S’mores Brownies
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Even though we’re inching closer to September and a bounty of apples, pumpkin, fall baking, jeans and hoodies, and football, there are still quite a few days of summer left to enjoy. And nothing is better on a warm summer evening than a s’more. Spearing a big marshmallow on a chiseled stick, holding it over an open flame until it’s engulfed and blackened, and then smashing it between chocolate bar-lined graham crackers. Then taking that first ooey, gooey, sticky, charred and smokey bite. It’s the essence of summer and makes us all feel like we’re carefree kids again. Running through the cool evening grass barefoot, chasing after lightning bugs and not having a care in the world.
I’ve been wanting to make s’mores brownies for quite some time, and finally got around to it recently. I started (as I usually do) by checking out some recipes that I had saved and seen online. By and large they consisted of brownies that either had graham cracker pieces and marshmallows mixed in, or had marshmallows and graham crackers sprinkled on top. Neither was what I was looking for. I wanted the classic s’mores setup: graham cracker, chocolate, marshmallow, graham cracker.
So I fashioned these after the Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars, except that I added a graham cracker crust to the base, then instead of merely melting the marshmallows in the oven, I broiled them so that they got that nice characteristic s’mores char, and finally topped everything off with big pieces of graham crackers nestled into the marshmallows.
Now, be warned. These are not all neat and fancy. They are messy. Just like s’mores. Ooey, gooy and oh-so-good.
What’s your favorite summer memory this year? I think mine is sitting outside on summer evenings with my boyfriend, cool beverage in hand, and battling each other at Risk (yay board games!).
One year ago: Peach Pie Tartlets
Two years ago: Arancini: Italian Rice Balls
Three years ago: Black-Bottom Cupcakes
Four years ago: Parmesan Chicken & Rice
S'mores Brownies
Yield: 32 brownies
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: About 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients:
For the Graham Cracker Crust:
3 cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup unsalted butter, meltedFor the Brownies:
Chewy Brownies recipe
1 bag mini marshmallows
Additional graham crackers, broken into piecesDirections:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x13-inch baking pan. Line the pan with foil, leaving some overhang, and then butter the foil; set aside.
2. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and salt, mixing well. Add the melted butter and, using a fork, toss until the entire mixture is moist. Dump the graham cracker mixture into the prepared baking pan, pressing it into an even layer. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
3. Meanwhile, prepare your brownie recipe. Pour the brownie batter over the cooked graham cracker crust, spreading it into an even layer. Bake the brownies according to the directions.
4. As soon as the brownies come out of the oven, switch the oven to broil. Pour the bag of mini marshmallows onto the brownies, covering it in an even layer. Pop the pan back in the oven for a few minutes. Keep a close eye on them - you want them to start to char so you get that s'mores flavor, but don't want to completely burn them.
5. As soon as the pan comes out of the oven, top the marshmallow layer with the pieces of graham cracker, pressing down slightly so that the pieces of graham cracker get nestled into the marshmallow.
6. Cool completely and then cut into squares. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
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Oh man, now I don’t know what to make this weekend! I was going to make the peanut butter chocolate chip bars but this looks yummy too!
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These look sinful. I just can’t get enough s’mores lately. So good.
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If I didn’t have a slice of cake in front of me right now, I’d be licking the screen :p
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I am such a sucker for anything s’mores…I’m getting fat(ter) just by looking at the picture!!!
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These look fantastic! Great way to have s’mores without a fire!
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These look amazing!
I actually had the same idea for s’mores brownies: I wanted mine to be more in the traditional form. I haven’t posted mine yet (nobody told me it was national s’mores day! I totally lost out on an opportunity to make a yummy treat!) but they look kind of like yours.
I just wanted to tell you how much I love your blog: the pictures AND the recipes. I’ve made many things from your blog and each one has been incredibly delicious.
Thanks!
-Miriam
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yum!! and what a perfect summer memory, my guy and I battle over scrabble
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These sound delicious! I still want more s’mores treats before summer ends!
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Fabulous! and no campfire necessary! What a fun treat for a picnic lunch!
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yesterday i caught myself daydreaming about apples, cinnamon, pumpkin, butternut squash…..but i still have so much summer baking to do!
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It would be tough to have just one of these….they look so very good.
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I am ready for fall weather, but not ready to let go of s’mores. Any way we can incorporate them until Christmas? Use peppermint marshmallows or something?
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I just fainted. LOVE.
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These look UNREAL. I love the marshmallow addition!
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Love the large pieces of graham cracker in this recipe. They look great.
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Love s’mores everything. I can’t get enough of that tasty trio!
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Perfect combo!
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You’ve captured a component that is too often missing from s’mores treats and for me make them nothing but faux. The fire. Without some charred marshmallow taste then there is nothing s’moreish about a cookie or a bar at all; it’s simply a graham/chocolate/marshmallow dessert.
Looks perfect.
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These are so perfectly toasted!! I want to eat the whole pan!
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Oh dear Lord in heaven, do those look good!
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If it was neat then it wouldn’t be as delicious! The messier the better!
