Nutella and S’Mores Meet in Bar Form
While returning home from the Fancy Food Show in NYC and thinking about all the trends we saw it was obvious that Nutella (or chocolate hazelnut spreads in general) and anything with s’mores included is a big hit. So I thought, why not combine them? The day I decided to head into the Test Kitchen was brutally hot, so a brownie or bar seemed like the right approach, since they are so easy. I used my classic blondie recipe as a base, replaced some of the flour with finely ground graham crackers and it worked like a charm. Feel free to use all semisweet or all milk chocolate morsels if you like but I find the combo adds depth and interest. There is no getting around the fact that this is a sweet dessert. Don’t even try to tame its inherent sweetness; go with the ooey, gooey, fluffy, chocolaty flow. Your friends will thank you.
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup finely ground graham crackers
- Heaping ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons milk chocolate morsels, separated
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate morsels, separated
- ⅓ cup Nutella chocolate-hazelnut spread
- ¾ cup marshmallow crème such as Fluff
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat an 8-inch square pan with nonstick spray.
- Whisk the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl to aerate and combine; set aside.
- Whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar. Whisk in the vanilla and then the egg, blending well. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then stir in the flour mixture, mixing just until blended. Fold in ¼ cup milk chocolate morsels and the ¼ cup semisweet morsels.
- Spread about three-quarters of the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Dollop the Nutella evenly over the batter and gently spread it so that every bar (once cut) has a portion. Dollop the marshmallow crème evenly over all and gently spread it as described above (see Tips). Scatter the remaining 2 tablespoons of milk chocolate morsels and the 2 tablespoons of semisweet morsels over all.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center shows several moist crumbs when removed. The bars should be light golden brown, slightly puffed, and the edges will have begun to come away from the sides of the pan. Do not over bake. Cool in the pan set on a rack. Cut into 16 bars (4 x 4). Store at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight container in single layers separated by parchment paper.
Bakepedia Tips
- Working with Nutella or Fluff can be tricky as they are both quite sticky. If you have a small scoop (about 1-inch in diameter), such as the ones I recommend for making truffles, they make quick work out of both ingredients. Use the scoop to first dollop the Nutella over the batter; wash the scoop well then repeat with Fluff. You will probably still have to lick your fingers along the way, but I bet you won’t complain.
- Once your Nutella and Fluff are dolloped, use a small offset spatula to help spread them around. The right tools make all the difference!
- Ever notice how square pans don’t always have straight vertical sides with nice square corners? Your brownies and bars will have a better shape if you use such as pan, such as this pan from Magic Line.
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