Golden Graham S'more Bars

Golden Graham S’more Bars

What We're Cooking

· Nordic Ware 9"X13" Et al pan ·

Ooey Gooey Golden Graham S’more Bars

These aren’t your average cereal bars.

Our Golden Graham S’more Bars are buttery, marshmallowy, chocolatey and unapologetically gooey in the middle—with a crunchy layer of Golden Grahams on both sides.

And that last part is important.

Because the trick to an exceptional cereal bar isn’t adding more and more cereal until it holds together. That’s how you end up with a dry bar.

We want the opposite.

Crunchy exterior. Extra-gooey marshmallow center. Always.

So we make the center with butter, loads of mini ’mallos, Golden Grahams and mini chocolate chips. Then, instead of mixing additional cereal into the center, we coat the outside of the entire slab with dry Golden Grahams.

Top. Flip. Bottom.

You get crunch with every bite without sacrificing the glorious marshmallow pull in the middle.

The Secret Is in the Flip

The first half is simple cereal-bar business.

Butter and marshmallows are melted together until smooth, Golden Grahams are folded in, and then we add more marshmallows and mini chocolate chips.

That second addition of ’mallos matters. We reserve 2 ounces instead of melting them down so there are extra pockets of soft marshmallow running through the finished bars.

The warm mixture goes into a parchment-lined 9×13-inch pan and gets an entire layer of dry Golden Grahams on top.

Then we wait.

After about 30 minutes, the bars are set enough to handle but still wonderfully soft. We slide the entire slab out, cover it with another sheet of parchment and flip the whole thing over.

Peel off the parchment and—hello, gooey underside.

That gets another coating of crunchy Golden Grahams plus a final scattering of mini chocolate chips.

Now we have exactly what we wanted: dry cereal on the outside, ooey-gooey s’more bar on the inside.

Why We Coat Instead of Mix

Here’s the whole reason for our slightly unconventional method.

We could simply add those additional 140 grams of Golden Grahams to the marshmallow mixture.

But we don’t want to.

More cereal inside means more cereal competing for the same amount of buttery marshmallow binder—and eventually you lose that soft, stretchy center we’re after.

Instead, we keep the center intentionally marshmallow-heavy and put the extra cereal where it does the most good: on the outside.

That gives us the textural contrast that makes these bars so ridiculously good.

You bite through dry, crunchy Golden Grahams first. Then you hit the soft center filled with buttery marshmallow-coated cereal, little pockets of barely melted ’mallos and mini chocolate chips.

Then crunch again on the bottom.

The tools:

The Ingredients:

by weight

Instructions

1. Prep your pan. Line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment paper, leaving enough excess parchment to help you easily slide the slab from the pan later.
2. Melt the butter and ’mallos. Reserve 2 ounces of the mini marshmallows and set them aside. Add the salted butter and remaining 18 ounces of marshmallows to a saucepan. Melt over medium-low heat, stirring until the butter and marshmallows are completely melted and the mixture is smooth.
3. Add the Golden Grahams. Pour 320 grams of Golden Grahams into the melted marshmallow mixture and thoroughly mix until all that cereal is coated.
4. Make it extra gooey. Add the reserved 2 ounces of mini ’mallos along with 70 grams of mini chocolate chips. Mix just until everything is distributed throughout the cereal mixture. Those reserved marshmallows aren't supposed to melt completely. We want them tucked inside the bars, creating little pockets of extra gooeyness.
5. Press into the pan. Pour the mixture into your prepared pan. Using nonstick-coated gloved hands, spread the mixture evenly across the pan. Press enough to create an even slab, but don't compact it into oblivion.
6. Add the first crunch layer. Cover the entire surface with approximately 70 grams of dry Golden Grahams, gently pressing them into the warm surface so they stick. Allow the bars to sit for about 30 minutes.
7. Now Flip It. Slide the parchment-lined slab completely out of the pan. Place a second sheet of parchment paper over the top of the bars. If you'd like a little extra support for the maneuver, place a cookie sheet over the parchment. Then flip the whole thing over. Using nonstick-coated gloved hands, carefully peel away the parchment that was originally lining the bottom of the pan. You've now exposed that wonderfully sticky underside.
8. Coat the Second Side. Cover the exposed surface with approximately 70 grams of dry Golden Grahams, gently pressing the cereal into the bars so it adheres. Finish with 20 grams of mini chocolate chips scattered over the top. And there you have it, enjoy!

A Few Tips for Maximum Goo

Don't overheat your marshmallows. Medium-low heat is plenty. Melt them gently and pull them from the heat once everything is smooth.
Don't forget to reserve 2 ounces of ’mallos. Melting most of the marshmallows gives us our binder. Adding some at the end gives us those little pockets of goo.
Use nonstick-coated gloves. Trying to negotiate a giant slab of sticky marshmallow cereal with bare hands is a character-building exercise you don't need.
Give them the 30 minutes. Flip immediately and you'll have a very delicious structural failure. Let the bars set just enough that the slab can move as one piece.
Use a cookie sheet for the flip. It's optional, but if flipping a 9x13-inch slab of marshmallow goodness makes you nervous, a cookie sheet gives you a firm surface and makes the whole maneuver easy.
Don't skip that second cereal coating. Both sides are the point.

Never Dry. Always Gooey.

These Golden Graham S’more Bars have everything we love about a s’more without requiring a campfire—or chasing a flaming marshmallow around with a stick.

Buttery Golden Grahams.

Melty chocolate.

Pockets of marshmallow.

Crunch on the outside.

And right in the middle, exactly where it belongs, an ooey-gooey marshmallow center.

That’s our kind of cereal bar.

Want more flavor-packed ideas from Birdy & Pretzels? Subscribe to our monthly crate subscription and gain full access to the B&P VIP experience or follow us on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok [@birdypretzels] for weekly recipes, snack inspiration, and behind-the-scenes goodness from our kitchen.

Strong Women
May we know them
May we be them
May we raise them
May we encourage them
Tits up, let’s get up and go!

Made with Love,