S'more Bark

These marshmallows really are so cute, I could look at them all day.

 Well this is going to be a short and sweet post.  Sorry couldn't help myself, sweet, get it?

 Okay never mind, I just need to fill up space here people.

  So this is another one of those, I had left over stuff, and it was easier to make something then clean it all up.  So after my Cheesecake pops and my S'more cookies I had some left over melted chocolate, graham cracker crumbs and marshmallow bits.  I mean seriously if I didn't know how to put that together, I should not be allowed to eat chocolate ever again.

And this right here, this is where I make left overs tasty again.

This is all you need, the chocolate was already in the microwave when I realized I forgot to take a picture.

I know a little dramatic, but you know, I have to pump myself up somehow.

At this point I worried the stuff would not mix together well.

S'more Bark
By me, but I am sure it has been done before

-graham cracker crumbs
-melted candy melts or chocolate
-baby marshmallows

But it did, just perfectly.

  Mix your crumbs and chocolate until all smooth, then add about half of your marshmallows.  Mix again.  Then you can either spread it out on parchment on a cookie sheet or as I do, because I like things to be all the same shape, put it in a piping bag without a tip and fill whatever mold you want to.  Then before it sets sprinkle on the rest of your marshmallows.

I used a piping bag to try and not be too messy.  The word it "tried"I never said it worked.

  That's it people.  I did not give measurements as it was just left overs, but you want enough of the crumbs in the chocolate so you can actually taste it and it also depends on how much you want.  I used a silicone mold and just put it in the freezer, when they were set I popped them out, easy peasy.  I used the little left over I had and put it on parchment on a plate.  I like the look of bark but hate the different sizes, I may be a little OCD on that, but whatever, it's my bark.

And I always have a bit left over, so I just put it on a plate.  I hate breaking it up, I like uniform things.

 So there you go, how to be amazing and not have to clean up as much all in one post!

And see how easy that was?

I'm linking up HERE

S'more Chocolate Chip Cookies

This is the second tray of cookies. The first ones, well I did not let them cool on the cookie sheet enough and they basically collapsed.  But I got to eat the cookie bits that fell onto the table, so it was all good.

   I was on a mission recently.  It involved trying to get out of cleaning up.  And this is the outcome.  You see I made something with crushed graham crackers and melted chocolate.  I will pretty much do anything, even create more mess, to get out of cleaning up another mess.  In my mind it totally made sense.

  Don't argue, I have no rational reason behind my thinking, so I don't have to explain it. So there!

And see Pork Chop wanted to help so had to wash his hands.  He used about 1/4 cup of soap before I noticed and had to tell him he probably had enough. And he won't use his stool, because he is big now. He is going to be bigger than me in a few years.  Sigh.

  Sorry, anyway, I had a bunch of left over graham cracker crumbs and I figured I might as well use them. I also had an almost full jar of these little marshmallow bits.  And I sort of wanted to use them before they got put in the cupboard and forgotten about.  I may have a few cupboards filled with baking supplies, and I may also forget about the things I have.  Don't judge me!

This was me getting started, Pork Chop lost interest in about 2 minutes, oh well at least his hands were really clean.

  What I was thinking was something that was S'more inspired.  Now I do not like to experiment too much, because if there is one thing I don't like, it's when my baking doesn't work.  Just makes me sad to use all those ingredients then not have anything yummy to show for it.  So this was a huge step!

  What I decided on was a S'more chocolate chip cookie.  I figured I would replace part of the flour with the graham cracker crumbs and add some marshmallows.  And to make it really fancy I used these swirled chocolate chips I got in the states. They are half white and half semi sweet chocolate, oh yeah!

This picture makes me so sad, those things right there, you cannot get them here.  Sigh.

 I used my favorite chocolate chip cookie base and altered it a bit.  If you want the basic recipe it's .HERE

 S'more Chocolate Chip Cookies
By me; sort of.

-1 1/2 cups butter
-1 1/4 cups sugar
-1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar
-2 TSP vanilla
-3 eggs
-3 1/2 cups flour
-3/4 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs
-2 TSP baking soda
-1/2 TSP salt
-1 cup marshmallow bits or mini marshmallows
-1 bag of chocolate chips of your choice

I think these chocolate chips are so pretty, I think I have peanut butter swirl ones too.  But then again, I have a whole bunch of baking things to get to in my pantries.  Yes I said pantries, plural. 

  Start by heating your oven to 350.  Then cream the butter and sugars together until fluffy.  Add the vanilla and eggs and mix until well blended.  Sift all the dry ingredient together and add them to the mixture.  At the end mix in your mix ins, I always use a dough mixer, I have a picture of it on the link above, it makes sure to get the flour that settles at the bottom of the bowl mixed in and ensures your chips and stuff don't get all broken and such.

Oh my gosh, how can you not want to just eat it like this.  Salmonella, I laugh at you, cookie dough all the way!

