June 23, 2016

S'mores Granola Bark


I was in the middle of trying to come up with a witty or motivational or inspiring story to introduce this post when it hit me: you don't care about a story because you JUST WANT THE RECIPE ALREADY. 

Entirely understandable. So here it is. 

In our house, we consider this a healthy snack, because we take a very broad approach to "healthy" and a very frequent approach to "snack." 

This recipe began life as Trail Mix Granola Bark; here, I've given it the s'mores treatment with the addition of marshmallows and graham crackers. I managed to stop eating my last batch long enough to put together this post, but just barely. 


S'mores Granola Bark {printable recipe}

1/2 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup M&Ms (I used the plain milk chocolate version in red, white, and blue)
1 cup marshmallow bits (such as vanilla Jet-Puffed Mallow Bits)*
3 cups rolled ("old-fashioned") oats
1 cup graham cracker pieces and crumbs (equivalent or close enough to it to one "sleeve" of crackers...I like a mix of fine crumbs and larger cracker pieces, and you can really just smoosh them with your hands while they're still in the package and they'll be fine)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg white
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons water, divided

*I know! Specialty ingredients are such a pain. But I promise these are easy to find, aren't too expensive, and are necessary to this recipe. I also promise it's worth the hassle of rounding them up. Regular mini marshmallows won't work here because of the long baking time...they'll just melt and basically disappear. Better get the bits.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 10x15-inch baking sheet with parchment paper (or foil that you spray like crazy with nonstick cooking spray) so it hangs over the edges. Mix the chocolate chips, M&Ms, and marshmallow bits in a small bowl or 2-cup glass measure and put them in the freezer. Mix the oats and graham cracker pieces/crumbs in a large bowl

In a small measuring cup, whisk 3 tablespoons water, the vanilla, the oil, and the egg white.

In a microwave-safe 2-cup measure, mix the salt, maple syrup (which will slide right out of the measuring cup if you use the same one you did to measure the oil...aren't we clever?), brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon water. Microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds, or until the sugar has dissolved. Don't walk away and get sucked into checking Facebook because sugar syrup boiling over in your microwave is not something you want to see. 

Drizzle the oil mixture over the oat mixture and toss to combine. Drizzle the syrup mixture over the oats mixture, and toss to mix well. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Sprinkle about 2/3 of your frozen chocolate-chip/M&M/marshmallow mixture over the oats and toss gently to distribute. Dump the whole mixture into your pan and spread and press evenly. If one part is a little thicker than another, make sure it's the edges. Sprinkle your remaining chocolate/candy mixture evenly over the surface and press gently. 

Bake for 30-45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. You want your bark to be golden brown in the center or it won't be crunchy. Cool on a wire rack before breaking into irregular pieces and storing airtight. It'll keep about a week. I mean, theoretically. In our house, it gets scarfed down in a couple days, and it only lasts that long if I ration it. (Recipe adapted from Best Lunch Box Ever by Katie Morford.)

This post may have been shared at some of these blog bashes.

31 comments:

  1. I really like your recipes, daughter, but.....I love your writings even more.....and love you even more than that.

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  2. Haha this made me laugh! I'm always trying to come up with these long back-stories for my posts on things like DIY bath bombs. A while ago I gave up and just started posting the recipe/DIY too!

    P.S. These look delicious! :)

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    1. Oh my word, that is so funny. I'd love to read an inspirational backstory on DIY bath bombs! LOL, for real. :) As for this recipe, here's the story: I made it. It was good. People liked it. The end. ;) Thank you so much for stopping by!

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  3. OH my word, this sounds amazing! And don't you love that M&Ms always has bags for each of the different holidays? I'm loving their red, white, and blue mix right now. So cute! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

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    1. Oh my, yes. I'm grateful to the M&M people for being so creative, because color-coordinating the chocolate in this recipe really does make the whole thing taste better, in the "we eat with our eyes" sense! ;) Thanks so much for taking time to stop by, Lindsay! Hope your weekend was fabulous, too!

