Pinwheels

This is the last test appetizer recipe I've tried thus far!  For the pinwheels, I basically just mixed and matched different kinds of meats, cheeses and spreads.  Here are my notes!

Herb Cream Cheese Spread
Ingredients
1/2 block (4 ounces) cream cheese
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp chives
1/4 tsp parsley

Directions
Blend all ingredients

Garlic Cream Cheese Spread
Ingredients
1/2 block (4 ounces) cream cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp parsley

Directions
Blend all ingredients

Pinwheels
Each yields about 15 pieces and used 1 large mission burrito style tortilla


Herby Turkey
2 ounces Herb Cream Cheese
2 ounces Turkey


Salami
 2 ounces Garlic Cream Cheese
1.5 ounces Salami


Ham and Cheese
2 ounces plain Cream Cheese
2 ounces Ham
1 ounces farmers cheese


Herby Turkey Bacon Club
2 ounces Herb Cream Cheese
2 ounces Turkey 
1 ounce farmers cheese
2 slices cooked bacon
1 ounce ham


Italian
2 ounces Garlic Cream Cheese
1 ounces Salami
1 ounce Ham
1 ounce Farmers Cheese 


Three Meat
2 ounces plain Cheese
.5 ounces Salami
.8 ounces Turkey
.8 ounces Ham

Bruschetta Dip

Here's another test appetizer recipe! 

Bruschetta Dip
Serve with toasted bread.  This batch probably would make about 15 sandwiches (but I didn't test this!)

Ingredients
6 ounces farmers cheese, chopped
6 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
Cracked pepper to taste (4 turns)
1 tsp dried basil 

Directions
Toss ingredients together and cover- refrigerate over night. Serve with toasted bread.

BLT Bites

So once upon a time my friend asked me to help cater an event for her- serving appetizers. So I'm going to be posting appetizer recipes here and there when I get the chance.  Pretty much if people are coming over and I need to serve something, I'm going to use that as an oppoturnity to whip something up and ask for feedback.  


So instead of my usual witty commentary and lengthy descriptions of recipes, here you are getting the quick and dirty version instead.


Recipe test number 1: BLT Bites

Garlic Aioli
Recipe From: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/garlic-aioli/Detail.aspx

Ingredients
4 ounces mayo
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
Pepper to taste (3 cranks)

BLT Bites
Recipe yields 15 sandwiches 

Ingredients
One recipe of garlic aoili
3 ounces arugula 
1 loaf of italian bread, sliced and toasted in the oven
5 roma tomatoes
One package of bacon, prepared


Directions
Slice tomatoes.
Toss arugula in garlic aoili.
Layer a slice of bread, one slice of bacon cut in half, two slices of tomatoes, and a handful of arugula.

Note: I would probably cut the bread in half to double this recipe (one tomatoe, half slice of bacon, etc)
I'm guessing I could stretch the argula and do:
- 3 loaves of bread
- 3 packages of bacon
- 18 Romas
- 2 packages of argula
- 2.5 recipes of aioli
= 90 mini (half) sandwiches

Lemon's Cupcakes

You read that right- Lemon's Cupcaks.  Not Lemon cupcakes- as in cupcakes that are of the lemon variety.  We are taking cupcakes which belong to Lemon.

Who is Lemon you ask?  My dog- that's right, I'm making cupcakes for my dog.

I know, I know, this site it generally dedicate to food porn- but we are switching gears and I'm going to show lots of pictures of my cute puppy.  Because if the interwebs weren't built to look at food and pictures of dogs and cats, I sure as heck don't know what it's for. 

Anywhoo- let me explain my thought process on this one.  I'm still on Cheat Day probation- which means I can't eat anything delicious that I bake, but I still have that unnatural urge to break out the kitchen aid and mix up something amazing.  So what's a girl to do? 

