleeves Graham Crackers
- 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 (8-oz.) Bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Mini’s, Cut in Half
- 1 Cup Chopped Dry Roasted Peanuts
- 4 Cups Mini Marshmallows
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a 9×13 glass Pyrex dish with tin foil. Grease foil-lined dish with butter; set aside.
- Finely crush graham crackers in a Ziploc bag with a rolling pin.
- Cream the butter, sugar, and salt in a large bowl for 2 minutes with a hand mixer.
- Add the vanilla and egg, and then beat the mixture for 1 minute.
- Fold graham crackers and flour into the butter mixture until well combined. Reserve 1 cup of the mixture for later. Press the rest of the mixture evenly into the Pyrex dish to create a crust.
- Sprinkle peanut butter cups evenly over the crust, followed by peanuts, marshmallows, and then mini chocolate chips. Crumble reserved crust evenly over the top of everything.
- Bake on the middle rack of an oven for 20-25 minutes. Marshmallows should be lightly toasted and puffed.
- Allow to cool for two hours on a countertop and then place in a fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Peel foil carefully away from bars and cut into desired bar size.
Suggestions:
- If you are having problems with your crust mixture sticking to your spatula, as you try to spread it evenly into the baking dish, spray it with some cooking spray.
- These are very sweet, so you may want to cut them into smaller sized bars.
- Don’t forget to crumble the reserved crust mix on the bars, before placing them in the oven.
- If you don’t have Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Mini’s you can always use normal sized ones. Try putting them in the freezer for a half an hour before you attempt to cut them into smaller pieces. It will make your job much easier.
Improvements:
- I think you would be able to get away with substituting other types of candy in place of the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, but I’m not sure why anyone would want to.
Ingredients:
- 3/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature (Extra for Greasing Dish)
- 2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Egg, Room Temperature
- 1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Sleeves Graham Crackers
- 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 (8-oz.) Bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Mini's, Cut in Half
- 1 Cup Chopped Dry Roasted Peanuts
- 4 Cups Mini Marshmallows
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a 9x13 glass Pyrex dish with tin foil. Grease foil-lined dish with butter; set aside.
- Finely crush graham crackers in a Ziploc bag with a rolling pin.
- Cream the butter, sugar, and salt in a large bowl for 2 minutes with a hand mixer.
- Add the vanilla and egg, and then beat the mixture for 1 minute.
- Fold graham crackers and flour into the butter mixture until well combined. Reserve 1 cup of the mixture for later. Press the rest of the mixture evenly into the Pyrex dish to create a crust.
- Sprinkle peanut butter cups evenly over the crust, followed by peanuts, marshmallows, and then mini chocolate chips. Crumble reserved crust evenly over the top of everything.
- Bake on the middle rack of an oven for 20-25 minutes. Marshmallows should be lightly toasted and puffed.
- Allow to cool for two hours on a countertop and then place in a fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Peel foil carefully away from bars and cut into desired bar size.
Don’t let this recipe slip away. How often do you find a recipe intriguing, yet forget where to find it when you finally get the hankering to make it? Instead of digging through old posts or wandering aimlessly around on the internet, why not Pin this recipe to Pinterest where you can find it when you eventually need it? Simply Pin the image above and you’ll have it when that time comes. You can follow us HERE on Pinterest or simply click HERE to find all of our pin-worthy recipes.
ORIGINALLY POSTED 08/29/2013
