Let me tell you about these bars. They are sa-weet! Holy cow they are sweet! Like, whoa, I can feel the sugar in my teeth when I take a bite. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I suppose, but just be aware you are in for some suga' suga' suga' when you make these babies. Although, I did use more marshmallows than I should have, so that probably (definitely) contributed to the sugar bomb.
In truth, these are kind of a cousin of my Cookie Bars. Both utilize marshmallows to make the bars ooey gooey delicious. If you've never tried baking bars with marshmallows in them before, you're missing out. They melt and ooze out into the dough, making it extra gooey and yummy. These are even more oozey than normal, because like I said I did too many marshmallows, as I was cutting up large marshmallows to be smaller and that also makes them ooze out more because they don't have the exterior bit holding them back just a little.
See? These barely hold themselves together! If you want to go as crazy as me, then these are less bars and more like a cookie thingy you can eat straight from your pan for maximum laziness. Like a skillet cookie but in a square pan. That can be a thing, right? Sure it can, if we want it to. Do what you want, I mean, come on.
I mean.... you can barely tell where one "bar" ends and the other begins! They started to kind of merge into each other at this point in the photo-taking process. I also used a touch too much butter because I was in a hurry and wasn't measuring 100% exact, so just make sure you use the right amount of butter to not get too extra greasy. Unless you like greasy? Hmm. I'm not sure about that. Greasy french fries are one thing, but greasy bars are another.
Butterscotch Marshmallow Blondies
Ingredients
1/4 cup (1/2 stick)unsalted butter
1/2 cupbutterscotch chips
3/4 cupall-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoonsalt
1 teaspoonbaking powder
3/4 cuplight brown sugar, packed
1 largeegg
1 teaspoonvanilla extract
1 cupmini marshmallows
3/4 cupwhite chocolate chips
Cooking Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.
Spray an 8x8 pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Melt together your butter and butterscotch chips. You can either do this in a small saucepan over the stove or in the microwave, zapping for 30 seconds and stirring and zapping and stirring until it's smooth. Let that cool for a little bit.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and brown sugar. tir in the butterscotch mixture until combined.
Stir in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
Add in the marshmallows and chocolate chips.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes until center is just set.
Allow to cool completely before you cut it into squares.
Let's just cut right to the chase here - I've made these before for this here blog. They are the famous cookie bars, and were one of the first recipes I shared when I started this thing. Which means the pictures aren't that great, and the recipe itself, while good, could use a little more tweaking.
It really is pretty crazy to look back at some of my old baked goods on here and see how much my photos have improved. Of course, it helps having an actual decent camera. Like, a lot. A bajillion amount, really. My old little point and shoot camera could never get these kinds of photos, no matter how hard I tried. It did not like super close-ups, no siree.
But let's get back to the recipe. Every time I'd made these in the past, while they were definitely delicious, and deliciously gooey, they would always do that slumping thing where, after you take it out of the oven, the middle would deflate down a bit, with the edges staying up higher. Which, of course, made the edges the least desired pieces, as they were almost always much drier than the rest. So I thought to myself, I wonder if this is one of those moments where I should use a combination of baking powder and baking soda instead of just baking soda in the recipe, and what do you know!
Voila!
Magic!
The middle did not deflate after I baked it. The whole thing stayed nice and uniform throughout. Hallelujah! I may have done a mini victory jig after I let the bars sit for a while after taking them out of the oven. You know, no big.
One other thing you may notice in the below ingredients that's different from the original is that I cut down the amount of sugar. The less sugar is for a very simple reason - the marshmallows add a lot more sugar to the mix themselves, and the original recipe wasn't accounting for that, so it was very much a sugar overload situation.
I also did one more optional thing on half of my bars for this go 'round - I added some dulce de leche to the top to give it an extra boost of richness. You can see the dulce versions in the very first picture up at the top and the first one below the recipe. The dulce made the marshmallows explode even more than normal, so if you want some extra flavor, you can totally add it, but if you don't, that's fine too, it just depends on what you like.
Hopefully you all like this slight change to the original recipe! If you end up making them, let me know what you think in the comments!
Ultimate Cookie Bars Author: Jen @ Fresh From The… Servings: 18 Bars Prep time: Cook time: Total time:
Easy, gooey, and delicious for days. You can’t beat these cookie bars!
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/14 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1+ cup mini marshmallows
1 15 ounce can dulce de leche (optional)
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9x13" pan with cooking spray.