I first started by trying to make a new, fun recipe that didn't seem all the exciting to me personally (see: S'mores Brownie Bars.)  This was a catastrophe- because despite me not liking s'mores, they were still a HUGE temptation.

Attempt at not cheating while baking two: Ganache filled cupcakes with butter cream.  Ok- so I've done this a million times.  No need to test the recipe- no worries that they didn't turn out.  Yet I sampled anyway!  Why?  I've made them a million times because I love them!  So that was fail number two.

And since this I also tried making something out of my typical health food ingredients- cause, you know, I'd be less tempted to sample the Almond Monster Cookie Bars cause I eat almond butter and oatmeal every day.  About a billion crumbs picked off of the tray later, I was clearly proven wrong.  

My only other option at this point was to make something not meant for human consumption: Dog Treats.  I know- I'm weird.  But to defend this decision- it WAS my dogs birthday (the big 0-2!) and I really didn't want to do anything productive.  So doggie cupcakes it is! 

These are made with human food- so despite not being delicious or... you know... meant for a human to eat- my husband did sample anyway.  He liked them a whole lot better when I covered them in left over butter cream.  Lemon liked them as is.  And by "liked them" I mean she licked the spot on the deck floor where she ate the cupcake for 20 minutes after it was done.  Happy puppy.  

Doggie Cupcakes
These are great- because they are made with puppy safe ingredients that are pretty common to have on hand.

Pretty simple, grab peanut butter (I did natural, so there are less artificial things in it to mess with puppy's tummy), honey, carrots, flour, baking soda, vanilla, oil and an egg and blend them together. 

The batter should be pretty thick.  Spoon it into muffin tins.  These do not have to be lined, but you most certainly can to add a new level of adorable!

Which of course I did.  Because I'm me.  And I love buying cupcake liners- which means I always have them on hand.  

Throw these into the oven at 350 for 13-16 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

Next, you'll be whipping up some icing to top these off!









To make the frosting, soften an 8 ounce container of fat free cream cheese and add about a half a cup of honey, or to taste.  This will be kind of sticky and hard to manage, so if you are piping it on, I suggest putting the piping bag in the fridge for a few minutes before topping the cupcakes.

Next, it's time to serve it to your dog.  Who is at this point completely unaware that she is getting a cupcake, and that it's her birthday.  Soon she will be aware that she gets a cupcake- yet no matter how loudly you sing, no matter how much your embarrass yourself in front of the neighbors, she will still have no idea that it's her birthday.

Dog picture time!!!

Lemon anticipates receiving the cupcake.

Lemon daintily tastes the frosting.

Lemon ditches the plate and takes the sucker out.  Just like mama.  Good girl.

I would rate the recipe, but I sure didn't try this one.  At last!  A recipe made during cheat day probation that I didn't try!  Go me! 

But Lemon loved it- so I give it an A+!

Puppy Cupcakes

Recipe From: http://www.dog-treat-recipe-exchange.com/dog-birthday-cake-recipes

Ingredients

Cake

1 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup peanut butter

1 cup shredded carrots

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup honey

1 egg

Frosting

8 ounce brick fat free cream cheese

1/2 cup honey

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.

Blend all the cake ingredients together and spoon into muffin tins (lined or unlined.)  Bake 13-16 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Blend cream cheese and honey and top cupcakes.

Sing happy birthday to dog.

Serve cupcakes to dog.

Take pictures.

Almond Butter Monster Cookie Bars

So when you give yourself only one day a week to cheat, you begin to realize that the traditional food groups fade away, and three main categories of food begin to form.  And they are...

Healthy Foods (ie, the crap I eat on a day to day basis.)  Here you have the protein powders, oatmeal, the lean meats and cheeses, tofu noodles, sweet potatoes, Greek yogurt- things like this.  Great food- but you won't see me touch anything from this group with a 9 foot pole on cheat day.

