Farewell Summer ~ S'mores Cookie Bars

Hey friends! I know it's been a while and I'm sorry I've been MIA. I'm getting over some yucky sickness and am ready to share a delicious recipe to celebrate the ending of summer. First, I want to wish my beautiful mom a happy birthday! I am so blessed to have such an awesome mom and don't know what I'd do without her!! (Birthday cupcakes will be posted later this week...)

As it draws closer to fall, we have just a few evenings left to enjoy the warm weather and what better way to do so than with a fun dessert with elements of a summer favorite? I shared this a couple weeks ago over at One Artsy Mama and am now sharing it with all of you....

S'mores Cookie Bars...just the name makes my mouth water! You start with a buttery graham cracker crust, fill with your favorite cookie recipe, and top with toasted marshmallows. Simple, but fabulous!

A plate full of yumminess!

S'mores Cookie Bars

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 10 crackers)
1/3 cup sugar
6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

Mix all ingredients together with a fork and press into the bottom of a nine inch square pan. I then added a layer of semi sweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chips...you know...cuz you can never have enough chocolate!

For the cookies, I used my new favorite gluten free chocolate chunk cookie  mix. I know that the graham crackers aren't gluten free so this can't be labeled GF but I just really love this mix! If you have a favorite mix or homemade cookie recipe, feel free to use it! The one I use is a Pamela's gluten free mix that is just fabulous!

Source

Carefully press the cookie dough over the chocolate chips and crust and bake at 350 degrees until cookies are just about finished (literally, just about finished). I pulled mine out when they were starting to brown on the edges but still soft in the center (I like my cookies soft and chewy...not crispy). Top with marshmallows and place under the broiler until toasted. Once cooled, cut and serve brownies, and be ready for the sighs of bliss.  I also added broken up graham crackers and pieces of a milk chocolate bar. Seriously, these are just delicious! Obviously, you could also make S'mores Brownies by replacing the cookie dough with your favorite brownie batter....yum!

I don't know about you all but I'm totally excited about fall being just around the corner! It's my favorite time of year, especially for baking - pumpkin, cinnamon, sweet potatoes, apples, molasses - oh man! I just can't wait!!

Until next time, happy reading and more importantly, happy cupcake-ing!

Gender Reveal Cupcakes ~ It's a GIRL!

Yay! My sister and her husband are expecting their first child and I am excited to announce that it's a precious baby girl!! They are ecstatic and can't wait to hold their bundle of joy in October. Her name is Skylar Jayde and I can tell you that she is already spoiled. Aunt Heather has already bought her a box full of clothes, both sides of the family are shopping all the time and we just can't wait!

I'm a huge fan of the whole "gender reveal" cake or cupcake idea that's become popular lately and knew that I just HAD to do it for my sister. Have you heard of this? You bake the cake the color you want to reveal (pink for girls, blue for boys) or you fill the cupcakes with a filling using the same idea. Then, you invite your friends and family to a gender reveal party and when the cake is cut or the cupcakes are bitten into, everyone finds out the sex of the baby together....so cool! So, last week we had a small, last-minute cupcake party for our family and a few close friends to share with them the gender and here's what they looked like (excuse the picture quality - with all the excitement, the only thing I had with me was my phone)....

And the moment everyone was waiting for...

Yes, dad, that's pink...not blue :)

I'd say the only person not jumping for joy was my poor dad. Don't get me wrong...he's completely thrilled with becoming a grandfather and the fact that the baby and my sister are both strong and healthy is the most important thing to him. However, put yourself in his shoes. He went through four pregnancies and births of his own children, hoping for that boy to play football with, take hunting, and call son and all he kept getting were curls, pink blankets, and lots of emotional drama! :) He takes it all in stride, though, and has already started buying Skylar presents. He told my sister...maybe next time. Lol!

Unfortunately for you guys, I have no recipes to share. My sister's favorite cake is a boxed yellow cake with a tub of store-bought chocolate frosting. There's just no appreciation for my talent... *sigh*  I got as creative with it as I could and used marshmallow fluff dyed pink for the centers and a graham cracker on top for a not-from-scratch version of S'mores cupcakes. Don't worry...I'll be sharing a REAL version of S'mores cupcakes sometime this summer. 

Well, there you have it. We're expecting another girl into our big family and very excited about it! Don't forget to stop by my previous post to enter the giveaway for over $172 worth of cool kitchen gadgets! Until next time, happy reading and, more importantly, happy cupcake-ing!