S'mores Bark

It's finally summer here in the midwest (okay - kinda. It was only mid-50's the other morning... ugh)
The days do get warmer, thank goodness! I love love love summer. I love the constant sunshine, the heat, the leafy trees, flowers, blue sky, the heat, grilling, going for walks, the heat. 
The thing I don't like about summer: it ends way too soon here! :(


When I was pregnant with my daughter, the only thing I really craved was S'mores. I can't tell you how many times I made S'mores over my 9 month pregnancy. There's a small market here that sold S'more candy bars, a brick of chocolate covered marshmallow between two graham crackers. I had to have eaten at least 4 a week. They definitely made money off of this pregnant lady! I stuck them in the fridge and they were chilled and crispy and gooey and oh so good. 

If I only would have known then, how EASY it was to make S'mores bark I would have never spent another dollar on those bars! 

So since summer is in full swing, and nothing says summer like S'mores, here is my S'more bark recipe!

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What You'll Need:

- 2 bags of your favorite chocolate chips, divided; 1 cup for the bottom layer & 2 cups for the top layer (one 10 oz bag of chocolate chips yields 2 cups)

- Half of a bag of marshmallows, or 1 cup marshmallow fluff

- 4 sheets of graham crackers, divided; 3 sheets large crumbled & 1 sheet finely crumbled

- 1 Tablespoon corn syrup or butter (omit if you use Marshmallow fluff)

For my chocolate chips I love these from Ghirardelli. The 60% cacao (bittersweet) makes these a little less sweet than milk chocolate chips. Bittersweet is definitely the way to go! But, you can choose what kind of chocolate you want to use. Milk chocolate is more of the "traditional" taste of a S'more, but I think the bittersweet tastes better with the marshmallow and graham crackers! 

Start by prepping your graham crackers. In one bowl, crumble up 3 sheets in larger crumbs. In a smaller bowl, crumble up 1 sheet into fine crumbs. These will be used later when the marshmallows are melted, and you have to use them quickly! 

Melt 1 cup of the chocolate in a double boiler (You can make one using a glass bowl over a saucepan. The saucepan will have a little bit on water on the bottom. Once the water boils the steam will melt the chocolate. Make sure the bowl is NOT touching the water in the saucepan. Also make sure none of the water or steam get into the chocolate, or it will seize and you'll have to start over. Boo.)

Once it is melted, evenly spread onto a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Once spread evenly, but not too thin, set in freezer for about 10 minutes. 

Before you get the first layer of chocolate out of the freezer, start making your marshmallow layer. If you are using marshmallow fluff, heat it up in the microwave until it's easily spreadable. If you are using marshmallows, heat them either in a double boiler, or in it's own saucepan. I've tried both, and I prefer to melt them in a saucepan. It makes it easier to mix and melt. The thing with marshmallows is because it is mostly sugar, it will scorch easily so you have to be constantly stirring them. Once they start to melt, add in your corn syrup or butter (butter may give it a slight yellow color). Once the marshmallows are almost melted, get your chocolate layer from the freezer. 

When the marshmallows are fully melted, pour over frozen chocolate and spread. While the marshmallows are still warm, spread the 3 sheets of large crumbled graham crackers over and press in lightly. Put in freezer for about 10 minutes or until firm.

Melt your 2 cups of chocolate chips in the same bowl you melted the chocolate chips before (yay for one less bowl to clean!) 

When the marshmallow layer has firmed up, take it out of the freezer and spread the second chocolate layer on top.

When the second layer of chocolate is still warm, sprinkle on the fine crumbs of graham crackers over top. Put the bark back in the freezer for at least 2 hours.

After 2 hours, your bark will look like this! Slide the bark off of the baking sheet and onto a cutting board. Cut into pieces as small or big as you want.

There it is! S'mores bark! You can keep in the fridge for a more chilled bark, or on the counter for a warm, slightly messy bark. Both ways are the best ways.