Not-Worth it Foods (ie, unhealthy food that is so not cheat day worthy.)  Here, you have everything that isn't healthy, that certainly isn't worth cheating on when you only have one day a week.  This is where I used to live my life- crappy convenience food that is bad for me but not necessarily delicious.  You have your meals in a box (hamburger helper), disgusting fast food (Arby's) and your desserts that taste like cardboard (hello, snack cakes!)  I'm not trying to get down on these foods, but there are undoubtedly more delicious alternatives to all of these not-so-healthy things that I would most certainly choose first.  Which brings us to the...

Cheat Day Foods (ie, the stuff dreams are made of.)  This is obviously my most favoritest group of food.  From bacon to icing to wine to cupcakes to Alfredo sauce to fried everything to wine to chocolate to wine- this group contains all of the foods that I have an emotional connection to.  When life gets me down, a good pint of Starbucks Ice Cream is always there to pick me right back up again.

Today, we are blurring boundaries, baby!  I so often forget that there are foods that I eat on a day to day basis that are healthy...gulp.... that I actually enjoy.  And I enjoyed them before being on a diet.  So why do I avoid them on cheat day?  You aren't going to see me go out and order a delicious, cream and butter and cheese filled egg dish on Cheat Day because I have eggs every day for breakfast.  I'm never going to snack on a full fat, creamy Greek yogurt because I can have the non-fat stuff every day!  And thus I've created the 4th good group: "Unhealthy, totally Cheat Day worthy foods that have a healthy alternative that I eat on a regular basis causing me to forget about aforementioned food."  How about UTCDWFTHAHATIEOARBCMTFAAF for short. Ok, that's not short.  Let's go with "Unhealthy, Health Foods" instead.

So here is my very first Unhealthy Health food creation!  Every day I wake up and eat my healthy, balanced breakfast.  I have egg whites and non fat yogurt and fruit and.... oatmeal.  I love oatmeal.  It's amazing.  That's why I eat it every day for breakfast, lunch and again for dinner if the husband isn't around.

So I'm turning my daily oatmeal with almond butter into a delicious, butter and chocolate filled cookie bar recipe.  Here.  We.  Go.

Almond Cookie Bars
For some reason, I think I was a little "off" while making this recipe.  So I'll walk your through how the recipe started off for me.

Step One: Drop egg on floor

Super.

Step Two: Spill chocolate chips as you are getting them out of the drawer.  Feed these to husband.  Shhhh!  the inside of my drawer is clean!  Promise...

Step Three: Drop lamp, break bulb, and replace bulb.

Ok- now are we ready to start the recipe?  Mayhaps I should break the oven door first?  Run out of butter?

Shudder- Oh god- I take that back.  Let's not even speak of such a thing.  I solemnly swear to continue buying butter every time I make a recipe so that I have a never ending supply in my fridge at all times.  Irish butter, salted sweet cream, all of it!  I heart you.

Sorry- moving on! 

Combine 3 eggs, brown sugar and white sugar in a bowl.  Next, add your salt, vanilla, almond butter and a stick of softened butter.

I used Trader Joe's almond butter.  This stuff makes my life complete.



Once combined, add about 2 cups of chocolate chips, 4 ounces of almond slivers, and your baking powder.  At this point, you will be thinking, "there is no way on this planet that all of the oatmeal that's coming next is going to fit."  I thought this too.

But I was wrong!  It did!  Grab 4 1/2 cups quick cooking oats (ie, the stuff in the big tub, not the packets) and slooooooowly pour it in as your mixer chugs along.  If you are doing this by hand, bless you.  You won't need to work out your upper body for a few days.  Or weeks.  Well, I guess all that depends on how many almond bars you have at the end of this recipe.

So take your incredibly thick batter, which at this point has probably crept up the sides of your mixer which is practically smoking, and pour it into an ungreased jelly roll pan.

And by pour, I mean grab hand fulls of it and plop it in the pan.

Spray your hands with Pam and pat it down.


Bake at 350 for 15-18 min and that's it!  You have delicious almond bars!

