With Summer winding down, we're sharing a childhood favorite today in the spirit of back-to-school - Chocolate Bliss S'mores Bars. Baked over a buttery graham cracker crust, we layered an assortment of chocolate candies and a golden marshmallow topping. These bars make for a perfect after-school treat to celebrate the new school year!
Napoleon remarked of his Imperial Guard that they would "Fight long and hard for a bit of colored ribbon."
This cuts to the old 'carrot and stick' metaphor of encouraging certain actions or behaviors with the promise of a reward. If we're honest with ourselves, this is a strategy that each of us often employ against ourselves. For example, how often, when struggling through the grind of a work week, do we promise ourselves some sort of 'boon' for that weekend? Or convince ourselves to focus or work for that extra hour with the promise of some sort of sweet treat at the end of the day?
The back-to-school season is often pretty much the same way. The lazy days of summer come to an end, and let's be honest, goading our students out of their temporary academic retirement is a fair bit easier if they know that they have something to look forward to when they come home.
For example, one of my niece's favorite after school snacks are these 'Chocolate Bliss S'mores,' which are easy to put together, and can be made ahead of time, meaning you can bake them during the weekend, and have them for the week since they keep quite nicely. Since she loves helping in the kitchen, we baked a batch of these together while she was visiting last weekend, and I sent her home with them.
To begin, I started out with a half cup of chopped Milky Way Midnight Miniature, M&M's® Peanut, and chopped M&M's Peanut Butter, all three of which I picked up at Walmart. I bought the Milky Way and the M&M's Peanut bags since these are simply excellent to have on hand for baking.
I tossed together melted butter and graham cracker crumbs in a large bowl, and I pressed that into the bottom of a baking dish, which I prepared by greasing and lining it with parchment paper. I sprinkled the chopped candy over the top of the crust, and baked that for about fifteen minutes. Once that was done, I covered it generously with marshmallows, which I then returned to the oven to allow the marshmallows to become golden. I let them set on a cooling rack and cool completely before serving.
Chocolate Bliss S’mores Bars
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 9 1x
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 2 cups crushed graham crackers
- 1/2 cup chopped M&M’s® Peanut Butter
- 1/2 cup chopped M&M’s® Peanut
- 1 cup chopped Milky Way® Midnight Miniature
- 1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease an 8” square baking dish and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl toss together melted butter and graham cracker crumbs. Press to the bottom of the prepared baking sheet.
- Sprinkle the chopped M&M’s® and Milky Way® Midnight over the top of the crust. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the candy has melted and slightly golden.
- Remove and cover generously with mini marshmallows. Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes or until the marshmallows are golden on top.
- Transfer the s’mores bars to a cooling rack and sprinkle with some remaining graham crackers if you so desire. Let cool completely before cutting into.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
DO NOT store in the refrigerator. Just store in an air-tight container.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
What are some of your favorite back to school recipes or treats? We would love to hear from you.
Enjoy with Love!
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Miz Helen says
Just pinned your feature to our Features Board, for Full Plate Thursday. Thanks so much for sharing with us and come back to see us!
Miz Helen
Esmé Slabbert says
I can see why this is a favorite. I think I need to make this for my grandkids for after-school treats.
I visited you via Full Plate Thursday, 638
If you are not already part of SSPS, this is a personal invite to hop over and come and share your posts with us at Senior Salon Pit Stop, every Monday to Saturday.
See my entries: 42+43 and then navigate to the bottom of my page for the Senior Salon Pit Stop linkup, we hope to meet you there virtually.
marie johson says
This recipe is so easy and delicious. I've tried this recipe and loved it. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Lauren Vavala says
My sweet tooth has been in full force the last couple weeks - give me all the chocolate, especially in one ooey gooey bar like this - amazing!
Nicole Taggart says
love love s'mores recipes!
Cookilicious says
they look gorgeous..I wish you could send some over.. 🙂
Tamara says
Sometimes I need to exercise less discipline with my diet, and splurge! These look so good... Your post also left me reminiscing about all the "back to school" fun and craziness in my years of raising 4 sons!
Anne Murphy says
The remind me of a cookie a neighbor made when I was a kid - layers of graham crackers, chocolate and butterscotch. I do like the crunch this must have...