S’mores Peanut Butter Blondies

Not sure if you noticed, but I am on a very serious s’mores + peanut butter kick. It’s basically all I think about all the time. My latest creation is the love child of peanut butter blondies and peanut butter cup s’mores bars and HOLY GUACAMOLE are these babies ooey-gooey-GOOD.

Peanut butter s’mores blondies are essentially the answer to all of life’s problems. For example,

90 degrees outside and 100 in your apartment? Stick some blondies in the fridge and then eat seven in the name of “cooling off”.

Nervous about a presentation for class? Hand these blondies out to your classmates and have a silent giggle when they get fluff all over their faces. Don’t feel guilty about it because it’s the equivalent of picturing your audience naked.

Boyfriend annoyed because you consistently make him wait till you take a picture of his food before he’s allowed to eat it? Shove a s’mores bar in his face. He’ll forget.

Unsure of where you’re going to live next year and the end of your lease is rapidly approaching? Stress-eat any combination of peanut butter and s’mores. Always.

Find a ginorm spider in your curtains? Make someone else kill it and then pay them with a blondie. They’ll be your spider-killer for life.

Forget your umbrella and get stuck in a torrential downpour/thunderstorm? Learn your lesson, MELANIE. S’mores blondies won’t help with that.

The combination of slightly-undercooked and therefore chewy and gooey peanut butter/graham blondie + marshmallow fluff + milk chocolate coating is U.N.R.E.A.L. Another perfect s’mores bite all rolled into one. I’m going to eat five rightNOW.

S’mores Peanut Butter Blondies (slightly adapted from Peanut Butter M&M Blondies)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 cup peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 7 graham crackers, finely crushed)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ~2 1/2 cups marshmallow fluff*
• 6 full-sized Hershey’s milk chocolate bars

*The marshmallow fluff can be eyeballed as it’s tough to measure – just make sure you have enough to spread over a 9×13 pan.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper; coat lightly with cooking spray.
2. In a medium pot, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth.  Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter.  Allow to cool for 10 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. After the peanut butter mixture has cooled slightly (it should still be warm but not hot – you don’t want it to cook the eggs!) add the vanilla; stir until combined.  Add the eggs one at a time, stirring until fully incorporated.
5. Pour the peanut butter mixture into the flour mixture.  Stir until ingredients are fully incorporated, then pour the mixture into the bottom of the 9×13 pan. Top with marshmallow fluff.
6.  Bake for about 20 minutes or until edges are just barely golden (bake for 5-7 minutes longer if you don’t want a gooey center).
7. Immediately place the 6 chocolate bars on top of the fluff. Allow them to melt for a few minutes, then spread the chocolate over the fluff until it fully covers the blondies. Allow to cool completely before cutting (I found it easiest to cut the blondies after they spent the night in the fridge).