So you should probably wait for these to cool down a little bit before you cut into them.  I'm notoriously bad at this.  Because baked goods are yummy, and I am impatient.  However, I was luckily running extremely late when these came out of the oven, and had to take a shower, so I had some forced wait time in there. Hence why these don't look like a meltly mess.  Yay me!  

Maybe this success will teach me patience.  Probably not.  But maybe!

So verdict?  AWESOME!  Gooey, sweet, almondy, moist awesomeness.  These are a great, vaguely more adult alternative to traditional monster cookies.  Plus since there is oatmeal and natural almond butter in them, you can totally convince yourself you are being healthier.  Note how I said healthier.  It's all relative.  Like eating a piece of cake is healthier than eating the whole damn thing.  And yet, somehow, I can sleep better at night knowing that I snacked off of this healthier alternative, when I'm still technically on cheat day probation.  Whoops!!

Ok- Recipe time!


Almond Butter Monster Cookie Bars
Recipe Adapted From: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/monster-cookies-recipe/index.html

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
12 ounces natural almond butter
1 stick butter
1.5 - 2 cups chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet.  Something bitter-sweet with a high percentage of cacao would be best)
4 ounce bag slivered almonds
2 tsp baking powder
4 1/2 cup quick cooking oats

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine eggs and sugars (in a stand mixer if you have one.)
Add salt, vanilla, almond butter and butter and blend until smooth
Mix in the chocolate chips, almond slivers and baking powder.
Slowly add in the quick oats until fully incorporated.
Pour mixture into jelly roll pan and pat down.  Bake in oven for 15 - 18 minutes.  Do not over cook- bars should be just browning around edges.  Cool before serving. 

Dark Chocolate Ganache filled Cupcakes

So I'm on cheat day probation.  Still.  And it sucks.  If you are wondering why, I can most certainly provide you with a few vacation in Mexico related reasons.


And, as my husband is fully aware of, not having a cheat day makes me a cranky pants.  And this cranky pants had to haul her butt to Chicago last week for 5 days of supply chain learnin', delicious food avoidin', high heel blister formin' excitement.  Fabulous.  It's one thing eating grilled meat and cottage cheese when I compare it to how I used to eat (hamburger helper and drive through!)  It's is quite another eating health crap when the alternatives are...


- Company paid, super fancy pants dinners at expensive restaurants where everyone but you is drinking wine, ordering appetizers, and topping off their amazing meals with delicious desserts.
- Catered in lunches every day from a little cafe serving up trays of pastries and cannolis, vats of pasta, and more ciabatta surrounding a sandwich than I would need in a week.
- Anything but the damn packets of tuna I packed in my luggage to sustain life on.


All bitching aside, I'm well on my way towards my pants-fitting-again weight after a week of NOT CHEATING despite all odds.  So for my baking endeavors this weekend, my sister asked me to make the same cupcakes I had made for a shower many moons ago, so that she could take them to a friend who particularly cared for them.  That way, since these are tried and true recipes, I wouldn't be tempted to taste.


All in all, a very successful endeavor! There might have been some spoon licking along the way.  I can't deny or affirm that happening.

Cupcake Time!
Ok, first off- cupcakes are the most awesome things to photograph.  Especially when you have a cupcake backdrop in which to place your cupcakes in front of while you take pictures of said cupcakes.  Cupcakes. 

My husband actually made these so they'd be ready for Saturday, and I was out of town all week.  What a sweetheart!  He used my favorite recipe, which I've done before as a strawberry cake and a lemon one.  Follow the same directions as I've done here, except with a white cake mix!

Next, mix up your chocolate ganache.  In a perfect world, you'd do this when the cupcakes are just coming out of the oven, so you can fill them when they are slightly warm.  But sadly, not everything is perfect, and I made my ganache the next day.

