Tuesday, April 22, 2014

S is for S'Mores

I don't camp. 

I don't camp, I don't camp, I don't camp.


Besides the sleeping in tents (and a camper is only a tad bit better than a tent) and the bathroom facilities and the perpetual need for ice for the cooler, other campers expect you to make s'mores and eat them.


I know it's very un-American to say this, but I can't stand s'mores. (I believe it is well established that I am a picky eater, as evidenced in I is for Inedible, and that's just the tip of the iceberg, baby!) I like toasted marshmallows. I like graham crackers. I like chocolate. I do not like them smashed all together, hot, gooey marshmallow squishing out all over my fingers, chocolate all over my face. 


Note: for those who are not familiar with s'mores, they were developed by campers in the early 20th century as an easy to fix treat with ingredients that were easy to pack. In the late 1920's, the Girl Scouts of America included a recipe for them in their cookbook, thereby taking a lot of the credit for their popularity. The secret (not) recipe (not) is toast one marshmallow over the campfire. Lay a square of Hershey's chocolate bar on a square of graham cracker, put the toasted marshmallow on top of the chocolate, and top with a second graham cracker square. The name is a derivation of "some more," which you are allegedly supposed to want after eating the first one. I think "no'mores" is a more apt description.


In an odd twist to this, I have a favorite recipe that I am going to share with you. It is called S'Mores Bars, and they taste NOTHING like a s'more, which is a blessed relief, if you ask me. There are no graham crackers. There are marshmallows, but you don't have to toast them first. There is chocolate. And there is no need to be forced to camp and use a campfire to make them, because they just get baked in an oven LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE DO WITH THEIR FOOD.


S'MORE BARS


1-1/4 c. granulated sugar

3/4 c. butter or margerine, softened
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2-1/4 c. flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 c. miniature marshmallows
2 c. chocolate chips*

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar; add the eggs and vanilla and beat well. Stir in the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Spread half the dough in a greased 9x13 pan (I like to use a glass dish). This is best done with your fingers. Sprinkle evenly with the marshmallows and chocolate chips. Spread remaining dough over top (again, you will need to use your fingers to do this, as "spread" isn't really the right word for the process).

Bake at 350F degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cut into bars while still warm. Thank me later.

*The original recipe calls for using Hershey bars instead of chocolate chips, but who has Hershey bars lying around the house? Someone in my house will sniff them out and eat them before I get a chance to use them in a recipe. I have used both semi-sweet chips AND milk chocolate chips (because my husband bought the wrong ones), and both are delicious.

Mixing dry ingredients into creamed ingredients.
Note the sugar spilled on the counter,
because that's how I roll.
And now it's dough.

Put half the dough in the pan. Sprinkle a little flour
onto the dough, then use your fingers to
smush it all over the bottom of the pan....

...until it looks like this.
Sprinkle evenly with the marshmallows and
chocolate chips. Ignore the upside down
picture. Technical difficulties.
Pat the remaining dough on top of the
marshmallows and chocolate chips.
It's okay if they are not completely covered
with the dough; it will spread as it bakes.
Naturally, you should eat some
of the cookie dough while
lamenting the sad state of your hair.
See? Golden brown!
Ahhh! Now, cut these while they are warm. Just trust me on this;
you do NOT want to wait until the marshmallows set back up.
Don't you wish this were Wonkavision,
and you could reach out, take this off the
screen, and gobble it up?

21 comments:

  1. Not sure about camping in tents as I've never done it, but I would love to own a camper van and travel wherever I felt like going that day.

    Dropping by from A to Z
    Suzy at Someday Somewhere

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    Replies
    1. I would like to get in the car and travel wherever I felt like going that day, then sleep in a nice hotel bed that night :) I'll let you drop by and use my shower!

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  2. Abhor camping and smores....got yer back....feel yer pain....

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  3. Those look far better than S'mores. I try to convince myself every year when I got to my friend's cabin that I actually like s'mores but frankly, I think I eat it out of tradition rather than like. But S'more cookie bars sound like a much better remedy!

    Kate at Daily discoveru

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    Replies
    1. These ARE far better than s'mores, even if you LIKE s'mores. Make some.

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  4. HATE CAMPING

    love marshmallows

    But chocolate. Blech!

    Lovely photo series though :D

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    Replies
    1. What about white chocolate? Because it's not even chocolate. You like that?

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    2. Whoa now, let's not get discriminatory! White chocolate, Dark chocolate, it's all chocolate!

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  5. I am chaperoning a Girl Scouts camping trip with my daughter in a few weeks and I could not be less excited. Not a fan (of camping, not my kid). Maybe I will bring these bars to ease my pain.

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    Replies
    1. I will think about you and smile quietly, thankful that my daughter never wanted to be a Girl Scout.

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  6. OK for the record, I love smores. But this looks way better, Dyanne...I'll be making these soon. In all that spare time I have lately! ;) Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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    Replies
    1. Sounds like a good project for the PBA's Family and Consumer Sciences class!

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  7. I am definitely with you on the camping. UGH! I was a girl guide so grew up with S'mores. One is about all I can take. I prefer to eat...I mean dole out the chocolate to the kids. Your recipe looks pretty darn tasty. *smacking lips*

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    Replies
    1. What's weird is that I DO like Moon Pies, which have sort of the same components.

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  8. Great post! Yummy looking recipe, and I agree about the lack of Hershey bars, but in my house, my daughter is likely to eat up the chocolate chips as well, when she visits, so no guarantees there either!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! My son eats chocolate chips if I don't watch him like a hawk. He's a dark chocolate kind of guy, although no chocolate is safe with him around.

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  9. Being in the UK I've never had smores, but going by your description of them I don't want any either, they sound gross. And even though I'm a camper I've never been able to understand why other campers think toasted marshmallows are so great - they're just messy and totally pointless.

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    Replies
    1. I certainly think they're gross. But I do like toasted marshmallows. As long as they aren't burnt.

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  10. I'm in agreement with camping. Well, sort of. But I LOVE s'mores! They are delicious! All those delicious things senselessly smashed together and touching one another and gooey and YUM! Too bad those evil girl scouts took the credit from all those poor campers.

    Those bars do look really good too. For some reason, though, I think I've had them, or something very similar. Perhaps my grandmother makes something close to those. I should find out. I'm surprised for not liking foods to touch or the like, that you actually don't mind touching sticky gooey things. I'm not a fan of touching raw meat for example.

    Jak at The Cryton Chronicles & Dreams in the Shade of Ink

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    Replies
    1. Yuck, yuck, yuck! You need to get Kate to make MY s'mores for you. Hey, my friend who gave me the original recipe for these was from Wisconsin. Northern thing, perhaps? Maybe your grandmother DID make them.

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