Smore Brownies

So I think it is kind of obvious that I like things that are sweet. I do have a few favorites though, and smores is definitely one of them. I love eating them in the summer with a nice fire going, but I also enjoy them from the microwave or roasted over my stove. I also think that you can't just have one. I think six is about right. Anyway, thus the inspiration for my latest creation. I must say I have had lots of smore cookies, but can't get over the fact that the marshmallow turns into one big glob or gets all crunchy. This is not the case with these. You get a graham cracker crunch, dense moist brownie covered in melted chocolate and a soft and creamy marshmallow. Hee hee! Sorry, I will try to calm down. In the mean time give these a try and watch them disapear at your next barbeque!!

Start off with your graham cracker crust. I didn't count how many crackers made a 1 1/2 cups crumbs, but it looks like somewhere around 18. My kids had a great time crushing these while I got the other ingredients ready. This gets pressed into a double tinfoil lined 9x13 pan and baked for a while while you get the rest mixed together.

Here we are after the crust is baked. Just pour 2/3rds of your brownie batter in and spread evenly.

Now here is the trick for your marshmallow to keep is creamy and nice. Mix a small jar or marshmallow creme with a small can sweetened condensed milk.

Then spoon it all over your brownie batter.

Once you have your marshmallow on spoon on the extra batter. The more you cover the marshmallow the more creamy goodness you will have. I left some out because I wanted creamy with a bit of toasted marshmallow too. I topped it all off with three Hershey bars and baked.

Here is the finished product. Lining the pan with foil makes them a lot easier to cut.

Smore Brownies
(Crust from food network and marshmallow creme from Our Best Bites)

Crust
6 Tb butter melted
1 1/2 -2 Cup Graham Crackers crushed
2 Tb Sugar
Pinch of Salt

Press into a 9x13 greased pan and bake for 10-15 minutes at 325 degrees.

Brownie Batter
2 Cubes Margarine melted
10 Tb. Cocoa
2 Cups Sugar
4 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups Flour
Dash of Salt
Spread about two thirds of the batter onto the cooked crust then top with your marshmallow mixture.

Marshmallow mixture
1 small can marshmallow cream
1 small can sweetened condensed milk
Drop the rest of the brownie batter by spoonfuls on top of the marshmallow and spread around. Top with three Hershey bars broken into their small pieces and return to the oven for another 20-25 minutes or until the brownie is cooked through.

Flower Fairy Cake

So here is a cake I actually made for my daughter this last week. She wanted a surprise so I made her as a fairy on top of the cake. She loved it.

Here is the fairy up close. One fun trick to this cake was that I had no time to make fondant or modeling chocolate so the fairy and flowers were all made from melted starbursts candy and laffy taffy's! Try that on your next cake!!

Caramel Cashew Bars

So I have always had this thing for caramel. In fact I worked at a pie shop as a teenager where we served apple pie with caramel sauce and I would buy cups of caramel and just eat it with a spoon. No joke. It was homemade and awesome. Well throw some cashews in caramel and it can only make it better. I recently had a caramel cashew cookie from a bakery and thought "I could make that!" So I did. This one is simple and delish. Give it a try for one of those summer BBQ's.

Here is my happy caramel bubbling away. Mmmmm. Way too hot Rebecca you have to wait!

Here they are just before they went in the oven layers of butter cookie caramel and cashews woo hoo!

Caramel Cashew Bars
Crust:
4 1/2 Cups Flour
1 C Powdered Sugar
2 Cups butter softened

Mix and press into a greased cookie sheet. Bake alone for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Caramel:
2 Cups Brown Sugar
2 Sticks Margarine
1 3/4 Cup Light Corn Syrup

Bring these to a boil and stir boiling for three minutes. Remove from heat and add 1 can sweetened condensed milk. Boil for an additional 3 minutes.

Remove crust from oven and cover with 5 cups roasted cashews. (Chop them if you like. I liked the look of whole ones.) Then pour on the caramel. Bake for an addition 12 minutes. Caramel will be bubbly all over the cookies. Remove, cool and enjoy. I put melted chocolate on half and loved that too.

* I made these in a cookie sheet because I can never have too many cookies. Feel free to half the recipe and bake it in a 9x13 pan.