I love ganache- because it's so easy and impresses a crowd.  I did a double batch, and had leftovers, because I really don't mind having extra ganache in the house.  Put your bittersweet chocolate chips in a mixing bowl, and starting heating your cream over medium heat.  As soon as the cream starts to bubble, remove it from the heat (be careful, as it's easy to have it bubble over!)  and slowly pour over your chocolate, making sure to cover it.  Wait about 5 seconds and then mix with your whisk attachment (or, you know, a whisk) until there are no chunks.

Next, let it set up.  If you are impatient you can stick it in the fridge and watch it carefully.  You want it just firm enough so that it wont leak out of your piping bag, but no firmer (otherwise it will be very hard to get it out of the piping back and into the cupcake.)

When it's ready, fill your bag and inject the ganache into the cupcake.










Once your cupcakes are filled, you can put them into the fridge while you whip up some butter cream frosting to pipe on.

Awe!  These are so fun!  And if they need something just a little extra, you can sprinkle on a little colored sugar, and that's that!  You have a perfect, classic little cupcake that everyone will love!

The Cupcakes:
Adapted from http://www.food.com/recipe/white-almond-sour-cream-wedding-cake-69630


Ingredients
1 (18 ounce) box white cake mix 
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups water
1/8 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons real vanilla
1 (8 ounce) container of sour cream
4 large egg whites

Directions
Mix dry ingredients in mixer, and then blend in the wet ingredients.  
Pour into cupcake tins.
Bake at 325 until done (check time on boxed mix)



Dark Chocolate Ganache 
Taken exactly from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/chocolate-ganache/Detail.aspx


I did not change this recipe, so you can follow the instructions here.  I do not add the optional rum.  Before injecting into cupcakes, make sure to let it set!

The Frosting:
Make a double batch of My Favorite Butter Cream (more for decorations, if needed.)  For this cake, I used regular old salted butter, whole milk and red food coloring.

Adventures in Fondant

So last week, I was procrastinating packing to go on a work trip.  I started brainstorming things I could be doing that wasn't preparing for a week in Chicago learning all about supply chain terminology and how handle being the youngest/most estrogen filled individual in the room.  I came up with the following...

1. Nap
2. Marry the cat and the dog so they are no longer living in "sin"
3. Make Fondant!


Since I wasn't really tired and I didn't have a pug sized wedding dress on hand, I opted for the third option.  Plus, I had about four marshmallows left over from making my S'more Brownie Bars, and I didn't want that precious commodity to go to waste.  I'm a regular Pioneer woman- it's like coming up with recipes to use all the weird parts of the cow.  But instead of cow parts, it's marshmallows.


So please note, my proportions pictured are drastically scaled back, but I figured I'd try it out anyway! I can't wait for the opportunity to try this out in a larger scale!


And before I start, I need to get up on my soap box a little bit regarding fondant.  Fondant makes things cute and pretty- that is all.  It is not "cheat day worthy" nor is it, in ANY situation, a replacement for frosting.  In all scenarios where fondant is used, there should be a thick, creamy, delicious butter cream frosting layer underneath.  Period.  End of discussion.  Fondant is the edible and insanely more adorable equivalent of when grocery stores put plastic decorations on a cake, like so. Wow- that's a terrible example- but you get the idea. Jazzes up the cake, but you wouldn't want to mow down on a plastic bunny head, now would you?

Steps off soapbox- it's fondant time.


Marshmallow Fondant 
Follow the directions below to create your fondant ball- but I'm starting out picture time right at the fun part.  Because really, I dot think you really need pictures of me microwaving marshmallows. 

On a well powdered sugar surface, roll out your fondant, and from here you can cover a cake, or create designs.

So, since I wasn't sure where to go from here- having no cake to cover- I decided to make a little flower.

I worked my way along the edge of the dough to create little "half hearts" which were destined to be petals.

First, I reshaped the petal with my hands to make sure that there weren't any rough edges.  You'll get something like the petal in the back here. 