In the bowl of your mixer, beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute each until fully incorporated. Mix in the vanilla.
Mix in the baking powder, salt, and flour on low until just incorporated. You don't want to overmix here. Then, add in the butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, and marshmallows. I usually do this by hand so the marshmallows don't get too destroyed. Make sure all are evenly distributed. If you want your bars a bit gooier, add in more marshmallows.
Plop that into your prepared pan, and smooth out until even. Now, if you want, you can get crazy and add a layer of dulce de leche on top. For that, scoop the dulce into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave it for about 30 seconds or so, just so it's a bit more pliable. Dollop that onto the top of the bars, then swirl around with a knife to distribute it around. You can do more or less here depending on your preference as well.
Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are golden. The middle can still be slightly less done, as it will set up more when you let the pan sit out for another 10 minutes to cool. You can adjust the baking time depending on your preference for gooeyness as well. The more gooey you like it, the less time you bake.
Well look where we are, in a brand new year. Okay, a little over a week old. I guess I was on something of a bit of hiatus from the blog, so here I am - back again with a new recipe for your tastebuds. Although if any of you got the new Joy the Baker cookbook over the holidays, you may have already seen this one in its pages.
I received a few cookbooks over Christmas, and am looking forward to sharing more of the recipes as I get around to making them. Aside from the new Joy the Baker book, I am looking forward to using Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home, which has some pretty awesome ice cream recipes. And the boyfriend got me (or maybe us) a fancypants French pastry book called The Art of French Pastry, so perhaps you will be seeing some fancy pastries on here soon too.
But today I'm bringing you a take on the classic s'mores that you can make at home. I made s'mores bars before, and while they were decent, I have to say that I'm pretty sure these are better. The main reason? The shortbread bottom. Oh man that shortbread is SO. GOOD. Like, I may go bake some shortbread on its own rather than add all the bells and whistles good. For reals.
Toasted Marshmallow Squares Author: Jen @ Fresh From The… Servings: 30 Squares Prep time: Cook time: Total time:
A version of the beloved s’mores, but that you can make at home without a campfire.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup Nutella (chocolate-hazelnut spread)
15 large marshmallows, cut in half
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.
Beat together your butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides, then put in your vanilla and egg yolk and beat well. Add the flour and salt and beat on low speed until incorporated.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the top with a little flour and press it down with your fingers, trying to make it as even as possible.
Bake until the crust is golden brown around the edges, but still slightly soft in the center, 20-24 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the crust cool in the pan for 20 minutes, leaving the oven on.
Use the parchment paper to carefully remove the crust. Run a knife between the crust and the paper and carefully slide the crust onto a baking sheet.
Top the crust with a thin layer of Nutella and arrange the marshmallow halves on top. Stick the pan in the oven and bake about 4 minutes until the marshmallows are warm and soft. Remove from the pan and turn on the broiler. Using the back of a spoon, press down and smash the marshmallows.
Broil the marshmallows, but keep a close eye as they will brown quickly. My broiler was a bit uneven so I rotated the pan to get a more even toasting. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Good warm or at room temperature!
Recently, I tried to make a peanut butter pie that was more of a pastry cream filling, you know, without cool whip. Alas, it didn't set up in the fridge. But lo, when I put it in the freezer? What do you know - I actually made peanut butter ice cream pie! Yes, mistakes can sometimes turn into wins! I was actually quite sad at first that it did not set up. And if you would prefer a pie that is less ice cream and more pastry cream, you just need to cook your mixture on the stove a bit longer until it really starts to thicken up. But if you're as big of an ice cream fan as I am, that won't be an issue.
You can totally just eat this pie without any topping, but I had also made some marshmallow fluff/creme and figured it might just be a great idea to put some on top, for a bit of fluffernutter action. Because peanut butter and marshmallow go together extremely well. But, of course, you already knew that. I mean, just look at that. Can you resist that combination of peanut butter, ice cream, graham cracker and marshmallow? I think not.
This pie is sweet without being cloying, and the fact that it's frozen into ice cream actually makes that happen. In case you didn't know, sweetness is harder to taste when things are super cold, so that's why ice creams are always so full of sugar - so that you can taste it! Perhaps this pie would've even been too sweet if it set up like it was supposed to? Regardless, it's quite delicious as an ice cream pie! Enjoy!
Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie Author: Jen @ Fresh From The… Servings: 8 pieces Prep time: Cook time: Total time:
Not overly sweet, this peanut butter ice cream pie will satisfy both peanut butter and ice cream lovers.
If you want the marshmallow fluff topping, make that first. You can make it ahead of time and stick it in the fridge until you want to use it. Directions are here.
Now, make your crust. Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, combine your graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. If you end up using something like the Trader Joe's graham crackers, which already have cinnamon and sugar in them, don't add the extra sugar, you don't need it. Anyway, pour your crumb mix into your pie pan and press firmly with your hands, making sure to press all the way up the sides. Using a measuring cup, press the bottom firmly. Then, bake for 15-25 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. This will take at least an hour, so plan accordingly.
Next up, the peanut butter ice cream filling. In a medium bowl, mix together 1/2 cup cream or milk, and cornstarch. Set aside. Pour your remaining milk/cream and add in the sugar in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it just starts to bubble.
Whisk in the eggs and egg yolks into the milk and cornstarch mixture until well combined. Carefully add in about 1/3 of the hot milk mixture to the eggs while you are whisking, to temper the eggs. Once it's warmed up, pour that egg mixture into the hot milk in the saucepan. Over medium-low heat, whisk constantly until it just starts to thicken, coating the back of your spoon, about five minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter and vanilla until all combined.
Pour the peanut butter filling into your pie crust, cover with saran wrap, and stick that in the freezer for eight hours or overnight, until it has firmed up. If you are so inclined, before you cut it up, spread some of your marshmallow creme over the top to make it a fluffernutter ice cream pie.
If you are only going to eat a few pieces, I would recommend just spreading the creme onto the individual pieces as I'm not sure how it would freeze on the top. Because yes, you definitely need to keep whatever leftover pie there is in the freezer. Since it's ice cream pie and all!
In Photos:
Mix together your graham crumbs, sugar and butter. (If your grahams already have sugar or cinnamon in them, just add in the butter.)
Press those crumbs into your pie pan. This is a 10-inch pie pan and it was the perfect size. Bake at 350F for 15-25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool COMPLETELY before you do the rest. It will probably take about an hour.
Whisk together 1/2 cup milk/cream and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Set aside for now.
In a medium saucepan, cook on medium high the remaining milk and your sugar until it just starts to bubble.
Whisk in your eggs and egg yolks into your milk/cornstarch mixture until well combined.
You take a bit of the milk mixture and add it into the egg stuff and whisk, whisk, whisk. This is tempering the eggs so they don't just cook. Then, add that egg mixture back into the saucepan and cook on medium low until it just starts to thicken, coating the back of your spoon/spatula. This will take probably about five minutes.
Take that off the heat and add in the peanut butter.
Pour into the prepared pie pan, cover with saran wrap, and stick that in the freezer for 8 hours or overnight.
Once it's frozen, you can cut 'er up and chow down. Or, if you're feeling so inclined, spread on your marshmallow cream.
Confession time... I tried to make homemade fudge once before, and failed. It was a big pile of goop that did not set up. You had to eat it with a spoon. True, it still tasted good, but you can't just bring a container of chocolate goop to a party or something, now can you?
So, I tried again.
No goop this time! I think the recipe I was going off of last time didn't tell me to stir the milk/sugar/butter combo for long enough. Or I just had some weird recipe that was never meant to be fudge in the first place. Who knows. But this time around, we've got honest to goodness real fudge. And you know what else? I used homemade marshmallow fluff in it too! I encourage you to do the same. It will take more time, true, but in the end you can say these are completely homemade! Well, apart from the evaporated milk. I don't know how one makes evaporated milk.
Also? Where does one even find a 5 ounce can of evaporated milk, for that matter? I used a scale to get the proper amount of evaporated milk, but I think it's somewhere in the 2/3 cup range for those who don't have that sort of thing lying around. I also used the scale to measure out my homemade marshmallow creme, as my recipe makes a bit more than needed for the fudge. Which just means you'll have some leftover for other things, so there's nothing wrong with that!
It's funny, because I never really thought I was a fudge person, but this fudge has converted me! It can be super addictive, with one piece never being quite enough to satisfy your chocolate cravings. It's also versatile, so if you want nuts, you can add them, but if you don't want them, you don't have to. I'm not a big fan of nuts in my chocolate, so I opted for the plain variety.
