S’mores Bar Cookies

My morning walk took me past a large park where I saw a young girls' soccer team practicing.  All three of my kids played soccer growing up and all three eventually traded it in for a sport they loved a little more.  I recall the season that would be J’s last.  The league was a rec league that only went through age 11.  She wasn't interested in competing on the travel team because of the Sunday conflict so she opted for the only opportunity to play another year- a co-ed rec team.  One game was especially rough.  She was matched up against a very fast, very aggressive, developmentally advanced BOY.  We encouraged her to get in there and not hold back and battle.  She did fine, but was physically out matched.  Towards the end of the game, I could see her tiring.  Her overzealous cheering section of parents, brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins cheered a little louder for her as she dribbled the ball down the field.  Then it was snatched away and booted in the opposite direction.  As she and the BOY jogged down the field, trailing all other teammates and the refs, I kept my eyes on her worried she might burst into tears as the pressure was great.  Instead, what I witnessed seemed nothing short of a mental toughness miracle.  She ran a bit closer to that BOY and elbowed him- hard!  Without even thinking about it or the level of appropriateness or the fact that I was an influential adult in her life I threw my hands into the air as I leapt from my seat and screamed at the top of my lungs, “J- You are awesome!!!!!”  I lingered in my proud mama bear moment well past the appropriate amount of time and only quieted at the stern urging of my husband.  Right or wrong-that day became my favorite soccer mom moment ever.

So, as we head back to school and back to sports fields, courts, studios and whatever lessons or activities those we love are engaged in this fall, let’s cheer them on s’more with these delightful bar cookies. 

S’mores Bar Cookies

1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup soft butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups graham crumbs
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugars. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients at once and stir until well mixed. Flatten 1/2 of mixture into a greased 9 x 13 pan. Layer with Giant size milk chocolate Hershey Bars. Spoon a 13 oz. jar of Marshmallow fluff on top. Gently spread with knife or back of a spoon. Flatten pieces of remaining dough and place on top of fluff. Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 30 minutes.
You can stop here- or. Make 'em posh by sprinkling the top with mini marshmallows. Put them in oven on broil for just a minute or two. Watch them close so they don't ignite :) (That’s happened in my kitchen before :/ )
Remove from the oven and drizzle the top with a 1.55 oz Hershey bar melted in a freezer strength quart size Ziploc. (Cut small hole in the corner of the Ziploc.)

Now you are ready to share s'more cheers with someone you love!