S’mores Cookie Bars

“Never underestimate the power of a really good cookie” is a lesson I learned early in my professional career. I had a couple of last minute projects that needed to be completed in a very short timeframe recently. I ended up sending an emergency request to my friend and coworker Ian for help. He’s a pretty cool guy in general and is normally willing to take one for the team from time-to-time. But that day was different. He was having a particularly challenging day himself and he needed a sweet incentive to sway his decision. So he made me promise to bring “cookies of a s’mores nature” to the office in exchange for his time.

Ian was actually working from home and a large percentage of the staff was traveling to a tradeshow when I brought these cookies into the office. So instead of leaving anyone out-in-cold, I sent the picture of the cookies to their email inboxes. Was it a heartfelt gesture or a quiet tease on my part? I’ll let you decide.

A second batch of cookies made its way to the office, Ian was able to cash in on his end of the bargain and life was back to normal again. I wonder what the office will request the next time I need something last minute?

S’mores Cookie Bars
½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup flour
1 cup (1 package) graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
1 large (4.4 oz.) Hershey’s chocolate bar, roughly chopped
3 cups miniature marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper allowing for 2-inches to overhang and coat the paper with cooking spray. Toss flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt in a small mixing bowl. Set aside. Mix the butter and sugar with a mixer until completely combined. Next add the egg and vanilla, and mix until incorporated. Slowly add the dry ingredients and continue to mix until combined.

Press half of the dough evenly in the bottom of the baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Evenly distribute half of the marshmallows over the baked crust. Next sprinkle a layer of the chopped chocolate and top with the remaining marshmallows. Crumble the remaining dough across the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Allow to cool completely and remove from the pan by lifting from the overhanging parchment paper. Cut into small squares.

Authors Note: It’s important to allow the bars to set and cool before removing from the pan. The extra 2-inches of parchment paper make it easier to remove the bars from the pan.

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