Homemade Fudge Author: Jen @ Fresh From The… Servings: 40 pieces Prep time: Cook time: Total time:
Addictive and not overly sweet, this homemade fudge will please any chocolate fan.
Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray or butter the bottom and sides. Set aside for now.
In a large pot, combine your butter, sugar and evaporated milk and put it on your stove on medium-high. Stir it and stir it and stir it some more, for about 10 minutes, with a wooden spoon. The butter will melt, and things will start to incorporate together. At about seven minutes in, it will start bubbling constantly. Once they're doing that, keep stirring for about two minutes more.
Turn your stove off and move your pot off of it. Pour in your chocolate chips and stir until they are halfway melted, then add in the vanilla. Stir until they are completely melted. This is when you can add in your nuts if you like.
If not, dump your fluff into the pot. Stir that baby until all of the white marshmallow streaks are gone and you just have chocolatey goodness.
Then, pour your batter into the pan and spread it out evenly. Place that in the fridge for an hour. When the hour is up, cut up your fudge into bite size pieces. Put 'em in a container with a lid and put them back in the fridge for another 8 hours or overnight. After that, they can be left in the container at room temperature, or you can keep them cold if you like!
In a large pot on medium-high, stir together your butter, sugar and evaporated milk.
Keep constantly stirring for 10 minutes. Yes, 10 whole minutes. At seven minutes, it will start to look like this. Keep going until the ten minutes are up.
Next, stir in your chocolate chips until halfway melted. Then, add in your vanilla and stir until completely melted.
Then it's time for the marshmallow creme. I made mine from scratch, and you should too!
Keep stirring until all the white streaks are gone!
Then spread out evenly in your prepared 9x13 pan. Stick that in the fridge for an hour. Then come back and cut it up into squares. Stick those back in the fridge in a sealed container for 8 hours or overnight.
You know what I love? When a yummy treat takes about 10 minutes to make. And when they can use up stuff in your cupboards that you just know you're not going to use before they go stale, because you bought them for one other recipe specifically, and now they're just sitting there, lonesome and unused.
Yes, dear cornflakes, I have found a use for you! And a delicious one at that. Now, in the past I've made Browned Butter Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats, and those are no doubt just as yummy and amazing, but I had cornflakes this time that I wanted to use. This is a slightly tweaked recipe, and in fact I didn't even look at that recipe before basically just making this up on the fly.
That's the beauty of a marshmallow treat bar, they're super easy and adaptable! And I'm not kidding when I say this takes 10 minutes to make. The only drawback of using cornflakes instead of rice krispies is that the cornflakes are a bit chewier. So, if you like huge bites, your jaw may get the teensiest bit of a workout. That just means these are healthy, right? Because you get a workout to go with it!
These don't have a huge peanut butter flavor, but more of a hint of it without being overpowering. You can up the amount of peanut butter if you want to get more of that flavor, but I don't think it's necessary with these.
Peanut Butter Cornflake Marshmallow Bars Printable Recipe Author: Jen @ Fresh From The… Servings: 9 Bars Cook time:
Delicious and simple peanut butter mixed with cornflakes and marshmallows to create a new take on the rice krispie treat.
Ingredients:
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter
4+ cups mini marshmallows
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
6 cups cornflake cereal
Instructions:
Spray an 8x8" pan with nonstick spray. Or if the pan is already nonstick, you can skip this.
In a large, heavy saucepan, brown your butter on medium heat. I recommend browning it rather than just melting it to give it an extra dimension of flavor. Dump in your marshmallows and stir until they are completely melted. Then add in your peanut butter and stir until smooth.
Turn off the heat, then add in your cornflakes. Stir until the marshmallow goo is evenly distributed. Add in a few extra marshmallows at this step for the dollops of white color throughout.
Press into your prepared pan. Let them cool for 30 minutes until you cut in and eat them up
In photos:
Melt and brown your butter. You'll know it's browned when it foams up and, you know, turns brown, and a wonderful aroma hits your nostrils.
Put in your marshmallows and stir until they are all melted. Those little flecks are the browned butter bits of yum.
Then, stir in your peanut butter until smooth.
Then dump in your cornflakes and get mixing. Make sure you evenly distribute the marshmallow goo. Add in some extra marshmallows here to get little bits of white in your end result.
Then put that in your pan and start pressing it down.
The extra marshmallows you added melt a bit and add a little visual flair.
After about 30 minutes, you can cut 'em up and chow down!
