S'more Brownies

Okay, so remember sitting around a camp fire and heating a marshmallow over the open flame, trying not to burn it. You finally get the perfectly roasted marshmallow, delicately place it between two graham crackers and a piece of chocolate...you take that first anticipated bite...and all the marshmallow squeezes out the back and makes a mess of your fingers. Well, these delicious brownies are almost equally as messy, almost. However you get to eat these with a fork, so you can get as much graham cracker, chocolate, and marshmallow in each bite as you want.

These brownies are definitely more exciting than your average boxed brownie and are definitely more fun to look at with the white puff of marshmallow on top. But be forewarned, the directions say to watch the marshmallows closely while cooking, and they mean it. The marshmallows go from white to brown to black in a matter of moments. I would suggest standing by the oven, oven mitts on, oven light on, and you ready to pull them out the moment they are ready.

S’more Brownies
Recipe from the Food Network Kitchens
Pictures by Caroline

Ingredients

Crust:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch fine salt

Brownie:*
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
4 large cold eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour

Topping:
4 cups large marshmallows

Directions
1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8 by-8-inch square baking pan with foil so it hangs over the edges by about 1 inch.
2. For the crust: Lightly butter the foil with some of the melted butter. Stir the rest of the butter together with the crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make the brownie. Put the butter and chocolate in a medium microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on 75 percent power for 2 minutes. Stir, and microwave again until completely melted, about 2 minutes more. Alternatively, put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl on the pan without touching the water. Stir occasionally until melted.
4. Stir the light brown and white sugars, vanilla and salt into the melted chocolate. Add the eggs and beat vigorously to make a thick and glossy batter. Add the flour and stir until just incorporated.
5. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the top is crispy and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean, with a few crumbs, about 40 to 45 minutes.
6. Remove from the oven and carefully position a rack about 6 inches from the broiler and preheat on low. Layer marshmallows across the top and toast under the broiler until golden, (keep an eye on it, it can go quick), about 2 minutes.
7. Cool on a rack, gently removing the brownies from the pan using the aluminum flaps. Carefully separate any marshmallow from the foil and fold away. Cut into 12 (2-inch) squares.

*When I make this recipe again, which I will, I will likely change one of two things. I will either substitute a more a standard brownie recipe for the brownie recipe provided. These brownies were good, but they were almost more like a cake than a brownie and not as sweet as I would have liked. Also, the consensus in my house was that the ratio of graham crust, brownie, and marshmallows would be better with slightly less brownie. Or, the other alternative would be to use the brownie recipe included but halve the recipe to achieve a more even ratio of the graham crust, brownie, and marshmallows.