Thursday, April 16, 2009

S'mores Brownies two ways

I'm sure it's not a shock to read that I love s'mores (desserts).  Here's the crazy thing, I've never had an actual s'mores. You know,  everyone's fave campfire treat, the kind with the marshmallows roasted over an open fire. I've made toaster oven s'mores and many other s'mores like desserts but never the real deal.

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These first S'mores Brownies were pretty good and were made using a boxed brownie mix. Unfortunately I overcooked the brownies and thus the graham cracker crust a bit.  The brownies sit atop a  graham cracker crust and  its crowning glory is a yummy layer of oven melted marshmallows.  Sandwiched between the two (should have been) a gooey fudgy brownie. Sounds good right? So you know I was bummed when I sampled one and found my brownies were not gooey or fudgy. 

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I made these for Devon, one of the twins to take to school along with a pan of white chocolate blondies but because they didn't turn out as well as I wanted I didn't send them. Against my better judgement Devon convinced me to send in two for his teacher to try.  (He came back with the message....she liked them!) I didn't follow a recipe just an idea of what I wanted.  

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The second S'mores Brownies I made were inspired by the ones I saw on the blog, Joy the Baker.  Being that the Twins had baseball practice and it was moved indoors I figured I would take the brownies to practice but after taking them out of the oven I realized that they would be a bit messing to cut and serve.  I took the recipe's concept of adding marshmallows and graham cracker pieces into the batter to make it "smores" and instead of making homemade brownies I used a box mix.  (Original recipe provided below) I did add a bit more marshmallows and graham cracker pieces which lead to their being a tad difficult to cut.  While I liked these, especially warmed up and topped with vanilla ice cream, I wasn't crazy about them.   I've come to realize while the concept of a s'mores brownies is a good one it doesn't translate well.  In both of these the brownie was the dominant taste. Don't get me wrong some (brownie lovers) might enjoy both of these  but for me s'mores are more about the gooey marshmallows and graham crackers than the chocolate.  If you want something that is reminiscent of those yummy campfire treats give these a S'mores Bars or even these.

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S’mores Brownies

     adapted from Bon Appetit, October 1991

  • 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 cup graham cracker, roughly crushed with your hands
  • 12 big marshmallows  (I also diced 6 additional marshmallows and stirred them into the batter. These marshmallows dissolve when baked, so you can leave them out, or throw them in.  Up to you!)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9×13-inch baking pan with 2-inch-high sides. Combine first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Stir butter and chocolate in a medium sized bowl over a  heavy  saucepan of simmering water.  Stir chocolate and butter in this double boiler until melted and smooth.

Beat eggs, sugar and vanilla in large bowl to blend. Stir in warm chocolate mixture, then dry ingredients. Fold in graham crackers.  Pour batter into prepared pan. Dot with 12 large marshmallows.  Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 30- 40 minutes minutes.

Marshmallows will be browned and puffy but will deflate as the brownies cool.  Cool for at least 20 minutes than slice with a sharp knife, cleaning the knife with hot water if it gets too messy and sticky.  Serve or wrap individually in wax paper for storing.

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43 comments:

  1. I love marshmallow. Tried cheesecake with marshmallow before, brownies with marshmallow looks even better.

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  2. An interesting take on S'mores! These Brownies must be addictive!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  3. I've never had S'mores either! My husband says I'd like them since I like all the ingredients. Makes sense!

    Have a great week!

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  4. Not a true marshmallow fan so smores Ive never had, my ids however would be all over this.. They look great Ingrid.. People at the school must LOVE you. as do I!

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  5. I've never had smores either. I was actually thinking about making smores the way you did it in the first batch with the crust on the bottom, but then I decided to make snickerdoodles instead!!

    I think I agree with you, as pretty as it looks, the marshmallows with the chocolate brownie might not go so well. It still looks really nice though!

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  6. I was planning on making a variation of these after I saw them on Joy the Baker. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

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  7. That second batch... now that is my kind of baking.

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  8. I am sending this recipe on to my s'more loving sister. They look really tasty.

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  9. Wow! *Two* recipes! You're a baking fanatic, huh?

    You know, I only had my first real s'more a few years ago and wasn't that impressed. I like all the components alone but together? Meh. I love baked treats like this though that play off the idea. Both of these look great. Your kid's teachers much adore you!

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  10. I haven't had a real s'more in years!
    These both look delicious to me! I like the fluffy marshmallow on the first one. I hate it when I overcook my brownies - they have to be fudgey for me or I don't even want them. The second ones look ooey and gooey, just the way a s'more really is.

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  11. It all looks insanely delicious! I think I'm gonna go have a stovetop s'more right now! :D

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  12. Looks great! I'm going to work on McKenna's story this weekend. I should be able to have the full rough draft to you.

    And it'll be another week or two before a special edition of Twirl goes out...I have some things I have to decide on for sure...

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  13. I LOVE s'mores, they may be my favorite dessert. Well really, I just love anything that involves marshmallow :). These look amazing!

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  14. What a great idea. I LOVE smores, so our family would go bonkers for these!

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  15. Yum! I love smores! and brownies!

