This recipe is sponsored by Land O’Lakes®
S’mores plz!
Friends of the internet, gather ’round. What you are about to witness is the marriage of a classic summer s’more (graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow) with the form of a classic Minnesota dessert bar (thick, sweet, transportable to potlucks and such… we love our dessert bars in the Midwest) with a little bit of peanut butter thrown in for good measure. I don’t know, maybe it’s wrong? Putting peanut butter with a s’more? In which case I don’t even want to be right.
#TBT that time (my current life) when Cheat Day became Cheat Week became Cheat Summer. Send help.
Watch how to make our S’mores Bars (1 MIN):
No, I’m joking. These are not going to sabotage your healthy summer eating – think of all the other good things you’ll be filling your belly with this summer. Avocado Egg Salad? Chopped Salad Pizza? Corn Chowder?
These s’mores bars are just going to do one of the following:
- Make you very, very popular at your next summer party
- Make your regular Thursdays and Mondays and Wednesdays a little more exciting – #selfcare
- Make you a s’mores-loving all-around happy camper… without camping! ????????
The base of these bars, and the only thing you’ll need to make from scratch, is the graham cookie dough. Hello, yes, GRAHAM COOKIE DOUGH.
It is as good as it sounds. You’re basically making a regular cookie dough (butter, eggs, flour, that sort of thing) but adding in some crushed graham crackers at the end. I also go next level by using Land O’Lakes® European Style Butter, which, even if it were just for the sake of the name, makes these a little more fancy. Sophistication is my name, S’mores Bars is my game.
Honestly, though, this butter is bomb.com. It has a slightly higher percent milk fat than regular butter and I love using it for, well, ALL recipes, but especially baking recipes. Like dis one.
If you can resist these, you are tougher than tough. Also, you are probably not alive.
With their gooey marshmallow layer and thick chocolate base and surrounding buttery graham-loaded cookie situation, there is just so much love to go around. So. Much. Love.
Peanut Butter S’mores Bars
Prep Time: 15 minutes- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 16
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Peanut Butter S’mores Bars: chocolate, peanut butter, and marshmallow sandwiched between two layers of a graham cookie crust. It’s everyone’s favorite summer snack (S’MORES, please!) in dessert bar form.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter – I used Land O’Lakes® European Style Butter – it has a slightly higher percent milk fat and it is ultra delicious for baking
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/4 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 graham crackers, crushed into crumbs
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 2 4-ounce chocolate bars (the extra big, extra thick size)
- 1 7-ounce jar of marshmallow creme
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cookie Base: Beat the butter and both sugars. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the graham cracker crumbs.
- Make a top layer: Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment and press 1/2 of the dough into the bottom of the pan. Lift out the parchment with the dough on it and set it aside – this will be your top cookie layer.
- Assembly: Line again with parchment and press the remaining dough into the bottom of the pan. Layer with the chocolate bars, peanut butter, marshmallow creme, and top cookie layer.
- Bake: Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool completely for best serving results.
Notes
For best serving (i.e. the cleanest slices), I recommend chilling in the fridge overnight. They hold together really nicely and cut into very clean bars when completely cool. The bars pictured here have been resting at room temperature for a few hours which is why the marshmallow creme looks awesomely gooey. Also delicious, just a little harder to eat.
While the peanut butter is optional, it does make these bars pretty next-level. I’ve used both smooth and crunchy in this recipe. Melting the peanut butter makes it a little easier to spread over the chocolate, and if your peanut butter gets mixed in with the marshmallow creme, that’s totally fine.
Thank you to Land O’Lakes® for sponsoring this post!
Ok, I’m sold. I’m getting my hands on some of that Land O Lakes European butter. I actually appreciate the higher milk fat….my doctor just told me I need to be eating more fat, specifically these types of fats. So off I go to nag my husband to go get the groceries and this is totally on the list. And yep, these bars look phenomenal.
Dang, now I need an event to bring these to! They look amazing! Smores are my absolute fav, and PB with it?!? Yah, totally cheat worthy…
Oh my goodness, this looks amazing!!
Gemma
http://www.fadedwindmills.com
wow, these look heavenly and now I’ll also be having a cheat summer.
O.M.G. These look like the best thing ever! I’m thinking they would be great to make for our road trip this month. Would you suggest storing them in the fridge? Oooooh or frozen might be better after driving thru the desert.
