I Swore I Wouldn't Bake

I swore I wouldn't bake. I swore I wouldn't make anything "picnic" or "get-together"-worthy this weekend. I told myself it was because DH and I didn't have any plans...and because we've both been carrying an extra 3-4 pounds lately that won't budge.

But that was really only half of it.

On some level, it was my rebellion against living far away from my family (who always gets together for holidays in some form) and living near my in-laws (who never celebrate holidays, it seems). It was my rebellion against my tiny 1-bedroom apartment on the third floor of a building that doesn't allow grills. My rebellion against a kitchen that makes a sailboat galley look enourmous. My rebellion against being able to celebrate the 4th of July outside, in the country -- no sounds but the animals and friends and family laughing, and the crackle of a bonfire that we'd roast marshmallows on later.

And I was doing pretty well. Until this.

S'mores bars? Could it be??? Could it be that I could have a s'mores this weekend? Sure, it wouldn't be charred -- but it has to be better than a microwaved s'more, right?!

With renewed hope, I flew to the store, bought the three things I didn't have (graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallow fluff -- all the actual s'mores pieces), and promptly made these.

I'm still missing the bonfire, the friends and family, and the 4 different kinds of meat and pasta salad -- but at least I had a s'more for the 4th of July. :-)

And you're getting no-natural-light pictures, because I couldn't wait until tomorrow :-)

S'mores Cookie Bars

(Found at Lindsey's Blog -- Originally a Hershey's recipe)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 (1.55 oz each) Hershey's Milk Chocolate bars

1 cup marshmallow creme (or Fluff -- as I call it!)

Directions

- Heat oven to 350 degrees farenheit

- Grease an 8-inch square baking pan

- Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy

- Add egg and vanilla; beat well

- Stir/sift together all-purpose flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt; add to butter mixture and beat until blended

- Press half of the dough into the prepared baking pan

- Arrange the chocolate bars on top of the dough, breaking as needed to fit

- Spread with marshmallow creme (I took Lindsey's advice here and sprayed my spatula with Pam -- made a HUGE difference!!)

- Scatter bits of the remaining dough over the marshmallow; carefully press to form a layer (I think next time I might try to gently roll out this half of the dough and lay it over the creme...that would make my top layer more even and smooth) **Make sure you really press this down -- I had some trouble with my top layer separating from the fluff.

- Bake 30-35 minutes or until lightly browned

- Cool completely in pan on wire rack

- Cut into bars