Next, I created a little crease with a butter knife, just like the petal in the middle. 

Finally, I pinched the petal together to finish it and add some dimension. 






 

Once you have enough, create a center by rolling a little ball and top a cupcake with your adorable little fondant flower!

Daw!  Now isn't that just adorable!  Not bad for 4 leftover jumbo marshmallows, some powdered sugar, and a whole lot of procrastination!  Verdict: palatable.  It's fondant, what are you expecting?  The cupcake underneith it is definately cheat day worthy- and the fondant just fancies that sucker up.

Recipe time!

Marshmallow Fondant
Recipe adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/marshmallow-fondant/Detail.aspx

Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 (16 ounce) package miniature (or any) marshmallows
4 tablespoons water (warm from the tap)
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioners' sugar, one cup set aside

Recipe
Put your marshmallows in a microwave safe bowl.  The recipe calls for mini's, but I used jumbo and it turned out just fine!

Start melting the marshmallows in the microwave (about 30 sec - 1 min) and stir in 4 tablespoons hot from the tap water, and 1 tsp vanilla.  Stir until smooth.

Start adding your powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until a stiff ball forms.  Spray your hands with cooking spray, and kneed the dough on a clean surface until it is no longer as sticky and it's more pliable. Wrap ball in plastic wrap, and put in the refrigerator overnight until you are ready to roll out or mold!

S'mores Brownie Bars

Well, it's been awhile!  Last week I went on vacation- which was pretty the best experience ever.  I started out the trip with great intentions, like so many of us do, fantasizing about running on the beach in Puerto Vallarta, making relatively healthy choices, and not getting blitzed by 10am.  All of these went in the pot by 10am the first day.


But we did have a awesome time.  We hiked through the jungle, my husband found a freaking boa constrictor, we boogie boarded and zip lined and rappelled down waterfalls.  But you don't care about all that do you- we are more into the consumption of calories around here, not burning them.  So here is a collage of the reasons why my pants don't fit me anymore:

Top row: Veal mixiote, Agua Chile, Lamb with Mint and goat cheese
Middle row: Chocolate souffle, Fishmans Tacos
Bottom row: Ossobuco Lamb, Mojito, and Coconut Ceviche


Yeah- healthy wasn't so much an options.  I didn't fly to freaking Mexico to eat grilled chicken.  Wasn't. Going. To. Happen.


Oh, and here's the big reason why I'm currently such a fat pants:

One word: Tequila.  Holy god man, I tried to count it up one day, to see how many drinks I had, and I stopped counting at 15.  I stopped counting, of course, due to being horrifically toasted.  So yeah- I totally blame the new pooge around my waist on alcohol.  The drinks led to poor diet choices.  They also caused me to drunkenly stumble on a rock and slice my toe open, which of course meant I couldnt work out.


So long story short- I'm on cheat day probation.  But I wanted to bake anyway- so I did.  I decided that I would make something based on a dessert that is not a huge temptation for me: S'mores.  Don't know why- but these little guys aren't so much my favorite.  Maybe it's because they are my husbands favorite and I'm just trying to be difficult.  Maybe it's because they are my husbands favorite and we have them all the freaking time.


So I decided to make s'more brownie bars!  I found a recipe like this awhile ago, lost it, and just improvised.  The final product turned out horrible.  By horrible- I mean so delicious that they turned out to be a freaking temptation anyway, and now I'm stuck looking at this tray of amazing that I'm not allowed to eat.  Freaking stupid gooey amazing s'mores brownie bars.  I hate you and your chocolatey goodness.


Here's how I did it!

S'mores Brownie Bars
Grab a brownie mix of your choice.  I chose Ghirardeli.  I always choose Ghirardeli. But don't get the kind with chocolate chips or nuts or cheesecake or peanut butter in it.