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  16. What if you made a brownie pie but used a graham cracker crust, then topped it with marshmallows or fluff. Or bake your brownies, then toward the end of the baking period add crushed crackers and marshmallows. Or bake your brownies, let them cool slightly, slather with marshmallow fluff and top with a sprinkling of crumbs.

    YUM! I'm craving them now.

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  17. I love s'mores, too. Here is a link to a recipe I've been wanting to make for years but never got around to it. You may have seen it (or it may even be on your blog, I didn't look), but if you haven't already, you may want to make it in the future.:o)

    http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/recipe.aspx?recipeid=42453

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  18. I love s'mores and I love brownies...the two together??? Sounds divine! : )

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  19. I saw that recipe and thought - what's not to like? We do s'mores around bonfires(or the barbecue) all summer. Yours look so tasty - will have to give it a go!

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  20. great things happen sometimes when you dont follow a recipe :)

    The melting smores make me drool!

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  21. Oh. My. Word. These look absolutely delish!! Can't wait to bake them for the kids! :)

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  22. I wouldn't hav thought of this Ingrid. They brownies look nice and moist and the wonderful melting marshmallows is just plain sinnful!

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  23. I've never tried Smores before but have often seen them on TV. These look like they'd have the most delicious, gooey texture to them! :D

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  24. I love marshmallow frosting...I think I would enjoy the brownies...it would be hard for me to not like anything chocolate!!!

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  25. Great minds think alike... I just finished frosting a chocolate cake with marshmallow filling for my niece's 4th birthday. TOTALLY evil.

    These brownies look even better than my cake... I think because I'd prefer the roasty toasty marshmallows to the ordinary ones :)
    In any case, this looks stellar.

    Oh -- and if you haven't voted for the strata on Marxfood.com... we'd love it if you would! Many thanks!

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  26. You had me at "yummy layer of oven melted marshmallow"!

    I think the only time I've made s'mores was sitting at my coffee table using a candle.

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  27. shame on you, ingrid! the only reason i don't devour s'mores on a daily basis is because they're the best with a fire and i don't have a fireplace. now you've given me an alternative s'more that i can (and probably will) eat daily. YUM.

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  28. Um, yum, Ingrid! S'mores brownies sound perfect. You really need to go find a campfire and roast some marshmallows--the toaster oven comes close, but there's nothing like a flame-broiled marshmallow for you s'more. These brownies look amazing, and since I'm nowhere close to a campfire, I think they'll totally sate my s'more craving.

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  29. My kind of treat, they look amazing!!

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  30. hey there -

    lemongrass does have a lemony flavor, but it's also really earthy and herby. you should check near the herbs section of your grocery. you know those squeeze tube herbs? they usually have it, and kateri's has fresh lemongrass. you can easily skip it, though. i doubt it would change the flavor too much. i'd add a small dash of lemon juice if you do.

    now onto your brownies! they look amazing! i just adore toasted marshmallows - i could eat that whole pan by myself!! have a good week :)

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  31. I'd have to agree with you, I'm not sure I'd like the combo either. My hubby keeps wanting me to make a S'more dessert, but maybe I'm a purist and just like a regular s'more the regular way. :) I'll probably give in someday and give it a shot.

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  32. The whole idea of these flavors in a brownie sounds great to me. When I was making my Milky Way brownies, I actually had considered trying to do something w/ marshmallows too!

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  33. Such an interesting twist on brownies. The best part is the campfire is optional.

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  34. I've had s'mores and brownies and can easily say that combining the two was an ingenious idea-yum!

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  35. I'm so glad she liked her story!! :) I'll e-mail you some ideas on how to put it together...

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  36. they both look great! i love smores. you have to try the real thing!

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  37. OHHHH my lord I've got to try these immediately! I love that graham & chocolate combo and when that chocolate is a BROWNIE.. MMMM. AND WHAT IS THIS - YOUVE NEVER HAD A REAL SMORE??? You've got to come over here now and we'll have a smore-fest!

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  38. I've never had an actual smore either but I've had tons of smore inspired desserts. Your marsmallow looks fantstic.

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  39. Wow, I haven't tried smores either. I guess I was contented with eating S'mores from Hershey's. :D
    The second smores looked weird at first.

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  40. I love Smores (and snickerdoodles) too. I made this recipe for VBS family night. http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/detail.aspx?ID=29614 I didn't mean to but undercooked it. It was hard to get out (ended up using a spoon) BUT it was very very delicious! I didn't use the refrigerated dough but homemade Nestle dough, using chunks and chips and mini chips (trying to use up what I had). Not exactly smores, but I think the pretzels give it crunch and the marshmallows give it the smores flavor and it had LOTS of chocolate. I used chocolate covered pretzels from two 100 calorie packs. Totally shooting from the hip that day! :)

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  41. I'm pretty sure these would be fantastic either way! They look great with the stuff on top, or layered. Not sure about sending them to school though-- they look a little messy. Still wonderful!
    -Sylvia
    Seiko Space Walk

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  42. I saw these on joys website as well - I am looking to make some s'mores brownies to take camping this weekend and have been searching for a good recipe! I agree the marshmallow gooey goodness and graham crackers at the essentials of a good s'more.

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Thanks for visiting my blog & taking the time to comment! :)
~ingrid