Campfire Cocktail S'mores Bars

I know, you're thinking...S'mores...Again?!  Ah, but I don't think these are your little sister's S'mores.  These rich and gooey and luscious and oh, so boozy, S'more are definitely Big Girl S'mores. 

Kinda like the difference between flower panties and a black-lacy thong.  Right?

I've been wanting to experiment with a boozy version of a traditional Hershey's S'more for quite some time.  I've seen cupcakes and bars, of course.  There are tons of them out there in foodie blogger land.  Adding booze can be tricky and this bar is a boozy experiment success (or so my taste testers have told me this past week).  

Love when that happens...

And, my friends, I found my inspiration for this recipe from the strangest of places: watching Sandra Lee's show (I know...I was very, very bored one Friday night) about bars and lounges (why SL was picked for this, I have no idea).  On one trip, she visited a very cool bar, Boulevard 3 in Los Angeles, which serves a Campfire Martini. 

Oh, yeah.  You KNOW I tried that puppy that very evening.  I had everything cuz you already know we have the most amazing liquor cabinets at BIWB.  Easy, too.  Equal parts whiskey (Tullamore D.E.W., of course), Baileys, Kahlua and half-n-half (my version).  Shaken over ice and poured oh-so-smoothly in a chocolate swirled martini glass.  It was served with a marshmallow coated in graham cracker crumbs.  I didn't have those, but that sure didn't stop me.

One of the BEST after dinner dessert drinks on this planet...Trust me!

So, today I bring you my version of the Campfire Cocktail S'mores Bar {with Tullamore D.E.W.}.  Yeah, you know it's good.  You know you want this, not just in the summer, but ALL-YEAR-LONG!  

You don't have to wait for your next barbecue to make these, either.

And, who says you can't have your S'mores in one neat, portable bar?

Soft graham cracker-laced bar surrounding a gooey layer of melted marshmallows 

over deep, dark Hershey's chocolate bars.  

Heaven.

Pin It

Step-by-Step

Get all your ingredients ready, preheat your oven and get that pan ready!  With this assortment of ingredients the anticipation was killing me in the hopes that this experiment would work...

Combine the dry ingredients and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugars by beating on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating with each addition. Add the vanilla, Kahlua and Baileys.  

With the mixer on lowest speed, gradually add the flour mixture.  Mix until just combined.  It's important to finish this by hand to keep the batter tender.

Press 1/2 the dough in the bottom of the prepared pan.  Use your fingers, mmkay? 

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until lightly brown.  Removed from the oven.

Immediately arrange a layer of the Hershey bars over the bottom layer, breaking the bars as needed.  The first time I made these, sans booze, I used the smaller milk chocolate bars.  I like this version, much, much better.  This time, I felt there was a better balance of each component.

Sprinkle the mini marshmallows over the chocolate bars. At this point, I knew these s'mores bars would be amazing.  Plus, mini marshmallows are just so cute.  

Gently scatter the remaining batter over the marshmallows with a cobble stone effect.  Sprinkle the Irish whiskey over the batter.  

You ask, "why not just add the whiskey to the batter."  Well, the original recipe didn't call for any liquids in the cookie bar batter.  The Baileys and Kahlua were already in the batter, and I wanted this to still have a cobbley effect.  Too much liquid and I'd just have cake and not bars.  

So, the decision to sprinkle was made.  Turns out, this actually caused the whiskey to kinda seep down to the chocolate layer almost making a chocolate whiskey ganache layer down there.  

Amazing...Experiment successful!

Please note: I used my fair share of graduated cylinders in chem labs in college, now I use graduated shot glasses.  So cool!

Bake as directed until you see this: lightly browned top with just a bit of marshmallow oozing out.  Try to wait and let them cool.  And, I have to tell you, these smelled SO GOOD.  Just like the Campfire Martini.  No lie.  

Cut into bars.  Yeah, I know you know that part.  I did refrigerate a bit, just sayin'.

P.S. These are great heated in the microwave for 10 seconds.  Trust me.

Ooooh, sooooo, gooood!

Campfire Cocktail S’mores Bars

Adapted from Hershey’s S'mores Sandwich Bar Cookies

Makes 13x9” pan/24 bars (can be halved for an 8x8” pan/9 large bars)

Ingredients

2 2/3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda (leave out for a more crispy bar)

1 tsp salt (kosher)

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or pure extract)

2 tbsp Kahlua

2 tbsp Baileys Irish Cream

7-8 Hershey bars, about 16 oz total (milk or special dark, regular or  4 XL bars)

6 cups miniature marshmallows

2-3 tbsp Irish whiskey (Tullamore D.E.W.)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Generously grease or spray pan with non-stick spray.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Set aside

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars.  Beat on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating with each addition.  Add the vanilla, Kahlua and Baileys.  Beat to combine.

5. With the mixer on lowest speed, gradually add the flour mixture.  Mix until just combined and finish by hand.

6. Press 1/2 the dough in the bottom of the prepared pan.  Bake for 15-18 minutes or until lightly brown.  Removed from the oven.

7. Arrange a single layer of the Hershey bars over the bottom layer, breaking the bars as needed.  Sprinkle the mini marshmallows over the chocolate bars. 

8. Gently scatter the remaining batter over the marshmallows with a cobble stone effect.  Sprinkle the Irish whiskey over the batter.

9. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top layer is lightly browned and just a bit of marshmallow is oozing out of the top.  Cool completely on a wire rack.  Cut into bars.

And, of course, please save a few treats for the cook!  

I hope you get a chance to try these for your next backyard barbecue!  Or, dinner party or breakfast or brunch or picnic...

Ellen