Peanut Butter S’mores Bars
Getting this one in just under the wire (before summer is over). Summer is traditionally the high season for s’mores, though I think fall, with its campfire-y vibes, is just as good a time to enjoy this iconic treat. However, I propose we make s’mores a year-long affair. These Peanut Butter S’mores Bars will help us do just that.
Peanut Butter, Chocolate, Grahams, and Marshmallows = Heaven in a Bar
These bars have all the elements of the campfire treat we all love: graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. But they have one more thing that really takes them over the top: peanut butter!
If you’ve never had peanut butter on your s’mores, quick, start a fire and make one NOW. Just spread a little schmear of your favorite PB on one of your graham crackers, then make your s’more as usual. Prepare to have your life changed.
Or, you know, make these bars instead.
They have crushed graham crackers mixed into what is essentially a blondie base. Then, they’re stuffed to the brim with chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. Finally, before they go into the oven, they get swirled with peanut butter and topped with more chocolate chips and marshmallows.
Voila, s’mores for everyone! All. year. long. Are you excited yet? You should be. I mean, just look at this goodness:
Tips for Making Your Best Peanut Butter S’mores Bars
These bars are pretty straightforward, but there are a few little things that will help them turn out their very best.
- Choosing your chocolate. I prefer dark chocolate for these bars (and for s’mores in general). But semisweet or milk chocolate chips would be delish too.
- Make sure your mini marshmallows are fresh. Fresh ‘mallows will puff up better and give you that gooeyness you want in a s’more.
- Crushing the graham crackers. We’re not going for graham cracker crumbs here — you just want to crush them with your hands a little to break them down into smaller pieces. You can cut them up if you want, but it’s easier to crush them and it gives you pieces that are a variety of sizes, with some larger, some small, and a few crumbs. That variety makes for a more interesting bar.
- Kosher salt. Depending on what brand of kosher salt you use, you may need to adjust the amount in the recipe. I used Morton’s, so if you use Diamond Crystal you’ll need to adjust accordingly (this article gives you more info on the hows and whys).
- Peanut butter. You can use whatever brand of peanut butter you want (I used Jif). Fair warning, I didn’t try them with natural PB, so if you use that and they turn out weird, don’t be mad at me, lol. It should work fine, but in case it doesn’t…I warned you. 😉
- Swirling in the peanut butter. When you swirl in the PB, don’t worry about what it looks like. You’re not going for a pretty swirl here — you just need to disburse it throughout the dough. Dollop the peanut butter on top of the dough in the pan, and use a butter knife to sort of swirl it through the dough. It’s ok if you end up cutting all the way through the dough to the bottom of the pan, but try to keep most of it near the surface.
- Make it pretty. To make the bars a little prettier and get the obligatory toasty marshmallows on top, sprinkle some extra chocolate chips and mini marshmallows across the top of the bars after you add the peanut butter swirl.
- Cutting the bars. I like these bars to be on the smaller side (they’re pretty rich), so I cut them into 16. But if you want big slabs of s’mores bar (good call), cut them bigger into 9, like these maple pecan blondies.
- Doubling the recipe. Feeding a crowd and need a bigger batch? This recipe will easily double. Just use a 9×13 cake pan instead of the 8×8 or 9×9 square pan. Baking time should be similar — just check them at 20 minutes and if they’re not done yet, bake them a little longer, checking every few minutes.
And that’s that! I hope you enjoy these bars as much as my friends (a.k.a., my taste-testers) and I did.
Happy Baking!
Want more s’mores goodies? Try these Dark Chocolate S’mores Cookies!
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Peanut Butter S’mores Bars
Equipment
- 8×8 or 9×9 square cake pan
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt*
- 3 graham crackers
- 1/2 c butter, softened
- 1/4 c granulated sugar
- 1/2 c brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 T creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 c chocolate chips, plus 2T more for topping
- 1 c mini marshmallows, plus 1/4c more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease an 8×8 or 9×9 square cake pan.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Crush the 3 graham crackers with your hands and mix them in. (You want a variety of sizes of graham pieces, so don't crush them too much.)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer), cream together butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Scrape bowl.
- Add the egg and the vanilla extract. Mix until well-combined, about 1 minute. Scrape bowl.
- Add dry ingredients and mix until almost combined. Add the 1/2 c chocolate chips and 1 c marshmallows, mixing until combined and all flour is mixed in.
- Spread dough into your prepared cake pan. Dot the top of the bars with the 3T of peanut butter, and use a butter knife to swirl it in. It won't be a pretty kind of swirl. Pretty isn't what you're going for here – you just need to disperse the peanut butter throughout the bars.
- Sprinkle the 2T chocolate chips and 1/4 c marshmallows on top of the bars.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bars comes out clean (or mostly clean with a few crumbs). Set pan on a cooling rack and allow the bars to cool completely.Cut into 16 bars and serve! Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to a month.
Notes
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