Indoor S’more Bars

The s’more summer thing never really made much sense to me.

In Tenerife it’s too hot to go camping and toast marshmallows over a roaring fire during summer. Way too hot. During August, we spend most of our time indoors with the fans blaring and all the doors and windows tightly shut. It sounds strange, but I’m at my least-tan during the height of summer because it’s too hot to go outside!

To me, s’mores are much more appropriate for fall. It’s the perfect camping weather, pleasant enough during the day, with a light chill in the air on an evening that makes you want to grab a blanket and edge closer to the fire. Yes, s’mores are definitely fall food.

But what are you to do when it’s the peak of summer and you’re craving some delicious chocolatey toasted-marshmallowey s’more goodness? Make indoor s’more bars!

Indoor S’more Bars

Ingredients

3 eggs, separated

¼ cup white sugar

¼ cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

18 marshmallows

¼ cup chocolate sauce

½ cup crushed cookie crumbs

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and whisk together the egg yolks,sugar and vanilla until pale and thick. Sift the cocoa into the egg mixture and stir.

2. Beat the egg whites with an electric whisk until soft peaks form and gently fold them into the egg yolk mixture.

3. Spread the batter evenly into a 9”x9” greased dish and bake for around 25 minutes until firm. When fully cooked, remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool.

4. When cooled, divide your chocolate base into 6 rectangles. Cut each of your marshmallows in half and place six on each chocolate base. Broil for a couple of minutes until the marshmallows are all yummy and toasty.

5. Remove from the oven, pour on some chocolate sauce and sprinkle on some cookie crumbs.

Has anyone tried substituting a fun-size Mars bar for regular chocolate in a s’more? I’m so trying that tonight!

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Gooey Chocolate-Caramel Oatmeal Bars

A super-sexy bikini body? Meh – who needs one when you can have Gooey Chocolate-Caramel Oatmeal Bars? A chewy, comforting oatmeal bar saturated with delicious caramel and drenched in a velvet chocolate ganache – these bars are the epitome of chocolatey-caramel indulgence.

They’re not going to win any Weight Watchers awards but honestly, I couldn’t care less. When something tastes this good, I don’t care how many calories it’s packing, I’ll still happily eat the whole tin.

Which I almost did. Literally from the tin.

My poor Official Treat Taster didn’t really get a look in with this dessert because it was just too good to share. I think I must have eaten 1/3 of the pan just taking pictures of it.

Every time I opened the fridge I thought “I’ll just have a small nibble...” until I was just opening the fridge so I could eat more.

It’s not what you’d describe as a summer dessert, but then does that really matter? I’ve seen loads of ‘Christmas in July’ blog posts over the past month, so why not chewy comfort food in the heat of August?

 Plus these bars are no-bake which is pretty much a rule in our house right now. I’ve got  a huge shoulder of pork just sat in the freezer because I can’t bear the thought of leaving the oven on for hours and turning my house into a sauna.

Gooey Chocolate-Caramel Oatmeal Bars

Ingredients

Oatmeal bar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup honey

4 tablespoons butter

2 cups oats

1 cup Rice Krispies

Caramel layer

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup cream

Chocolate layer

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup cream

Recipe

1. Line an 8”x8” baking tray with parchment paper and mix together the oats and Rice Krispies in a large bowl.

2. Melt the honey and butter together in a saucepan then stir in the sugar. Leave to cool slightly before mixing with the oats. Spread the sticky mixture in the baking tray and place in the fridge to set.

3. Now it’s time for the caramel layer. Mix together the sugar and water in a saucepan over a high heat until it begins to bubble. Leave to bubble furiously for about five minutes until it begins to thicken. When the caramel is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove from the heat and whisk in the cream. Leave to cool slightly before pouring all over the oat bars. 

Don’t worry if it disappears – it will be absorbed by the oats and cereal making the bars super sticky and gooey.

4. We’re at the last hurdle – the chocolate layer. Place the chocolate chips in a large bowl and heat the cream up in a saucepan. The second it begins to boil, remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate chips. Leave for about five minutes.

5. When the chocolate has melted, whisk until there are no lumps and you’re left with a smooth, velvety ganache. Pour all over the bars and spread evenly with a knife. Put the bars back in the fridge for an hour or so to set.

You can keep these bars in the fridge or at room temperature, although if you’re making these during summer, it’s probably a good idea to keep them in the fridge. 

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Lemon Cheesecake Crème Brulee Bars

Do you ever procrastinate and end up getting a whole lot more done whilst procrastinating than if you’d just sat down and done what you were meant to? On Friday night I had a 3,600-word article that I really needed to get done. I had made a reasonable dent in it, but it wasn’t even half finished. My Official Treat Taster and his mom even left the house so I’d have the required peace and quiet to finish my work before the deadline passed.

What did I end up doing? I wrote a paragraph or two then cleaned the house, cooked dinner, organized my Google timetable, made ice cream, baked bread, watched ‘The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2006’ because it had Russell Brand and Noel Fielding in it and went for a walk along the beach. Oh, and I made these Lemon Cheesecake Crème Brulee Bars, too. Can’t forget about those. I just don’t understand myself sometimes – it would have been a lot easier if I had just sat down on the comfy sofa with a cup of coffee and finished my article. But instead I went on a cleaning and baking rampage whilst watching TV, then topped it off with a leisurely beach stroll.

The original recipe called for a sugar/butter/flour base which I tried but didn’t like at all. It tasted fantastic before I baked it, but when it came out of the oven it was hard and really sugary – almost like candy. In the recipe below I’ve substituted this base for an easy-to-make graham cracker base which will suit this recipe much better. The cheesecake filling is fantastic though – the lemon juice and zest swirl into the fluffy filling and add a much-needed spring zing.

Now I really need to get a move on with that article.