 Then use a cookie scoop to scoop them out onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.  I used a 1 TBSP scoop, I think that was the size, and they needed just over 7 minutes.  You do not want them to be brown, take them out when you just start to see browning.  Then let them cool for at least 5 minutes before moving, you need that extra time for them to finish baking on the sheets.  Then remove to a cooling rack and you are all done.  I always use parchment, it helps give the cookies something to hold onto, so they don't spread out as much.  Makes for a chewier cookie.

I may have eaten a few, but there were plenty, like 4 dozen or more.

  I really liked them, the only thing was no one got that they were supposed to be S'more cookies.  They all liked them though.  I think that if I had replaced more of the flour with the crumbs it may have given it a bit more of a S'more flavor.  Also I think a tiny little pinch of cinnamon would have helped too.  So I will try these again for sure, as they were so good!

Smores On A Stick

I am so sorry that my pictures are horrible.  I used to at least try to get one nice picture.  But after 3 hours of dipping and wrapping these I was just done.

  I have been dreaming about these for a long long time! You all dream about sugary treats right?  Wait, don't answer that, I don't want to know!

  So I have had these on my  mind obviously, and that is because I have been obsessed with marshmallows ever since I first tried to make them a little while back.  Seriously, I think about all the ways I want to make them, and how I want to make lots of them.  So I finally did it.  I made some.  And I am so glad I did.  My pants, not so glad, they are getting a little mad at me.  Oh well, I can always get new pants right?

This is just the first pan,by the end my whole table was covered in icing sugar.

These are the two cutters I used, it is amazing how many more you get with the smaller cutter.  But I loved how big the big ones were, so much good stuff!

  So my motivation for these was simple, I wanted to make s'mores but I hated how messy they are and I knew that there was an easier way to do them.  And the very day before I made these I saw another blog where the person made these with store bought marshmallows.  So I knew it had to be good.

 To start out I made 3 batches of marshmallows. Yes I said 3!  My thinking was, if you are going to do it, do it right, and make enough to share.  I wanted some for both of my jobs, some for the trampoline place we are going to, some for the tutor and if I have some left over, some for me.  Okay who am I kidding, I ate myself silly before they were even dry. And I made these before my self imposed spending freeze.

  To make these I used the recipe from Martha Stewart that I posted about here. I really like this recipe because there are no eggs, and I am getting to the point where I can whip up a batch in half an hour.

If this picture was not so crappy you would be able to see the melted candy melts and the graham cracker crumbs.

  So I made three pans of them, let them dry over night then cut them out.  I have been wanting to make shape marshmallows for a while, but I hate the thought of all the waste, it's not like you can put the scraps together again. And there is only so much I can eat before I get sick. So I did squares, I just used two of my fondant cutters.  I made one pan with the large cutters, I got 24 out of it.  Then the little ones, well I got lots more, I think I got about 40-50 out of each pan.  And their were even a few scraps, so I just dunked them and ate them.  That gave me the idea that I so need to do a chocolate fondue with these home made marshmallows.  I so need to do that!

This is the lollipop stick, I had to hold it in the marshmallow for a few seconds to let the chocolate set and hold it.

  So I cut them all out and then melted my candy melts.  I also added some paraffin crystals as I didn't want too thick of a coating.  I figure thin was better, and I liked how it turned out.  I also wanted to add some graham crackers and could not decide how to do it. I thought a whole cracker would be too much to bite into, then I thought about just crushing them up, but then again, it would be chunky.  So I opted for ground graham crackers.  I just used my small blender to grind them up, if I was smart I would have gotten a box of the crumbs.

  I will never be accused of being too smart.

  Just so you know.

I ended up using a whole box of the crackers for this, I was surprised how much I used.

These were my first two, I was very happy how they turned out.

  So I started by dipping the lollipop sticks in chocolate then putting them into the marshmallow.  I found I had to hold it a few seconds or it would push back out, I figure the marshmallow is like a little sponge and you know, was too spongy to hold the stick.  Anyway after doing that I let it set for a minute then got to dipping.

Another amazing picture or my baby ones.

  I found the marshmallows very soft so I had to be gentle when dipping.  I would dip one, then tap off as much chocolate as I could, then press it into the cracker crumbs. Then onto the parchment paper to dry.  They worked out great!

This is my little army of Smore pops, and that was less than half of them.

These are the large ones, they were so good!

  I ended up running out of crackers and could not convince Pork Chop to go to the store with me.  He is now allowed to play at the park with his friends, so it is going to be harder to bribe him into the car.  What am I going to do when he is older and no longer wants to talk to me or be in pictures and you know be cute?  I may have to have another one, or get a puppy.  Either way.

Anyway, the sprinkle topped ones were great too, just not a smore like great. If that makes and sense at all.

I was too lazy to look for cute sprinkles, so I just took the only non holiday sprinkle I could find on the Wall O' Sprinkles.

  And of  course I just wrapped them up in lolli pop bags.  And I love that they stay nice and fresh as the chocolate keeps the marshmallow nice and soft. I will make these again for sure.

The one on the right, that is for me, the tiny ones, those are for everyone else.  I deserve the biggest!