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I have been craving some s’more action for a long time…. I’m not a huge brownie fan, but these just might have to be made!
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I think I could eat the entire pan:)
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Those look heavenly!!!!!!
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Ohhh myyy gooooddd! I need these in my life immediately!
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Hi
Should I melt the butter completely or have chunks along with melted?
Thanks
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Michelle on August 12th, 2011 at 1:11 pm
Hi Julie, Melt the butter completely.
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Oh. My. YUM! These look divine! Can’t wait to whip up a batch, thanks for posting the recipe!
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Looks so divine!
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I LOVE the brown you achieved on the marshmallows….to me THAT’S what would make them taste like s’mores! Bravo!
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Be still my brownie loving heart.
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Oh my goodness! These look so delish…and addictive!
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Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. They look fabulous!
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These look fabulous and I love how messy and gooey they are! I have to admit though, I am definitely ready for fall.
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I love your prelude to the recipe … sweet & perfect!
xo
http://allykayler.blogspot.com
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I really like the incorporation of the graham cracker crust in these! I’ve seen a lot of s’mores brownies but I don’t think I’ve ever seen them quite this way before.
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I’m always so envious of your photos! What do you use for your lighting? Do you use an external flash? Photoshop? No matter how much I fiddle w Photoshop I can never quite get nice lighting in my photos.
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Michelle on August 13th, 2011 at 11:38 am
Hi Julia, Thank you! I actually don’t use any artificial light – no external flashes. I take all of my photos right next to a really large window that lets in lots of natural light. I will use a white foam board from Michael’s to bounce light back onto the food, and that’s it. I use Adobe Lightroom to edit my photos, and sometimes I need to adjust the white balance, but for the most part unless it’s very late in the day and the sun is already going down, I don’t need to do much fidgeting. Hope that helps!
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Julia on August 14th, 2011 at 2:43 pm
Thank you so much! I already see a vast improvement in my photos!
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Ours have barely been out of the oven 30 minutes and we’ve already been back for seconds. Seriously…one of the best desserts I’ve ever eaten!!! The burnt marshmallows, all gooey and squishy, take these to another level. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
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Love s’mores! I can’t wait to try these.
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I made a s’mores brownie, too, this past week with four layers in it. You got the nice roasted top for the marshmallows on yours.
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You never cease to amaze me. These look UNREAL!!! Can’t wait to try them!
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These brownies look incredible… S’mores are one of the few redeeming things of summer, if you ask me!
Otherwise, I’m just counting down the days until I can do some pumpkin baking.
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I’ll take messy, ooey, and gooey ANY day of the week!
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I love smores and these look a great summertime treat!
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These are gorgeous! I made them today and waiting for them to cool takes an eternity. God they’re pretty though. They turned out perfectly, thanks so much for the recipe. I’ve always loved s’mores and this is exactly what I needed since I couldn’t have authentic campfire s’mores, the toasted marshmallows add something really special. Thanks again!
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I made these this week and they are amazing! I’d been wanting to make something s’more related for so long, but I kept putting it off. Once I saw this post, I knew the time had come!
Your photos are beautiful! I had a really hard time photographing these for my blog post. Thanks for the recipe!
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I love your blog.
I am always baking because of you!
I can not wait to try this one but I have a small problem – I don’t have a broiling option on my oven – what to do now?
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Michelle on September 1st, 2011 at 3:16 pm
Hi Meg, If you have a kitchen torch you can use that to brown the tops of the marshmallows. If you don’t have a torch, you can just pop the pan back in the oven for about 5 minutes – it will puff the marshmallows, they just won’t have that char. Unfortunately the only way to get it is with open flame.
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wanting to make these right now and can’t believe i’m out of foil! have you had success without it? i’d hate to have these yummy brownies “stuck” in the pan!
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Michelle on September 18th, 2011 at 3:17 pm
Hi Nicole, You could also use parchment paper. It’s just really easy to use foil or parchment to lift brownies out of the pan.
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holy shit.
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Awesome, just awesome! I asked a friend to make these to bring to my wedding last weekend, backyard cookout theme. There were a smashing success. They looked fabulous too! Many, many requests for the recipe! Thanks for posting this recipe! It will be in the frequently baked recipe pile!
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There was a recipe similar to this one on here a year or so ago. I can’t seem to find it, it was called smokes cookie bars. I saved the recipe to a note, but have since changed phones. My family really loved them, and would love to have them again. If you have it on here and I’m just not finding it please point me in the right direction, if not would you care to share the recipe if you still have it ?
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Michelle on November 20th, 2012 at 12:02 pm
Hi Tiffany, I don’t have any s’mores (I assume that’s what you meant? not smokes?) cookie bar recipes, so you might be thinking of another blog. These are the other s’mores bars recipes on the site:
http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2012/06/20/golden-grahams-smores-bars/
http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/01/20/smore-nut-bars/
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I made these this weekend to take to dinner at a friend’s house. Oh my – seriously amazing. Thanks again for being my go-to-website for new and delicious recipes!!
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