Heavenly S'mores Bars

This will be quick. I am already pushing my luck by starting this post right now - my baby is likely to wake up from her morning nap at any second. But it's fitting that this post be quick and dirty because the recipe is. Well, it's quick. It's not dirty. It's heavenly. The opposite of dirty, really. And a good way to use up the rest of those marshmallows you bought to make the OMG Cookies.

These are a version of Smitten Kitchen's infinitely adaptable blondies, from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. (Speaking of which, wouldn't that just be a lovely Mother's Day gift for a woman who is celebrating her first Mother's Day as a mother? Indeed. Either that or something shiny anyway.)

These blondies truly are infinitely adaptable, just as Deb from the Smitten Kitchen suggests. I have made them with regular old chocolate chips. I have made these here S'mores Bars. And last Thursday, craving a simple late-night dessert, I made them with some white chocolate chips, unsweetened coconut, and a quarter teaspoon of almond extract in place of the vanilla. So so good.

But back to the s'mores version.

Here's the trick: LOTS OF CANDY. Seriously. Look at largest photo in this collage -

- that is bowl of candy next to bowl of batter. Notice that the amount of candy is approximately equal to the amount of batter. This is an important ratio to keep in mind if you want your Heavenly S'mores Bars to be heavenly. The kind with huge chunks of melty chocolate and a gooey marshmallow burst in every bite. The kind that make you say, "Can I have s'more please?"

(What? I like musical theater. So sue me.)

You won't really want to sue me after you eat these.

You will want to marry me.

Heavenly S'mores Bars

A heavenly version of this

Yield: about 16-25, depending on how small you cut them - they are intense, so mini portions go over well

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch salt

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)

1 cup mini marshmallows (or a comparable amount of chopped up giant Israeli coconut-covered marshmallows)

4 ounce bar of bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, cut into chunks (or 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips)

Butter an 8×8 pan. Preheat oven to 350.

Mix melted butter with brown sugar – stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add egg and then vanilla and stir until combined. Add salt and flour, and stir until combined. Mix in marshmallows and chocolate. Taste test. If you dare.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until set in the middle. Remember: gooey is good.

I will make these again, probably this weekend, and I think I am going to try using graham flour to really make them super duper all-out s'moresylicious. I'll let you know how it goes.

P.S. Baby's still sleeping! Rock on!