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. 

Chocolate Chip Rhubarb Cookies

You read that right, Chocolate Chip Rhubarb Cookies! Doesn't that sound weird? I have never heard of chocolate and rhubarb together before, and was a little apprehensive how it would taste. 
My thought was... you put strawberry and rhubarb together, and chocolate and strawberry, so why not chocolate and rhubarb? Is that a normal thought process for anyone else? :)

I love, love, love rhubarb. Like most people, it took some time for me to actually love it. A celery-looking stalk that you put in desserts? No thank you. BUT THEN, I actually tried a rhubarb dessert and I was in love with that prettier looking celery stalk. It was tart and juicy... Why did it take me so long to try it?? 

Here's the thing. For me, rhubarb needs to be in something other than a custard-like dessert. Rhubarb bread? YES. Rhubarb tart? YES. Rhubarb custard pie? Meh. 

I wanted to make something different & tasty, that didn't have a custard filling. 

And then it came to me: Chocolate Chip Rhubarb Cookies!!

I'm a sucker for chocolate chip cookies. The soft, chewy, goodness with bits of chocolate... oh my. There are 7,923 ways to make chocolate chip cookies, and it took me a few years to figure out my recipe. Ever since I figured out my perfect chocolate chip cookie, I have never made any other recipe. It's love, people.

The secret ingredient that makes it so good..... pudding mix! 

(This plate was gone by 9pm)

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What You'll Need:

- 1 cup butter, softened

- 3/4 cup brown sugar

- 1/4 cup white sugar

- 1 package instant vanilla pudding mix 

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 2 eggs

- 2 1/4 cup flour

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 cup chocolate chips

- 3/4 - 1 cup rhubarb, chopped small 

If you like more chocolate chips in your cookies, add more!

You want to chop your rhubarb small, but not too thin. If it's too thin, it will be hard to get the rhubarb taste. This is the perfect size.

Add the butter, brown sugar, white sugar, pudding mix, and vanilla in bowl

Mix until well blended and creamy

Beat in eggs until well mixed

Gradually add in your flour and baking soda until well mixed and dough forms

Mix in your chocolate chips and rhubarb

Using a medium cookie scoop, scoop out each cookie. Bake at 350* for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown

Y'ALL. If you have any rhubarb and love chocolate chip cookies, you have to give this a try. It's so good! The tart rhubarb combined with the sweet chocolate make this such a delectable cookie! Don't let the rhubarb scare you... before you know it, you'll eat the whole plate of cookies too! 

Best Crispy Sugar Cookies

These are my all time favorite cookies! They are so simple, and so delicious! 

I remember my Grandma making these all the time. I feel like she always had them available - either in the cookie jar or right on top in her deep freezer (YES these freeze very well!)

I've never been a fan of soft sugar cookies. I'd much rather prefer these. They aren't that glamorous, but you can definitely get creative and frost them or drizzle chocolate on them. I love how simple they look - I don't think you need a lot of decorations on these to know you want to take a big bite into them! 

With that said, my Grandma never glammed these up with toppings, so I didn't in this recipe. I'll add some textures next time I make these, but wanted to give you a base of the best sugar cookie you'll eat!

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What You'll Need:

- 3/4 cup sugar

- 1/2 cup butter

- 1/2 cup shortening (can use butter instead if you wish)

- 1 egg

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 2 cups flour

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 1/4 tsp salt

I used shortening since this is what my Grandma's recipe has. I know a few people who will turn their nose because it has shortening in them, so if you don't want to add it, just use 1 cup butter. 

Mix together sugar, butter, shortening, egg, and vanilla until well combined. 

Then, add in flour, baking soda, and salt. Combine until you get cookie dough.

Roll in balls the size of a walnut. I used my Medium Cookie Scoop to measure, then rolled each cookie individually.

Once you have them rolled, you'll want to take a small amount of sugar (about 1/4 cup) and place it in a shallow dish or plate. Take a small glass (with a flat bottom) dip it in the sugar and press down each ball of cookie. (I love my Silpat as you can tell by how used it is! This thing is amazing! I got mine at Sur La Table but you can find them anywhere. I've had mine for about 4 years... and they still work just as well as when I got them - Highly recommend!)

YUM. These are ready for the oven! Bake at 400* for 8-10 minutes. These will get dark fast so keep an eye on them!

Perfection.

Look at these beauties! You can't eat just one, I promise you. 

Store these in a tight fitting container or cookie jar. These can also be frozen to enjoy later! (Mine never last long enough to freeze them, they are so addicting!)