Soft and Gooey Loaded Smores Bars
The flavors and texture of smores baked into bars is so much more practical than standing around a campfire.
I’m sure you can relate.
And who can resist super soft, chewy, gooey bars that are loaded with great texture.
The batter is a stir-together, one bowl recipe that comes together in less than 5 minutes before turning it out into a pan and baking.
I used my easy, go-to blondie recipe that has served me so well over the years, and I adapted it yet again.
I love the batter because it’s buttery and made with brown sugar, and it takes on caramel notes while baking.
To it I added the classic smores ingredients: chopped graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate chips.
When adding the smores components to the batter, it’ll appear that there’s more add-ins than batter. And that’s fairly accurate.
The abundance of add-ins ensures the bars are taste like taking a big bite of warm, gooey smores rather than eating a blondie that has a few marshmallows or chocolate chips added.
The graham crackers retain a bit of crunch while they bake and melted chocolate chips go so well with graham crackers.
The marshmallows are very slightly toasted and they puff, enveloping the bars in their sticky wonderfulness.
Those strings of marshmallow goo are heaven on earth.
It takes me longer to roast one perfect marshmallow over a campfire than it does to make the bars.
I have no patience for slow-cooked, perfectly golden marshmallows. I usually employ the ignite-and-blow-out strategy for my roasted marshmallows. A little black never hurt anyone, but no worries about finding a campfire to make these.
They’re some of my favorite gooey bars. There’s a great balance of rich and satisfying density from the blondie dough, coupled with lightness and fluffiness of the marshmallows.
The combination of chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows, all suspended in a buttery, brown-sugar based dough, is pure bliss.
If you don’t have anything on your Labor Day dessert menu plan, or have no plans to stand around a campfire any decade soon, may I suggest these.
They’re ready from start to finish in under 30 minutes, and will be a hit with friends and family.
They were definitely a hit here.
Soft and Gooey Loaded Smores Bars
No campfire required for these soft, gooey, rich bars that are loaded with texture and flavor. The combination of chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallows, all suspended in a buttery, brown-sugar based dough, is just magical. They’re ready from start to finish in 30 minutes and are so good, fast, and easy that you may never both with regular smores again.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
1 large egg
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
5 full-size graham crackers, roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
1 heaping cup mini marshmallows
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large, microwave-safe bowl melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
- Wait momentarily before adding the egg so you don’t scramble it. Add the egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
- Add the flour and stir until just combined, don’t overmix.
- Add the graham crackers and any crumbs on cutting board, marshmallows, chocolate chips and fold to incorporate.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Bake for about 20 to 22 minutes, or until bars have firmed up in the center and edges will be set. Some marshmallows may have developed a hint of golden color. Allow bars to cool in pan for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Recipe from Averie Cooks. All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.
All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.
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When was the last time you had Smores?
Can I refridgerate the bars to save them for later? Will they still be good?
They really don’t need refrigeration and room temp is just fine for up to 5-ish days.
I made these today for a camp themed baby shower and they were a hit. I was nervous as I read comments that they didn’t really firm up so I made the tiniest of adjustments. I made them in a 9”x13” glass pan and “nearly” doubled the recipe. About a stick and 3/4 butter… just a little less brown sugar… a tiny bit more flour. I did follow suggestions and cooked for 25-28 min on 325. I also lined my glass pan with parchment paper. Suggestions for those worried they are too gooey… they’re called gooey for a reason! But, if you let them sit for a half hour they firm up perfectly for cutting into bars. The parchment makes it easy to remove from the pan and place on a cutting board for easy cutting! It really is a wonderful recipe. I piled them on a display plate and sprinkled mini marshmallows on them and toasted the mini marshmallows with a butane lighter for a little bit of extra. Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that you made a few tiny tweaks and that they firmed up just fine for you! And yes, as you said, they are called gooey for a reason :) I love the little bit of extra with the butane torch, what a great touch!
Is there any way to make these healthier?
I am not sure…it’s a dessert with chocolate, butter, sugar, so you’d have to see what you could replace those things with, but not sure how it will work out.
What are the calories for these bars?