Preheat your oven and mix it up as directed. Grab an 8 by 8 pan and grease only the sides.  If you get any grease on the bottom, wipe it out. This way, your graham cracker layer won't get all soggy and greasy.

So, layer your pan with graham crackers, like so, and top your graham crackers with about half of your brownie mix.  Don't worry if it's being fussy and you cant get it completely to the edge- you'll press it down.


Next, layer abut 5 Hersey bars on top of your brownie batter.  You may have some extra little pieces, save those for later.

  Add in the last half of the brownie batter and spread it out.

Once you get your batter nice and even, it's time to stick it in the oven.  Since you can't really do the "cook til a toothpick comes out clean method," cause, you know, we layered in some chocolate which will be all melty, I just cooked the shortest time listed on the box for my pan.  We'll stick it in a little longer at the end- and overcooked brownies blow- so I really feel like that's the way to go!

So while the brownies are in the oven, you have ample time to cut up some chocolate and lick the brownie batter bowl. 

Or, more accurately, guilt your husband into doing the dishes since you are making him a dessert, and sneak pieces of cut of chocolate.  I cut up about 5 more Hershey bars, mainly because I just happened to have 10.  They come in packages of six, and we bought two.  Yet somehow I only had ten for this recipe.  You do the math. 

Alright, once the brownies are out of the oven, immediately sprinkle all the cut up chocolate evenly over the top, and stick the bars back in the oven for another two minutes.

At this point, I was pretty excited to get the giant pile of tempting chocolate off of my counter top. 

In this two minutes, you should get your marshmallows out.  If you want to, you can take a giant pile of them and take a picture in front of a pink backdrop.  Or, you know, if you are normal- you can skip that part.

Once the top layer is just getting melty, take it out of the oven and change it to broil.   You can start lining up your marshmallows all pretty on top.  If you only have small marshmallows, you can just pile them on there.  

Ok, so this is the tricky part.  The tricky part that I failed at:

You want to leave them in there for only a few seconds.  I set the oven timer to twenty seconds and checked them, and they weren't melty and toasty at all!  So I gave them twenty more seconds and they were super done.  So I'm going to say you'll want them in there for about 30 seconds.  But that could change depending on your oven.  And where your rack is set at.  So you'll probably just want to keep a super close eye on it.  Luckily, my husband prefers his marshmallows "well done," so he was happy.

And there you have it!  You are done!  There are multiple ways to serve these suckers.  

Option 1: Cut into them immediately after they get out of the oven, and you end up with "pile o' s'mores bar"

Um, maybe don't go with option number 1.  

Option 2: Wait a few minutes for them to cool, and you'll have a happy cute little s'mores bar that is ab-so-freaking-lutely delicious.

  

Dawww!  Look how chocoately and adorable they are!  

And option number 3:  Complete the s'mores experience by topping your bar with another graham cracker!  Especially if you bought a whole package, and used like four for the recipe:

And there you have it!  All done!  Verdict:  Loved these!  They are fun and easy and they might attract friends over to your house to sample.  

And here is the recipe!

Ingredients 

Brownie Mix of choice (and anything you need to prepare it)

About 5-6 graham crackers

10-12 Hershey Bars

One bag of large marshmallows

Directions

Prepare brownie mix according to directions and preheat the oven.

Spray an 8 by 8 pan with cooking spray only on the edges of the pan.  Wipe off any excess.

Line the bottom of the pan with graham crackers, and top this with half the brownie batter.

Add a layer of Hershey bars (about 5) and then top with the rest of the brownie batter.  Bake according to directions- set the timer for the shortest time listed on the box.

While this is in the oven, chop up the rest of the chocolate bars.  

When the brownies are done, take them out of the oven and sprinkle the chocolate evenly over the top.  Return to the oven for 2 min.

Take out of the oven and set it to broil.  Line the top with the marshmallows, and return to the oven.  Carefully watch them- it should take no more than 30 seconds for them to get melty and toasty!

Let cool and serve!  That's it!