Yes! I LOVE them frozen. Just give them 2-3 minutes to thaw out enough so you can bite into them, and boom! so good.
Welp, I now know what I’m bringing to the lake this weekend! These look amazing! And that means I don’t have to try slow roast marshmallows for my kids who refuse to eat burnt marshmallows!
Lake life is the best life. Especially with s’mores bars!
I would like to substitute regular marshmallows for the marshmallow creme, as I have a hunch it might hold up better at room temperature. What is your opinion?
Hmm, I don’t know! I think it could work for sure, just not sure whether or not it would hold up better at room temp. If you try it, let us know! 🙂
Hi Jeri! Wondering if you tried these with regular marshmallows or not? If so, any tips? I have so many regular marshmallows I need to use up!
I love how you gave homage to a midwestern classic, this looks so yummy! You had me at marshmallow cream;)
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Idea time! How about peanut butter cups in place of the chocolate bar and melted peanut butter?
I was thinking the same thing! I love to use the large peanut butter cups instead of chocolate with s’mores. It takes my s’mores game to a whole new level!!!
LOVE that idea.
AMAZING! I will be making these tomorrow to bring to our lake cabin for the holiday weekend and I’m sure they will be the hit of the party! Happy 4th of July weekend Lindsay!!
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Thanks Mercedes! you too!
This looks amazing! Perfect for this weekend. And yes — I agree. Isn’t peanut butter great with almost anything?!!
A holiday weekend at the cabin is begging for these!
Yes! that’s the next thing I need… a cabin! 😀
I just keep looking at this over and over…these look amaaaaaazing! I can’t wait to try them! 🙂
These look delicious! Pinned them.
The very first thing I looked for was if there was peanut butter! I had s’mores awhile ago that used a Reese’s peanut butter cup instead of just regular chocolate and it was amazing!
I’m developing s’mores puppy chow right now (I have a lot of puppy chow recipes on my site…they seem popular) .
YES – my sister and I once made s’mores with chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter, chocolate, and toasted mallow… ahhh, so good!
wow these look AMAZING! i can’t believe i haven’t had a smore yet this year…and now i can have a whole pan of them. and yes. ALWAYS peanut butter!
As always, you have shoved an insanely amazing recipe in our faces ….and we’re good with that! But may I just add that as I was reading your words, I noticed a bit of playfulness, and it sounds like you are getting your spark back. Of course, we all knew your light was never extinquished, but coming through that dark time, it’s so good to see that fun-loving brightness again!
Thank you Renate! What a kind comment. ❤️
How much is one graham cracker in this recipe? One square or the two squares together to make a rectangle?
One sheet, so a rectangle. 🙂
Made these tonight: Holy crap these see good! I almost didn’t add the PB but definitely glad I did. I try not to make sweets but every now and then, I’ll see a recipe that I need to make and this was one of those! I thought I’d take them to work tomorrow but now I’m not sure I want to share! I would like to know how regular marshmallows would hold up.
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I’m the same! Not a ton of sweets in my life lately but daaaang, these needed to happen! So glad you liked them. And I thought the same thing about regular marshmallows – if you give it a try, let us know how it works for you!
That looks so amazing! I be that smells so good. I need to try this European butter 🙂
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I like those bars because they use a type of vegan butter or margarine that I know everyone likes! Yum! ????
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Yes, try it! I discovered it last year and love it in baking recipes!
Oooh!!! Yummy!!
I want these. And I like the peanut butter idea!
These looked irresistible so I made them tonight! I just realized I forgot the brown sugar but it didn’t even matter – they still taste phenomenal. I used my offset spatula to push the dough into place and that worked well. Now I’m trying not to eat all these bars at once…
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The struggle is real!!
Yes, these do look so amazing, I just want to run to my kitchen and make a batch right now. Seriously, I’m drooling. Sound like a great idea for taking to parties/ social gatherings but I don’t think they would last long enough to get to said gathering because I would end up in a stuffing-them-into-my-mouth-like-there’s-no-tomorrow kinda situation ????
I feel ya James! 🙂
Those layers!! Yum!
Ohemgeeee!!! I made these today and it took everything in me not to eat them until I got to my party. I made them without the peanut butter because I’m just not a huge pb fan. So, so good!! Will be making again for sure!!!
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I’m so glad! Thanks Colleen!