If you’ve been following my blog for some time you’ll notice that I like to alternate between more artistic, creative recipes that require a bit of time and effort (i.e. Lemon Sunflower Cupcakes) with quick and easy recipes that don’t call for any fancy baking techniques (i.e. Brownie Cookies). I can’t always dedicate hours and hours to baking each week, so even bakeaholics like me need some no-fuss recipes every now and then. Plus I love being able to provide recipes that make you drool but are are not at all intimidating to make. If you scroll down just a bit I’m predicting you’ll start drooling pretty immediately, and let me promise you, these were really easy to put together – a very dangerous combination!
I made these last weekend with my college friend Alyx who visited with her boyfriend. They are both busy medical students in NYC and joined Ryan and I in Connecticut for a few days of relaxation in the “country”. We visited a vineyard, went on a hike, drank more wine than we’d probably like to admit, and also got to spend some time together in the kitchen. Alyx has always been a big supporter of my blog (probably because one of my first posts was a gift for her), so it was fun to share my baking nook with her and create something really delicious (she was the one who actually picked out this recipe!). I love baking with friends and I’m glad they were there to take half the batch with them back to the city and out of my reach – I could have definitely picked at these all week…
These brownies are made up of a graham cracker crust, fudgey brownie center with peanut butter swirled in, and all topped with a chewy layer of toasted marshmallows. My S’mores Cookies were good, but these take the marshmallow/graham cracker/chocolate combination to a whole different level. The addition of peanut butter makes them super decadent, so definitely have a glass of milk ready. I love the look of the burnt marshmallows on top, but the side view with all that peanut buttery-chocolate goodness ain’t too bad either – it’s hard to choose my favorite angle of these brownies!
Peanut Butter S'Mores Brownies
Recipe adapted from Tracey's Culinary Adventures
Ingredients:
for the graham cracker crust:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (from about 6-7 whole graham crackers)
1 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Pinch of salt
for the brownies:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups mini marshmallows
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8″ square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving overhanging foil on the sides to create handles for lifting out the brownies later.
For the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and mix until evenly combined. Transfer to the prepared pan and press the crumbs firmly to create an even layer. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Set aside as you prepare the brownie batter.
For the brownies., put chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until completely melted. Mix in the butter until smooth. Set aside to cool.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract until well combined.
Add the cooled chocolate to the sugar/eggs and whisk together.
Use a rubber spatula to fold the flour mixture into the batter, mixing until the flour is just incorporated.
Transfer the brownie batter to the prepared pan and spread into an even layer on top of the graham cracker crust. Drop dollops of peanut butter over the batter and use the tip of a knife to swirl it in.
Bake for 25-27 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove the brownies from the oven and set the oven to broil.
Top the brownies with mini marshmallows and return the pan to the oven and broil them until they are puffed and toasted (about 2 minutes).
Let the brownies cool completely in the pan for about 2 hours. Then, use the foil handles to lift the brownies out and transfer to a cutting board. Spray your knife with cooking spray to keep the marshmallows from sticking to it while you’re cutting, or just let the brownies sit covered overnight to make cutting easiest.
Hope you enjoy these as much as we did!
missing you and ry already! had such a great weekend!
great job w/ these- they look soooo drool worthy!
oh my goodness these look fantastic :)
Love the addition of peanut butter!
These look AMAZING! I love peanut butter, s’mores, and brownies, so I am positive that I will love these.
these look amazing! i love that you added in peanut butter..i made s’mores brownies a few weeks ago and was scheduling to post them on Monday! looks great!
Oh, man, these look so flippin’ awesome!
Oh my goodness get out of my head! When I saw these on Tracey’s blog I totally decided I wanted to make them peanut-butter-fied You beat me to it, but I am totally okay with it. Drool.
Just found you! I’m from CT too! These look wonderful, think I will make them for an afternoon treat for the kids.
I love these! They’re gorgeous.
Hey Erica,
I made these yesterday for the bake sale and a friend’s birthday and they were SUCH A HIT! Thank you SO much! They are amazingly delicious! For the second batch I used your brownie recipe from the brownie balls so they came out more chocolately…both ways were great. I love your creativity! Thanks again!
they look wonderful.
Great to satisfy a sweet tooth!
Hi Erica, looks delicious! I am not a fan of peanut butter mixed with my chocolate – if I wanted to make these without the peanut butter, do I use the same recipe and just cut out the pb? Or do I add more chocolate to substitute? Thanks!
Erica — May 7th, 2012 @ 4:51 pm
You can just omit the peanut butter entirely and I’m sure they’ll still be delicious. Enjoy!