S’mores Brownie Bites

A couple of weeks ago, an idea popped into my head. S’mores. In a brownie. Yum. Yeah, I can be simple that way. My idea was simple: keep the original format of the smore, but swap out the chocolate for some rick gooey brownies. So I googled it and googled it, but I couldn’t find anything like that. Sure, folks made smores brownies, but they usually entailed a mix of graham crackers and marshmallow on top of a brownie. That isn’t what I am looking for.

So I made my own version. In the interest of full disclosure, it took me a couple of tries to get the recipe perfect enough for my liking. I did it though. So effectively that my coworkers all get this dreamy look in their eyes when they think of these brownies.

And so as mothers ship their kids off to school, and the weather starts to cool, and everyone seems to be leaving the summer behind, take a minute to make these lovely mini s’mores. Put one in your mouth, close your eyes, and you will hear the crackle of the bonfire mixed with the chirping of the crickets. You will smell the smoke wafting through the air. And of course, you will taste the unforgettable taste of your childhood.

Graham Cracker Crust:
1/2 cup of Graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 Tbsp melted butter/margarine

Brownies:

I recipe of your favorite brownie mix, prepared according to package directions, or:

3/4 Cup of cocoa
1/2 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup of melted butter/margarine
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

Topping:
Melted chocolate
1/2-3/4 cup mini marshmallows- cut in half, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Line about 50 mini muffin pans with paper liners.

Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted margarine. Set aside.

Mix the cocoa powder and baking soda together in your mixer bowl. Add melted margarine and mix until combined. Next, add the water and stir until mixture thickens. Add remaining ingredients, one at a time, stirring to incorporate after each addition.

Pour about a half a teaspoon of Graham cracker crumbs mixture into the bottom of each muffin cup. Using a tablespoon sized spoon, pour brownie mixture on top of of the crumbs, filling the cup about 2/3 of the way. (Make sure to leave room for them to grow!) Bake for 16-18 minutes.

Brownies will appear soft and a little doughy at first, but they will firm as they cool.

Allow them to cool completely. They may sink a little, but don’t panic, the topping should hide that! When cool, spread a tiny drop of melted chocolate over the top (just enough to act as glue- but dont be tempted to skip it or the marshmellows will fall off.) then top with 5-7 mini marshmallow halves- or as many as you think looks right, it depends on the size of your marshmallows.

Turn the oven up to broil, or 550 degrees. Stick the brownie bites into the oven for minute and A half- check after a minute to make sure don’t the marshmallows don’t burn.

A couple of notes: 1) Because of the individual sized brownies, this involves a bit more effort than average. You can bake this in one 9×13 pan for 3-40 minutes for a less labor intensive version. 2) This recipe will make more crumbs than you need- don’t worry. Stick them in a bag in your freezer and use them for another recipe!

(Brownie recipe adapted from Hershey’s incredibly easy recipes.)