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  4. This looks so good! And I love your broad approach to healthy and frequent approach to snacking. It sounds like our house, too! (Visiting from the Alder Collective)

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    1. Heehee, Meg...sounds like our homes share at least one thing in common! ;) I do rather wish my kale chip experiment had gone over as well as this one did, but I take the wins I can get. So glad you stopped by!

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  5. This looks so good, pinned and trying! Thank you!!

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    1. Thank YOU, Cheryl! I hope you get a chance to try this and that it flies out of your kitchen the way it does mine. Thank you for taking time to stop by!

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  6. Oh goodness. These looks amazing.

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    1. Aw, thanks, Charlene! I don't want to brag, but that was pretty much my family's consensus! ;) Which made me very happy, because I love it when they love what I feed them. Full disclosure: this does not happen with broccoli.

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  7. Oh, I love this idea! We're a family full of s'mores addicts in my house, so the more ways to hit that craving, the better! :)

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    1. Courtney, I feel we are kindred spirits, because we, too, are "a family full of s'mores addicts"! Feed--don't fight--the addiction is our motto. Glad if I could help a fellow s'more-loving family! :)

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  8. This snack bark looks right up my alley! As luck would have it, I already have a bunch of marshmallow bits on hand :) This looks like the perfect combination of healthy and indulgent to banish my typical mid-afternoon hunger.

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    1. You're right: that IS lucky!:) Or a sign that you should make this. And yes, my field-testing (and by "field," I mean "my kitchen") indicates that this does make a very useful afternoon snack. Thanks so much for stopping by...from (I'm pretty sure) one s'more lover to another!

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  9. Sounds like a campfire treat without all the mess. What is it with our obsession with s'mores? I mean, chocolate, marshmellows and graham - what is there not to obsess over. Thanks for bringing this treat to my party this week.

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    1. Heehee, Michelle...good question! ;) I am definitely obsessed. I think it's the combination of textures, plus that indefinable addictive quality of melted marshmallow. I don't know for sure, though, but I don't intend to fight it. :) Thanks so much for hosting Party At My Place!

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  10. This looks super tasty! :D #FridayFrivolity

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    1. Well, that does seem to be the consensus around here, Jessica!:) Thanks for hosting #FridayFrivolity! :)

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  11. We will just love your Smores Granola Bark! Thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a very special weekend!
    Come Back Soon,
    Miz Helen

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    1. Aw, thanks, Miz Helen! You have a sparkling holiday weekend, too, and thank you so much for hosting Full Plate Thursday!

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  12. This looks so yummy!! Thanks for sharing :)

    Blessings,
    Edye | Http://gracefulcoffee.wordpress.com

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    1. Well, aren't you sweet, Edye! I'm so glad you left your blog link, because I've just started following you on Twitter so I can keep up with you and share your posts with my teenage daughters! :) Thanks for stopping by!

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  13. Wow, what a great idea! These look amazing!! Thanks for sharing at You Link It, We Make It - hope to see you back tomorrow to party!

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    1. Thank you so much! I do think this was one of the more successful ideas ever to cross my sleep-deprived brain. ;) Thanks for hosting You Link It, We Make It!

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  14. Oh yum, this looks so tasty! Thank you for sharing the recipe at #FridayFrivolity -- pinning and tweeting!

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    1. Thank you so much, Sarah Eliza! For something we count as "healthy" around here, this does rather fly out of the tin. Which I, personally, count as a #momscore. ;) P.S. Long live, #FridayFrivolity!

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  15. Can you tell I just found another email in my box from being gone? Will I ever catch up? :P This sounds soo yummy and fun!

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    1. Dear Lisa, only someone as dedicated as you would even TRY to catch up! Besides, what a wonderful reason you have to being "behind." Thanks for checking this out...I will say that my family considers it rather addictive! ;)

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  16. I love your blog so much <3 and I love a treat!... and this sounded like a treat... But on a serious note, it is beyond overloaded with nothing but a huge variety of sugary sugars stuck together with sugars, it's impossible to consider feeding it to even one's worst enemy, sorry, but accurate. It's nice that you took out the only healthy component (egg yolks), as the poor things would be wasted in these, from a nutrients view.

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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!