Combine brownies, s’mores, and the ooey gooey bottom part of a magic bar, and I’m in heaven. Throw in a daughter who loves marshmallow, and this dessert quickly becomes a favorite.
One-on-one time with our children is very important to both my husband Brian and I, and since toddler age, we have consistently created time in our schedules go on kid dates or do special things with them by themselves.
Recently my daughter and I spent a weekend morning browsing shops, talking about life, and picking up some new jewelry at The Fountains, an outdoor shopping center close by. We wrapped up the trip with a delicious lunch at Yard House and of course, when Natalie saw the S’mores Brownie Dessert on the menu, she had to get it. Anticipation built as we waited for it to come. When it arrived, a smile stretched across her face and she took the first bite.
Hmmmm. It was good, but not great.
The marshmallows weren’t very hot, which meant they weren’t very gooey — they were sticky. And the brownie wasn’t fudge-like or moist, it was dry and cake-like. Needless to say, we both were a bit disappointed and we immediately turned our disappointment into a plan — a plan to make our own truly Ooey Gooey Chocolatey S’mores Brownies.
We wanted to combine some of our favorite desserts into one amazing dessert:
- The crust of Seven Layer Magic Bars, made of graham cracker crumbs, butter, sweetened condensed milk, and chocolate chips.
- Chocolate fudge brownies.
- The toasted marshmallows and graham crackers from s’mores.
The more we talked about it the more we wanted to make it. So we hit the grocery store on the way home to grab the ingredients we needed. (Yes, we had dessert twice in one day.)
To create the crust, we melted 1/2 cup butter in the bottom of a 13×9″ baking dish, covered it with 1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs, and pressed down to pack it. We then poured one 14oz. can of sweetened condensed milk over the graham cracker crumbs, covering them completely, and sprinkled about 3/4 cup chocolate chips over the top.
Next we prepared the brownie batter cake-like, using a Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie Mix we had in the pantry and poured it into the baking dish, covering the other ingredients completely. The dish then went into the oven to bake. We used the time and temperature suggested on the brownie mix box.
When the timer sounded, we took the baking dish out of the oven and let the brownies cool for about 15-20 minutes. The cooling time is important because the crust layers need to firm up — and you don’t want to let it cool too long after the marshmallows are cooked because they won’t be gooey any more.
Once cooled, we topped the brownies with one layer of marshmallows, and stuck it back in the over under the broiler — watching it carefully. There was too much invested into the success of this dessert to burn the marshmallows at the very end!
When they were all a golden brown, we removed the dish from the oven, drizzled some chocolate sauce over the top, and the sprinkled it with some graham cracker crumbs.
How delicious does that look?!
At this point my husband and son were crowded around, itching to try a bite and everyone was arguing about who would get to try the first bite. (Natalie won.)
The crust was sweet and crumbly. The brownie was chocolately, moist, and fudgy. The marshmallows were toasted and gooey. The final result was everything we had hoped the S’more Brownie dessert from Yard House was going to be and more.
I think it’s pretty safe to say we’ll be making these Ooey Gooey Chocolatey S’mores Brownies again.
Ooey Gooey Chocolatey S'mores Brownies
With a graham cracker crust, a layer of sweetened condensed milk, and toasted marshmallows, these chocolate brownies will remind you of summer all year long.
Prep Time
Cook Time
Total Time
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 box fudge brownie mix
- 3 large eggs
- 1 bag marshmallows
- Chocolate sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Melt butter in a 13x9 inch baking dish and cover evenly with graham cracker crumbs. Press down on the graham cracker crumbs to create a firm crust layer.
- Slowly pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over the graham cracker crumbs and sprinkle with chocolate chips.
- Prepare the brownie batter according to the instructions on the box for cake-like brownies (three eggs instead of two). Pour batter into the baking dish, covering the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips completely. Follow the baking instructions on the brownie mix box (Approximately 24-26 minutes).
- Let brownies cool for about 15-20 minutes. Top with a single layer of marshmallows and place under the broiler until the marshmallows are toasted and turn a golden brown.
- Top with a drizzle of chocolate sauce and sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs.
Notes:
Consider setting aside a little bit of the sweetened condensed milk and the extra chocolate chips to melt down and make your own rich and creamy chocolate sauce.
