Thursday, October 16, 2008

Donate and enjoy!

Oh yes, these ARE as good as they look! But how could they not be good? Chocolate, peanut butter, marshmallow...what's not to like? I've had this recipe from Jaime's blog printed out and filed away for quite awhile now but for some reason I hadn't gotten around to making them. But I got the chance last night. Pet Rescue of Mercer, the animal rescue group I volunteer with, is having a dinner and silent auction fundraiser tomorrow and we volunteers were enlisted to prepare some desserts. I wanted something super delicious but relatively quick to make, since I'd be whipping them up on a weeknight. These seemed to fit the bill and I had all the ingredients on hand.

I am so glad I made these. Like Jaime, I used a 13 x 9" pan and omitted the nuts. They are a snap to put together and I love the fact that they are different from your typical brownie or cookie bar. And they taste fantastic! The different textures of the soft marshmallow and crunchy topping make them interesting and addicting! And they made my house smell awesome. I'm sure these will be a hit at the auction tomorrow and will hopefully encourage everyone to make big donations to our animals! Save a puppy - eat one of these :)

Deluxe Chocolate Marshmallow Bars

3/4 cup butter
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/3 cups all purpose flour
3 tbsp baking cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional (I omitted)
4 cups miniature marshmallows

Topping:
1-1/3 cup chocolate chips
1 cup peanut butter
3 tbsp butter
2 cups crisp rice cereal

In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until fluffy. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture. Stir in nuts if desired. Spread in a greased 15 x 10 x 1" or 13 x 9" pan. Bake at 350F for 15-18 minutes (mine baked for closer to 25 minutes). Sprinkle marshmallows evenly over cake; return to oven for 2-3 minutes. Using a knife dipped in water, spread the melted marshmallows evenly over cake. Cool. For topping, combine chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted and well blended. Remove from heat; stir in cereal. Immediately spread over bars. Chill.

7 comments:

Lisa said...

They look good! I love marshmallows and don't use them near enough in baking.

Jodi said...

Those look great! I hope you have success at your fundraiser. What a great cause! :)

Sara said...

Yum, these look great! Thanks for the recipe and link.

Katrina said...

Those look divine! Good luck with the fundraiser. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

sara angel said...

good luck fundraising! i really like idea of these bars...i will have to make them sometime.

GirlyFruFru said...

Oh WOW !! Those look incredible...

Joe said...

you should alternate making these with the peanut butter bars... maybe one per weekend? Yup, that sounds good to me.