A few weeks ago I got an email at work about a Palentine's day potluck event. Yay potluck! Any excuse to bake for other people is a win in my book. But then...I kept reading, and I saw that this was a special ingredient potluck. AND a competition. The special ingredient: Marshmallow.
Marshmallow dessert + competition? It's like I won the lottery! If you've read many other recipes here you may already know that marshmallow is my second favorite dessert flavor/ingredient/item EVER (the first being lemon). And for those who may not know me personally, I'm a huge fan of competition, especially when it's friendly. So I immediately started brainstorming what to make.
I knew I wanted to make homemade marshmallows because I haven't made them in a while. I was originally thinking I'd make these show-stoppingly-good S'Mores Cupcakes and top them with these Earl Gray Salted Caramel homemade marshmallows, but then I decided that that was a bit too intense both for the time I had the weekend prior, and for a lunchtime potluck. So I scaled it back to just making the marshmallows, but accidentally took out Chai tea instead of Earl Gray and thought, "What the hell?". So, I made Salted Caramel Chai Marshmallows.
They're good, but they're VERY intense. And I thought they might be a bit too fancy for some. And I missed the marshmallow/chocolate/graham classic s'mores combo that made me love marshmallows so much as a kid in the first place. Then I remembered that I LOVE these bars, and that they're super easy to no-bake! A perfect opportunity to make a second offering that would appeal to the chocolate folks, and to get the recipe up on my site. And that means I have double the chances of winning right? ;)
These are very, very delicious, and I really love that the cookie butter flavor comes through. It's a nice addition to a traditional s'mores bar, but if you can't find it, or just prefer peanut butter, you can sub 1 for 1. They're also easy and clean to eat with your hands, as s'mores often aren't, so they're good potluck get-together food. Best of all, they take about 15 minutes to make. No lie! You do need to let them chill in the fridge until they get solid enough to cut, but it's max reward for minimal effort on these for sure. Bring them to your next social gathering and watch your friends go back for seconds...and thirds...and then stop watching because that's just mean.
Happy Baking!
Makes 24 bars, or more if you cut them smaller.
INGREDIENTS/SUPPLIES
4 sheets honey or cinnamon graham crackers (your choice; that's 16 small rectangles b/c each sheet should have 4)
5 cups mini marshmallows (almost a whole bag)
2 cups chocolate chips (12oz; I used a combo of dark and semisweet - I wouldn't use entirely semi, but you could use bittersweet instead)
1/2 cup cookie butter spread (aka Biscoff spread; you can use chunky but if you want to drizzle you'll need creamy for that; you can also use peanut butter instead!)
Optional: a few more mini marshmallows for decorations, & 2 Tablespoons creamy cookie butter for drizzling
9x13 baking dish
aluminum foil
unsalted butter or shortening for greasing the foil (I wouldn't use baking spray - because these don't go in the oven, you might be able to taste whatever it is you use to grease the pan)
large, microwave safe mixing bowl
more bowls for the marshmallows/graham crackers
spatula
measuring cups/kitchen scale
DIRECTIONS
Line your 9x13 pan with foil, then grease the bottom and up the sides thoroughly with shortening or soft, unsalted butter.
Measure out 5c of mini marshmallows, and crumble your 4 sheets of graham crackers into pieces no bigger than a dime. Toss the graham pieces together with half or most of the marshmallows It's important you do this step before you start to melt the chocolate.
In your large microwave safe bowl, melt 2c of chocolate chips in the microwave for one minute. While it's in there, measure out your cookie butter spread.
Stir the chocolate chips well with your spatula, scraping up from the bottom, then return to the microwave for 20 seconds.
Stir the chocolate chips again, then scoop in the cookie butter.
Return to the microwave for 30 seconds, then stir to combine until the cookie butter is fully incorporated. You'll probably still have some little chocolate chip lumps, but if you don't at this point move onto step 8.
Return to the microwave for 10-20 second increments, stirring well in between to check for any leftover chocolate chip lumps.
Once your mixture is fully melted and combined, add in your marshmallows and graham crackers, and stir well until they are all fully coated with the chocolate/cookie butter mixture.
Scoop the mixture into your pan, trying to evenly distribute it as it will be kind of hard to spread evenly.
Using the back of your spatula, press the mixture down into the empty spots so that it's covering the pan and is somewhat level.
Sprinkle some more mini marshmallows on top.
Melt about 2TB cookie butter spread in the microwave (20 seconds, stir, 10 more seconds if it's not melted, stir, etc.), then drizzle it over the pan.
Chill covered in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight, then cut into bars sized to your preference. These will keep in a sealed container at room temperature for 2 days, in the fridge for one week, or in the freezer somewhat indefinitely (probably months to a year).
