S'mores Brownies

I made these brownies for a friend who had a baby recently and kept a few to sample at home. 

I am by no reach of the imagination a brownie snob.....I love a mix just as much as anyone. 

However.

Brownies from scratch are just......just.......oh, I don't know, wonderful!  And you can't have too many brownie recipes.

This one, I have to say, is divine.  I think the base recipe without the marshmallows and graham crackers may just be the tastiest brownies I've ever eaten. 

To be quite honest, I couldn't really taste the graham crackers in there. Maybe I crushed them up too fine, maybe I didn't add quite enough, I don't know....but they just kinda disappeared.  And the marshmallows, while I loved the added flavor and stickiness, they didn't flatten out quite as I expected, so I'm recommending cutting your marshmallows in half to spread them further over the brownies. 

And my husband, while he loves roasted marshmallows and s'mores, does not approve of marshmallows in other desserts and he was not fond of these. 

The children, for the record, thought they were from heaven. 

My friend's family thought very highly of them as well. 

Recipe: (from Sugar Cooking)

1-1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 t. salt

2 T. cocoa powder

11 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 c. butter, cut into 1-inch cubes (2 sticks or 8 oz)

1 t. instant coffee granules

1-1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. light brown sugar

5 large eggs

2 t. vanilla extract

1 c. coarsely crushed graham crackers

15 large marshmallows (cut in half if preferred)

Preheat oven to 350°.  Grease a 13 x 9" pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt, and cocoa powder together.
In a large microwavable bowl, heat the butter, instant coffee, and chocolate at 30 sec. intervals until melted and stir until smooth. (Or you can mess with the whole double boiler thing....I didn't want to take the time).
Stir the sugar and brown sugar into the chocolate.  Add eggs, one at a time, stirring after each. Add vanilla.
Don't over beat the batter or the brownies will become cakey.
Sprinkle the flour mixture in and fold in gently with a spatula.
Mix in graham crackers.
Spread into your prepared pan.  Dot with marshmallows.
Bake for 30- 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
Marshmallows will be browned and puffy, but will deflate a little as cooling.
Cool for 20 minutes, then cut with a sharp knife, cleaning the knife with hot water if it gets too sticky and messy.

This post is linked to Picnic Recipes: a 4-Moms Link-up