Marshmallow bars

These are my daughter's favorite and I make them for her whenever I see her. I don't see her as often as I like. She travels the world and has a home base in LA. If she is on tour, we go see her if she is within a 5-6 hour drive. Some years we see her a few times, for a few hours, some years we don't see her at all. We text or talk almost every day.

She is gluten free and this bar is easily adaptable. I have made them "regular", gluten free, and gluten free and vegan. It depends on who they are for! they always turn out well and I could see them going quickly at bake sales! Or graduation parties, Or classrooms. Or... you get the idea. I have been making these for about 25 years now. No idea where I found the recipe, it has just become a family one.

Remember though--I am a "dump cook" (that is with a "p")-- I kind of just dump things together or watch food network and say "I could do that"... as I am scribbling the ingredients down as they are adding them (no measurements) on whatever I can find to write on and with. Once I was really in a bind and wrote ingredients in red crayon on a receipt. It worked, use what you have! My grandma always wrote things on whatever she could find. I have recipes she wrote on napkins, envelopes, the back of the phone book. I don't even think they make phone books any more! I haven't seen one in years. I still have those recipes tucked away.

Potential Changes

The recipe is in it's original form but if you need to make it gf, just switch the flour to gluten free. For baking, I love the King Arthur bread flour. not just for bread, but any baked good. Lately I have been mixing it half and half with Caputo gluten free flour. It makes a great baked good! To make it vegan, I use either margarine, or Vegan butter (way more expensive than margarine) and Dandy marshmallows and Bob's Red Mill egg replacer. All of those (except the Caputo flour) I can find at my grocery store in a town of 3500 people, so they are widely available. there is always Amazon as well. I also do not add the nuts when I make this. She never wanted them. Mom does what she is asked!

Deluxe Marshmallow Bars

Oven 350 degrees

I ALWAYS line pans, cookie sheets etc with parchment paper, then grease that.

Line a jelly roll pan (cookie sheet with sides) with parchment paper and grease, spray or butter the paper. Leave over hang so you can just lift the whole thing right out of the pan to cut.

In mixer:

Cream until fluffy: 3/4 c butter (margarine or vegan butter)

11/2 c sugar

ADD: 3 eggs (I add 1 at a time, make sure it is mixed, add the next etc) (or equivalent in replacer)

1 tsp vanilla (or vanilla paste)

ADD: 11/3 c flour (or gluten free)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3T cocoa

Mix until batter forms

Fold in 1/2 c chopped nuts (optional)

Spread evenly in prepared pan.

Bake 15-18 min.

Remove from oven and

Sprinkle with 4c mini marshmallows (or dandy's) I just dump the bag on and spread them evenly

Bake 2-3 min just to soften marshmallows. they will puff up slightly.

Remove from oven.

In a sauce pan:

Melt: 3T butter (or margarine or vegan butter)

1 c peanut butter

8 oz chocolate chips

Stir in:

2 c rice krispies (or gf crisped rice)

Spread evenly over the marshmallows. This is tricky---I dollop the mixture over the marshmallows and slowly and carefully spread, covering most of the marshmallows. It looks nice seeing some of the white peeking out from under the blanket of crispy chocolate.

Cool completely before cutting. I lift the entire batch by the paper out of the pan and then cut it into bars. That is much easier than cutting them in the pan.

I have never tried them with anything but peanut butter BUT I bet they would be great with other flavors. Maybe I will try that next! Remember it is the doing and trying!!!