Gooey S'mores Bars

These s’mores bars are ooey gooey good! They start with a graham cracker base and are filled with melty marshmallows and topped with melted chocolate!

Gooey S'mores Bars

It’s official. Gooey S’mores Bars are here… and they aren’t just for the summer. Heck, they’re not even just for camping or cozy movie nights by the fire pit. You can, and should eat s’mores year round.

I mean, after yesterday’s baked s’mores donuts recipe, you could say that I’m a little obsessed with the graham cracker, chocolate, and toasted marshmallow combo right now… There’s so much to love about that combo though. Maybe it’s the nostalgic flavors or the fact that they’re often eaten on vacation, or maybe it’s just because I have a massive sweet tooth. Whatever the reason, I just can’t get enough.

These easy gooey s’mores bars will definitely help with those s’mores cravings; I PROMISE.

Ingredients for Gooey S'mores Bars

These gooey s'mores bars only require a few pantry essentials; here's what you'll need:

• Graham crackers: I like to use cinnamon graham crackers because I find they have a tad more flavor than the original/honey versions, but choose your favorite! Don’t have graham crackers where you live? (I’m looking at you, UK readers!) Use crushed digestive biscuits instead.
• Granulated sugar: Just to sweeten up the graham cracker crust a little bit.
• Butter: This will help our crust stay together.
• Marshmallows: You should opt for the jumbo marshmallows as they melt much better than mini counterparts.
• Dark chocolate: I love using 70% cacao dark chocolate in my baked goods; but you could also opt for a semisweet chocolate for this recipe. When it comes to baking with chocolate, make sure to use the highest quality one that has the fewest ingredients.
• Flaky sea salt: This one is totally optional, but I love finishing baked goods off with flaky salt!

How to Make Gooey S'mores Bars

These gooey s'mores bars couldn't be much easier to make, honestly! There are three main components: the graham cracker crust, the marshmallow filling, & the chocolate topping.

1. The Graham Cracker Crust

To make the buttery graham cracker crust, start by grinding up your graham crackers using either a food processor or blender. You need 9 full sheets of graham crackers; 9 full sheets = about 1½ cups (125 grams) graham cracker crumbs. Don’t have graham crackers where you live? (I’m looking at you, UK readers!) Use 1½ cup (125 grams) of crushed digestive biscuits instead.

Mix the crushed graham crackers with 6 tablespoons of melted butter. Once you mix it all up, the mixture will be thick, sandy, and coarse and you’re ready to press it into your prepared pan! Once firmly pressed in, you'll bake the crust at 350°F (180°C) for 10 minutes; this ensures a stable bottom rather than a crust that is too crumbly and falls apart.

2. The Marshmallow Filling

The marshmallow filling is really just jumbo marshmallows melted together; nothing crazy is happening here. You'll line the marshmallows in an even layer on top of the graham cracker crust. The heat from the oven causes the marshmallows to get very ooey, gooey, and puffed up enveloping the bars in their sticky wonderfulness. I'm serious... those melty strings of marshmallow goo are truly heaven!

3. The Chocolate Topping

They wouldn't be s'mores bars without a healthy dose of chocolate. These bars get covered in dark chocolate and then topped with extra graham cracker crumbs and flaky sea salt for good measure. To make the chocolate topping you simply have to melt down some dark chocolate. There are a couple of ways you can do this too, so choose whatever works best for you!

How to Melt Chocolate

The Microwave Method (aka the Quick-and-Easy Way)

This method is best for melting chocolate fast without dirtying many dishes. To melt chocolate in the microwave:

1) Chop chocolate into small pieces and place them in a microwave-safe bowl.
2) Microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds. Remove from the microwave and give it a stir.
3) Continue to microwave in 30-second increments, stirring frequently, until the chocolate has fully melted.

Because each microwave behaves differently, it’s best to keep a careful eye on your chocolate. The main drawback to this method is that it’s easy to overcook (read: burn) chocolate in a microwave.

The Stovetop Method (aka the Double Boiler Method)

This method is the safest way to melt chocolate as it allows you to keep a close watch on the melting chocolate, which means you're less likely to burn it. It also makes your home smell like a chocolate factory, which is an added bonus! To melt chocolate over the stovetop:

1) Add chopped chocolate to the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Don’t have a double boiler? A heatproof bowl over a saucepan works in a pinch. Just make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water in the pan.
2) Stir gently and frequently until the chocolate has completely melted. Use a heat-safe rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl as you stir.

The Water Bath Method (aka the Hands-Off Way)

This method is the best way to melt large batches or multiple kinds of chocolate at once. To melt chocolate in a water bath:

1) Fill a slow cooker one-third of the way with hot water. Set the heat to high, leaving the lid off.
2) Place wide-mouth mason jars filled with chopped chocolate pieces into the water. Be sure to keep water from getting inside the jars— no seized chocolate, please!
3) Step away for 30 minutes or so, leaving the lid off, and you’ll return to beautifully melted chocolate that’s ready to drizzle.

Gooey S'mores Bars Recipe Troubleshooting & FAQ

CAN I USE MINI MARSHMALLOWS INSTEAD OF LARGE/JUMBO MARSHMALLOWS?
Technically yes! however, I find using jumbo marshmallows easier/better. For starters, jumbo marshmallows melt easier and are gooier than mini marshmallows. Also, with the jumbo marshmallows, you line them up in an even layer on top of the crust; the tiny bit of space that is left between them allows the melted chocolate to seep down in between creating delicious pockets of chocolate inside of the bars. You won't quite be able to achieve the same effect with mini marshmallows; however, if that's all you have on hand, go for it!

HELP! MY CHOCOLATE HAS A WEIRD GRAINY TEXTURE! WHAT DID I DO WRONG?
When exposed to too much heat too fast, chocolate gets an icky, grainy texture—or worse, it can burn entirely. The thing to remember when melting chocolate is to cook low and slow. For most chocolate-melting methods, it’s smart to stir often to keep any sections (often along the edges) from overheating. Be sure to take a few moments to roughly chop the chocolate. Breaking the bar into small pieces allows the chocolate to melt evenly. Burnt bits begone!

HELP! MY CHOCOLATE LOOKS DRY AND LUMPY! WHAT DID I DO WRONG?
Dry and lumpy chocolate means that your chocolate seized. Before you start melting chocolate, make sure that your equipment is bone-dry. (This includes the spatula, too!) It only takes a single drop of water to turn chocolate from warm and melty to gritty and gross (aka seized chocolate). When moisture comes into contact with chocolate, it causes the sugar to turn into syrup and the cocoa particles to clump.

Seized chocolate doesn't re-harden, so if you want the tops of your gooey s'mores bars to have a little bite to them, I'd recommend starting over. But you don’t have to throw it out! Simply add melted butter or cream, a little at a time, and stir or whisk until smooth. This reactivated chocolate is a little less potent and won’t firm back up, but it still makes a great topping!

HOW DO I ACHIEVE CLEAN CUTS ON THESE GOOEY S'MORES BARS?
Since this is an ooey, gooey bar, it needs time to set up.  I tested this recipe over and over again and found that freezing the bars for 10-15 minutes made them SO much easier to slice. After a short freezing time, the bars can be easily cut. Once you cut them into slices, the s’mores bars only take like 10 minutes to thaw.

Recipe adapted from my friend Lena of Lena's Kitchen Blog
*Blog post updated on July 27, 2021*

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