While I don’t celebrate many holidays, I do celebrate the food that centers around a holiday. S’mores are that summer holiday staple that just call out for you to enjoy. Maybe it’s the way you get to play with fire (carefully of course), maybe it’s that melty chocolate, maybe it is simply nostalgia for an innocent time and place. Who knows but that graham cracker, chocolate and marshmallow combo is everything on a summer holiday. These S’mores Bars take all those great flavors and the memories the memories and fun that goes with them and places it in an easy to make, easy to serve, easy to devour format. So head to the kitchen, no fire required!
Ok, so maybe there was a little fire when I photographed these S’mores Bars. I mean it as the Fourth of July and I found myself in possession of a sparkler or two. Certainly, not required and with full warning be careful! You also can’t eat the food if you do as the sparkler byproducts layer a nice toxic ash (that may be too harsh a word, but they certainly are not healthy) all over the food in the vicinity. So unless you seek that Instagram photo op there is simply no need to waste these delicious bars.
Now, how do you keep these plant based? You may need to head outside your usual grocery store or order online. Marshmallows in their standard form are not vegan. Dandies makes great options in both mini & large sizes that work perfectly. For the chocolate in this recipe you can use either chocolate bars or chocolate chips, whichever you have on hand or prefer. There are plenty of vegan options around these days so just check your labels. Graham Crackers will need to come from the Nabisco red box. The others on the market contain honey, so depending on how you come down on the honey topic you will want to consider accordingly. All other items are pantry staples that you probably have on hand.
Want some more vegan deserts? Here are a few more or you can head over to the dessert section to see all of them.
Tahini Chocolate Sea Salt Cookies
S’mores Bars
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1/2 cup crushed graham crackers
- 1/2 cup vegan butter, melted
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/8 cup non-dairy milk
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Marshmallow Chocolate Topping
- 1 1/2 cups vegan chocolate, roughly chopped use bars, chunks or chips or mix
- 1- 1 1/2 cups vegan marshmallows see notes
- 1/4 cup crushed graham crackers
Instructions
- Line a baking dish with parchment paper & preheat the oven to 375°.
- In a large bowl combine the melted butter, brown sugar, vanilla & milk. Stir until smooth & the sugar has dissolved. Set aside.
- Crush your graham crackers. In a sealable bag add your whole graham crackers. Seal the bag & then crush until they form crumbs. If you have a rolling pin roll it back & forth over the bag to get that fine cookie crumble.
- In another bowl add all the dry ingredients & mix to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir together until it mixes & forms a wet sand texture.
- Transfer the graham cracker mixture to the baking dish & press the dough evenly across the dish. Use the flat bottom of a glass to get it even & compact.
- Roughly chop your chocolate. Add 1 1/4 cups (reserve the remainder for final topping) of the chocolate in an even layer over the graham cracker crust.
- Add the marshmallows over the chocolate layer.
- Sprinkle the remaining chocolate & graham cracker crumbs over the marshmallows & place in the oven for 25 minutes.Feel free to place under the broiler for an additional 1-2 minutes but watch closely as the marshmallows will burn fast.
- Remove from the oven & let the s'mores bars cool for about 10 minutes before slicing into them. Serve immediately for that warm melted chocolate & marshmallow experience or let them cool completely & serve as a standard cookie bar.
