S'more Brownies...

I've been on a big time cooking spree lately. And to be honest, I'm loving it!! I'm having so much fun diving into this new hobby of mine! I'm really enjoying learning how to "cook lighter" and figuring out how to make my normal "go to" recipes healthier. But every once in a while, I like to splurge on something sweet and not-so-healthy! Everything in moderation, right?! My friend and co-worker, Alison, introduced me to s'more brownies. She made them for our Super Bowl party on Sunday and everyone went wild over them. Now, Alison is a fabulous cook and baker (actually her new last name is Baker!) and I would never want to compete against her in the kitchen, but I just knew I could make these! So, I came home and did a little research on the Internet...and found this recipe for s'more brownies on Food Network. I read a lot of the comments that others had left and figured out how I would "tweak" the recipe to my liking. So, here is my version of the recipe....

Ingredients...

Crust
6 tablespoons butter melted
1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs (I used the pre-crushed kind you can buy in the box)
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt

Brownie
Your favorite brownie mix...I used Ghirardelli's Brownie Mix
{Food Network's recipe says to make the brownies from scratch...but I'm all about semi-homemade!}

Topping

2-3 cups small marshmallows
{Food Network's recipe says to use large marshmallows, but that doesn't make sense to me.}

Directions...

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8x8 inch square baking pan with foil so it hangs over the edges by about 1 inch.

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 in the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

While the crust is in the oven, follow the directions on the brownie box to make the brownie batter. After crust is finished baking, pour batter over crust and bake for 45-50 minutes. I kept the oven on 325, so it took a little longer to bake....closer to 50 minutes.

I let the brownies cool for about 15 minutes, then I pulled the brownies out of the pan using the foil edges/flaps. I used a sharp chopping knife (sprayed with cooking spray) to cut the brownies so they wouldn't get messy. Then I put the cut brownies back in the baking pan. {A lot of the comments that I read mentioned that the marshmallow topping was difficult to cut and looked really messy...so cutting the brownies before adding the marshmallows was the way to go for a prettier looking finished product.}

Sprinkle marshmallows on top of the brownies and toast under the broiler (on low) until golden brown...about 2 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on them because they will brown quickly! Let cool for about 20 minutes. Gently remove the brownies from the pan using the foil edges/flaps. Separate any marshmallows from the foil. Use the same knife (sprayed with cooking spray) to re-cut the brownies.

And this is how my first batch of s'more brownies turned out...

So, when they were ready to eat, I said to Josh, "Hey, Josh, you wanna s'more? He replied, "Some more of what?" I said, "No, do you wanna s'more?" He said, "I haven't had anything yet, so how can I have some more of nothing?" I said, "You're killing me Smalls!"