three sweet treats- s'more, please!

One flew in at midnight on the 3rd.  The sweetest, most delectable, scrumptious treat to date.

Let me introduce you to...

The Nephew. 

Look at those cheeks, the smile, the off-the-charts cuteness!  

I could just eat him up.

The Sister and he will be staying with us for a month. We plan on doing quite a bit of cooking and baking, as well as taking a few jaunts into the city for food related adventures.

The Second Treat flew in with him.  The Sister knows I love everything and anything sweet, and she brought me S'mores Bites by renowned chocolatier, Michael Recchiuti.  The vanilla bean marshmallow sits atop an extra crispy graham cracker, all enveloped by bittersweet chocolate.  Divine!

The third treat would never have been made had I not seen the results of the many Cookie Carnival bakers.  I had chosen to make Raspberry Thumbprints because S'mores Bars didn't appeal to me, but after the beautiful photos and eating Recchiuti's S'more,  I was sold on trying them out.  And am I glad I did! The bars were scrumptious, gooey, crunchy, chocolately, and a huge hit in this house.  The marshmallows puffed up to create a unique texture.  That they were simple to throw together was a plus.

The recipe comes from Hershey's website.  I used the same quantities, but substituted miscellaneous chocolates (milk, semi and dark) for the milk chocolate.

S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies
from Hershey

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
¾cup graham cracker crumbs
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1⅓ cups (8-oz. pkg.) Hershey's Mini Milk Chocolate Bars OR 5 Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars (1.55 oz. each)
3 cups miniature marshmallows

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.

Beat butter and sugar until well blended in large bowl. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Press half of dough in prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes. 

Sprinkle mini chocolate bars over baked layer or arrange unwrapped chocolate bars over baked layer, breaking as needed to fit. Sprinkle with marshmallows; scatter bits of remaining dough over marshmallows, forming top layer. 

Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

n.b. On my fourth pan (in seven days), I put it under the broiler at the end of the bake time.  EUREKA!  The Crowning Touch! The S'more in All Its Wonderful Glory!  (Must give credit to The Second Brother, who, while eating the third pan, suggested this brilliant technique.)