S'More Brownies

. Happy [long] Labor Day Weekend everyone!

If you know Robbie and I at all, it probably doesn't shock you to know that we're not in town [a.k.a. Omaha] this weekend, but rather traveling the streets in Silverthorne, Colorado.  But this time around, we decided to bring along some of our friends!  In particular, Hollyann and her boyfriend Brandon, and Vinny and Jacque.  We all left after work on Friday and made the 10 hour drive straight through to the mountains.  It was a long day but well worth it because now we have two full days out here.  Today we've already taken all eight of the puppies (yes, eight!  Our three, Robbie's parents four, and Hollyann and Brandon's pup) on a hike, taken a brutal bike ride up and down the mountains, and we're currently in the middle of watching the first Nebraska football game.  Gotta fit in some football wherever we go!

But since we had this trip planned this weekend, there's been a little lull in my posts.  Too many things to get done and not enough time!  So baking had to take a back seat.  Kind of.

Our department at work [which is a bunch of young people] decided to put together a slowpitch softball team.  We had our first games this last Wednesday [which we won by the way!], so I obviously had to bring some treats for the event.  And what better way to send summer out then with a classic goodie we've all grown up with?  S'Mores!  Except I went a little different route and made S'more Brownies.

These actually got quite the mix of reviews.  And I can't really say I've thoroughly decided how I feel about them either.  Some said they were a bit dry but others raved about them.  Absolute extremes, so you can see where my confusion stems from.

But here's my take from the bottom up.  The graham cracker crust could use a little sugar.  The brownie was actually very chocolatey and I was fairly pleased with how it turned out.  And the marshmallows, well, they're marshmallows.  And you can't really do much to those, right?  However, I felt like all of these came together to make a good dessert.  Not the greatest, I'll admit, but still very good.  See 'My Notes' below ☺

Anywho, I hope everyone is having a great last summer weekend.  Fall is right around the corner and I can't wait to get baking and see all of the other goodies out there.  Until next week!

My Notes:

• I adapted this recipe from the Chocolate Brownies with Caramel, Peanut Butter, and Pecans.  As you can see, the filling for that recipe is extremely sweet, which is something I didn't account for when I made the S'More Brownies.  Thus, I suggest adding 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar to the graham cracker crust to give it a little more flavor.  In my list of ingredients, I added 1 cup of mini chocolate chips to the brownies, which I think gave it the extra dose of chocolateyness and sweetness that it needed.  However, I would suggest maybe trying semisweet chocolate for the brownies, which will give them even more flavor [I put the original chocolate flavor in the ingredients list though].
• Make sure to let these brownies cool completely before digging in.  Otherwise, the crust will crumble apart.  Yes, I this happened to me.  I was in a time crunch and had to cut the brownies up quickly before heading out to the softball games.  Oopsies.
• I chose to use mini marshmallows for the topping but next time I will use regular sized marshmallows and cut the tops off before placing them down on the brownies.  I've read several reviews of similar desserts and all have said that the marshmallows get really messy and don't stick to the brownies.  And they were right!  So using this technique appeared to mitigate this issue.  

Adapted from More from Magnolia

Ingredients:

Crust:

2-1/4 c. graham crack crumbs

3/4 c. unsalted butter, melted

Brownie:

1/2 c. all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter

6 oz. unsweetened chocolate

1-1/2 c. sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Topping:

4 c. mini marshmallows

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 350°F.  In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Press firmly into bottom of ungreased 13x9-inch pan.  Set aside.

2.  For brownie, in medium-sized saucepan over low heat, melt butter and chocolate, stirring occasionally until smooth.  Remove from heat and transfer to large bowl to cool for 5 minutes.

3.  Add to chocolate mixture sugar, eggs and vanilla extract and beat well.  

4.  Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Stir in mini chocolate chips.

5.  Pour batter over filling to completely cover.  Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of brownies comes out with moist crumbs (do not over bake).

6.  Turn broiler on high and move oven rack to within 6 inches of broiler.  Gently spread the mini marshmallows in an even layer across the top of the brownies.  Place under broiler for about 2 minutes or until golden brown (watch carefully, this happens quickly).

7.  Cool completely before cutting!

Yield: 2 dozen bars