Letter of Intent & Chewy S'mores Cookie Bars

So here I am, attempting to make my mark in the realm of blogging. I will attempt to update this blog pretty regularly, bi-monthly, maybe with some yummy desserts and other goodies that I'll bake or interesting goodies I find in my travels.

I found this recipe at one of my "go-to" baking sites - hersheys.com. I followed the Chewy S'mores Bar Cookies recipe pretty closely, but I'm a HUGE fan of peanut butter and I added peanut butter chips to both the cookie dough and the s'mores topping. Yum!

When I bake, I'm not one to really follow measurements - I usually eyeball it. Measurements are merely a suggestion in my opinion. Especially when a recipe tells you to crumble graham crackers into 1" crumbs - are you really going to measure each crumb? I hope not. Just piece them apart with your hands.

The original recipe also called for a jelly-roll pan, but I used a small buttered Pyrex dish. The result? The bars were higher with more cookie dough as a base. But using a larger pan will work just as well.

My version of Hershey's recipe is below:

Chewy S'mores Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

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 cup of peanut butter chips
S'more topping (below)

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a deep baking dish (like a Pyrex dish)

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

Meanwhile prepare the topping. Evenly spread topping mixture over partially baked cookie crust. Bake additional 15 to 20 minutes or until marshmallows are lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

S'more Topping:
3 cups (about 11 whole crackers) graham cracker pieces
4 cups (about 12 bars) Chocolate Bar pieces
2-1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow creme
1/4 cup of peanut butter chips

Mix together graham cracker pieces, chocolate bar pieces, miniature marshmallows and marshmallow creme in large bowl and spread across the semi-baked cookie base.