Lemon Cheesecake Crème Brulee Bars

Recipe adapted from Lauren’s Latest

Makes 16 small bars

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups graham cracker/digestive crumbs

5 tablespoons butter

250ml softened cream cheese

400ml condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Sugar

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C and line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper.

2. Melt the butter in the microwave or in a saucepan and mix in the graham cracker/digestive crumbs until all the butter has been absorbed. Press this into the bottom of your baking dish and leave to one side.

3. Beat together the cream cheese, condensed milk, vanilla extract, egg, lemon zest and juice until thick. Pour the cheesecake filling on top of the base bake for around 25 minutes, or until the cheesecake if fully set. Leave to cool at room temperature then refrigerate.

Cut into 16 squares and sprinkle each one with a little sugar. Torch the sugar topping unit it melts and turns amber. If you don’t have a mini blow-torch, just place your sugar-topped cheesecakes under the broiler.

Store the cheesecakes in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.



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Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Granola is a very American thing. The only similar product found in Europe is museli which has got to be one of the most disgusting breakfast items there is. I tried to force myself to like it in an effort to eat more healthily. I ended up covering a single portion in 1 cup of full-fat milk, a handful of chocolate chips and about 4 dessertspoons of sugar. I still couldn’t force it down.

 The first time I came across the word ‘granola’ was playing a Nancy Drew computer game – she had to prepare lunch for a load of students and they all wanted granola bars. Yes – I did say Nancy Drew. Have you ever played those games? They’re tough! Especially on the senior detective levels. Don’t judge me – for all you know I could be 12-years-old. I’m not. But I could be. Anyway – Chocolate Chip Granola Bars!

A sweet and sticky mixture of oats, cereal and chocolate chips – these bars are the perfect snack. They are so much better than anything similar made from museli or anything you can buy at the store. So run into your kitchen, grab the ingredients listed below (which you probably already have in stock) and whip these bars up pronto!

Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

Makes 10 bars

Adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients

¼ cup Brown sugar

1/3 cup honey/maple syrup/golden syrup

4tbsp butter

2 cups oats

1 cup Rice Krispies

Chocolate Chips

Recipe

1. Line an 8”x8” baking pan with parchment paper. In a very large bowl mix together the oats, Rice Krispies and as many chocolate chips as you feel like.

2. In a saucepan, melt the brown sugar, honey (or substitute) and butter together over a medium heat until all the sugar is dissolved. Reduce the heat to low and cook for an extra 2 minutes. Leave to cool slightly – don’t leave it too long or you’ll end up with toffee that will never part with your pan.

3. Pour the slightly-cooled mixture on top of the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into your prepared pan and press down to make sure the mix is tightly compacted. Sprinkle some more chocolate chips on top and press them in place.

4. Leave to cool at room temperature before serving.



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Two-Tone Rice Krispie Treats

These Two-Tone Rice Krispie treats are really easy to make and take only a few minutes to prepare. More than your ordinary Krispie treat, these bars are made up of two layers – a crunchy milk chocolate layer and a gooey cream cheese layer.

I have childhood memories of melting a great big bowl of chocolate in the microwave, pouring a load of Rice Krispies in, mixing it like my life depended on it then digging in straight away before the mix had even been spooned into cases.

That is all my Krispie treats used to be made from – chocolate and Rice Krispies – and I was perfectly happy with it until I couple of years ago... I whipped up some Krispie treats and Ian  –  my official treat taster  –  was horrified to discover that I hadn’t added any golden syrup. That is the ‘done thing’ in his family. I’d never heard of anyone adding syrup in Rice Krispie treats and I’m really not a fan – I much prefer honey – but I thought I’d give it a go anyway.

It really works! Not only does it add an extra flavour, but the syrup helps stick the cereal together and now I don’t have to witness that incredible look of disgust my poor syrup-less Rice Krispie treats got from my treat tester ever again.

This recipe makes around 6 large Rice Krispie treats. 

Two-Tone Rice Krispie Treats

Ingredients

For the chocolate layer

40g Rrice Krispies

3tbsp golden syrup

40g chocolate

1tbsp milk

For the cream cheese layer

40g Rice Krispies

3tbsp golden syrup

30g cream cheese

3tbsp icing sugar

Recipe

For the chocolate layer

Combine the chocolate, golden syrup and milk and melt in the microwave. Mix well then pour in the Rice Krispies. Stir really well until all the crispies are coated. Spoon the mix into the bottom of a greased tin and place in the freezer to set.

For the cream cheese layer

Now for the cream cheese half. Mix together the golden syrup, cream cheese and icing sugar. Pour in the Rice Krispies and mix really well until all the Krispies are coated. Scoop onto the chocolate Krispie layer and place in the fridge until set – at least 2 hours.

Millionaire Shortbread Bars

I absolutely adore these millionaire shortbread bars. They are made of everything that I love – buttery, crumbly shortbread; thick, rich caramel; and smooth, milky chocolate.

They are also really easy to make – which is always a bonus. 

Ingredients

170g butter

50g sugar

1 tsp vanilla

210g flour

Pinch salt

390g condensed milk

170g chocolate

1 tbsp butter

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 175C and place a rack in the centre of the oven. Grease a rectangular baking tray with low sides.

2. Beat the sugar and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the flour and salt and beat until just combined. 

3. Press the dough into the bottom of the tray and bake for around 30 minutes – until golden pale. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

4. For the caramel, pour the condensed milk into a bowl above a saucepan of simmering water. Leave covered for around 2 hours, stirring every so often. The mixture is ready when it is thick and the colour of caramel.

5. Pour the caramel over the biscuit base and leave to set.

6. Melt the chocolate together with the butter. Mix well and pour over caramel. Leave to one side to set. 

7. When the chocolate has fully set, cut into small squares.