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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. I also slipped a surprise set of tickets into the bag for the new Ghostbusters movie along with the M&M’s® Milk Chocolate Bottle (Between July 17 – September 30 there will be an in-store coupon with savings of $0.75 off 1 M&M’s® Bottle!).
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® 10.5oz bag and the M&M’s® Peanut 42oz 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 backing 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. Now, you could of course enhance this by adding the Mixed Mini Variety Bag into the candy mix or any variety of M&M’s®.
Chocolate Bliss S’mores Bars
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 9 1x
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 2 cups crushed graham crackers
- ½ cup chopped M&M’s® Peanut Butter
- ½ cup chopped M&M’s® Peanut
- 1 cup chopped Milky Way® Midnight Miniature
- 1 ½ 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.
- Category: Dessert
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
What are some of your favorite back to school recipes or treats? We would love to hear from you.
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Enjoy with Love!
manu says
These bars are so cute; may I have one, please?
Love
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass says
Your niece is one lucky girl, Catherine! These bars will keep us thinking summer even during the winter. No campfire necessary. What a great combination and the M & M candies are such a treat — I love that you used the dark chocolate. My absolute favorite. Have a wonderful day my friend! xo
Big Daddy Dave says
Catherine, Great treat for the grandkids! We’d have to modify it a bit as one of our grandsons has a serious nut allergy. My wife would love these…for herself! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
Taylor Kiser says
These bars will put a smile on kids and adults alike! I’m sure they don’t last long!
Dottie Sauchelli-Balin says
Dear Catherine,
WOW…I would say that this would satisfy my chocolate craving. I love S’mores! Love all of the ingredients, who wouldn’t like candy, chocolate, and marshmallows melted together. Great job and they look so inviting. I remember my mom making biscotti and fruit snacks when we were kids going to school. She didn’t like us eating candy all the time. (sometimes she would break down and give us a treat) Only on Sunday were we allowed to eat chocolate, candy bar or have soda. But I am making up for the chocolate that is for sure…Later on when my son was born, he love Rice Krispie treats. But again only on Sunday..I followed through what my mom taught us. Thanks for sharing…Have a blessed rest of the week.
Hugs Dottie 🙂
[email protected]'s Recipes says
Lots of M&M…bet they are addictive!
Kelly Denton says
I could just dive into those bars, yum! How fun to get to spend time with your niece and bake. #client
Heather (Brie Brie Blooms) says
These look amazing and I can’t wait to try the recipe this week! #client
Diana Johnson says
I’ve seen a lot of twists on s’mores this summer, but nothing like this! Love the creative use of all those candies! I’d love to snack on these
Lisa | Garlic Zest says
These look and sound delicious and totally over-the-top! I think I just put on 10 lbs by looking at them!
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…
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!
Cookilicious says
they look gorgeous..I wish you could send some over.. 🙂
Nicole Taggart says
love love s’mores recipes!
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!
marie johson says
This recipe is so easy and delicious. I’ve tried this recipe and loved it. Thanks for sharing. 🙂