Tasty Tuesday - Nutella S'more Bars

It's officially feeling like fall in Indiana. Yesterday was cold and rainy. We had a wet morning at the zoo, and I was still cold after the kids' naps even though it was 70 degrees in the house. I just couldn't shake the cold. I decided we needed soup for dinner and to put the oven to good use. The kids got in on the action too, and we made a super easy, delicious dessert.

I love baking, especially during the fall months. I really love baking with Nutella. I pinned this recipe last week and wanted to make it right away. I tried it out on Saturday and loved the results, but there were a few things I wanted to change. The bars were really greasy. They were delicious, but I thought there was too much butter. Is there such a thing?  I really loved the few bites with browned marshmallow on top, but I felt there should be more exposed marshmallow. So with those two things in mind, I tweaked the recipe a little and love the bars even more.

Nutella S'more Bars

Ingredients

14 graham cracker sheets (there are 9 in a package so you'll need two)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup Nutella
7oz jar marshmallow creme

Directions:

1. Crumb graham crackers in the food processor until they are finely ground. There should be no lumps.

2. Mix the graham cracker meal with flour and salt. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, cream butter, sugar, and vanilla.

4. Stir the graham cracker mixture into the creamed butter and sugar. Mix until just combined. It should be crumbly.

5. Spread into greased or parchment paper lined 13x9 pan. Keep back 1/4, approximately 1 cup, mixture. It will be used to top the bars.

6. Spread Nutella evenly over garaham cracker crust.

7. Spoon marshmallow creme onto Nutella. You won't use the entire jar. The marshmallow doesn't need to be spread, just dolloped around the pan.

8. Crumble remaining crust onto bars. There will be exposed marshmallow.

9. Bake at 350* for 30 minutes. Marshmallow should be lightly browned and puffy.

10. Remove from oven and let cool before cutting.

Notes: I use parchment paper so I can pull the bars from the pan to let it cool. I have made the crust both with my Kitchen Aid and by mixing entirely by hand. Both yielded similar results. These are amazing while still warm, but cut cleaner if you let them cool for 30 minutes first. The first time I made the bars they were gone within a day, so I'm not sure how long they keep. Store in an airtight container.

H and B were all about their treats. Although, they were just as happy to lick Nutella off their spoons while helping me bake. There are quite a few fall recipes I want to try out, so I'm glad to see they were eager to help bake. We may have found a new activity to pass the time while we're stuck indoors. Our kitchen table is the only place they can sit to help, so be prepared for lots of pictures of them hanging out on the table over the next couple months. 

And now I think I'll go have a bar and a cup of coffee. Happy Tuesday!