S'mores Bars (★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆)

Just go with me a sec.

Now brace yourself, because I'm going to ask you to do something you may find difficult.

Imagine for a moment,

                                   

                                    ...that you actually like Katy Perry.

And there it is.

Take a deep breath.  Bear with me.  Here we go.

Imagine that you find her music catchy and her need to have cotton candy blue hair while wearing outfits that spew whipped cream nothing short of charming.

For some of you, this is the easiest thing you've been asked to do all day.  

For others...well you're still clutching the side of your chair.  

Moving on...

This next task might be a little easier to swallow.

Now imagine that you love Spiderman.  

See????  I told you. 

But I don't mean love in the "I used to watch Spiderman cartoons and I guess I have nothing better to do with my Wednesday night" kinda way.  

I'm talking love in the "you thought Toby Maguire made a darn good Spidey, that the dorky kid-next-door-being-thrust-into-heroism formula is the best, and that the shear audacity of Hollywood believing it was already time for a remake made you kinda angry but you'd still watch because well, it is Spiderman after all" kinda way.

If you can't give me Katy...at least give me this.  

Katy Perry Inspired S'mores Bars

So being that you now rock out to Katy Perry and are already designing your own Spidey costume for Halloween, I'd say it's safe to assume you are pretty excited about going to the movies this summer.

How could it possibly get any better?!

Duh, with themed snacks! That's how!

I'm a proud and strong proponent of "theming."

It takes me out of observation mode and makes me a participator.  Better experience, better memories, and infinitely better snacks.  

My brother-in-law just recently discovered this trait about me when I was adamant about everyone only bringing black and white colored snacks to a showing of The Artist. 

"Why do you always have to theme everything?"

Is this really a question? Uh, why wouldn't you theme everything?

And guess what guys?

It's easy.

Spiderman Inspired S'mores Bars

I came across this recipe that included EDIBLE brownie batter (?!?! Wha!?) on my favorite baking blog - The Domestic Rebel: Brownie Batter Pretzel Bites.  This is the only baking blog where I actually read every word - all of the time.  If you enjoy a quirky sense of humor, you should check this girl out.  

One look at the brownie batter and my mind went into overdrive.  Graham crackers... marshmallow fluff... multicolored candy melts...  Presto chango, theming made easy.

Katy Perry: Neon Pink and Blue Colored Candy Melts and Sprinkles.

Spiderman: Dark Blue and Red Candy Melts and Chocolate Jimmies.

S'mores Bars

Edible Brownie Batter:
1 box brownie mix
1 stick of butter
1/8-1/4 cup water

S'mores:
Prepared Brownie Batter
1 Box Graham Crackers
1 Jar Marshmallow Fluff
1 Bag Wilton's Candy Melts (I've been told Candiquik or Plymouth Pantry are easier to use.) 

(Optional)
Katy Perry Theme:
Cotton Candy Colored Sprinkles - Pink and Blue
Neon Food Coloring - Pink and Blue

Spiderman Theme:
Blue Candy Melts
Red Candy Melts
Black & Blue Food Color (oil based)
Chocolate Jimmies (for simple/instant "webbing")

What I finagled to ease the burden of dipping the bars.  The candy melts were too thick otherwise. 

1.  Mix together brownie box powder, melted stick of butter and 1/8 cup water.  If batter is too thick to be molded with your hands add up to an additional 1/8 cup of water.  Tip: Add slowly.  You can always add more, but you can't take back runny batter. 

2. Arrange graham crackers into quarters.  I made twenty bars (40 cracker quarters) and had enough batter and marshmallow fluff to make at least ten more.  Spoon brownie batter onto half of the graham crackers.  Spread marshmallow fluff onto remaining half.  Assemble bars using one brownie batter and one marshmallow graham cracker.  Work quickly with the fluff as it starts to deflate and melt at room temperature.  Refrigerate bars until fluff is very firm. 2-3 hours.  You can speed up this process by freezing bars instead for about an hour.

3. After bars are chilled, melt candy melts over a double boiler.  You can use the microwave, but I found the melts to be much too thick.  You can add a couple tbsps of canola oil to thin it out.  I also used a narrow cup over my double boiler to make the dipping easier on myself.  Candiquik and Plymouth Pantry have been suggested to me as better alternatives.  Once melts are ready, dip bars and place on parchment paper.  If doing two colors dip half of the bar and decorate while wet.  Let set (twenty minutes room temp or five minutes in the fridge).  Then dip the other half and decorate.  

Important Things I've Learned:

A) Candy Melts are thick. I wanted to add a little bit of color to my bars for theming purposes, not 

     because I wanted a mouthful of fake white chocolate. Not ideal. Use Candiquik or Plymouth Pantry 

     instead.  You can check their website to find out where they are sold near you.  

B) If Candy Melts are all you have, add a generous amount of canola oil one tbsp at a time.  This will 

     help thin it out.  Also, using a double boiler will keep it consistently warm preventing clumping. 

C) If you need to add coloring to Candy Melts they need to be oil based.  I added a little bit of an oil  

     based black to the blue and red melts I purchased and had no problem.  Later, I tried adding a little 

     bit of blue to offset some of the black I mixed in using a water based gel.  Bad juju.  It literally is 

     like oil and water -- clumpy, frumpy, bumpy.  

D) Sometimes the bars do not get coated completely.  Use a spoon to add some of the candy melt 

     mixture to any exposed area.  

These bars were a little more work than I had expected, but I learned some valuable lessons.

They were totally worth it and so delicious!

They're on the rich side.  One is all you need.  But that's awesome cause then you'll have these for days and days to come.

I'm telling you. Theming.  It's gonna be big!

Check out some of my other character inspired adventures:

Twilight/Vampire Cupcakes

Smallville Cupcakes

On a side note, one of my best friends just started a blog.  And her first post??  Batman Themed Cake Pops!  Are you kidding me?!  She makes legitimately delicious cake pops and has somehow figured out how to make fondant behave.  Two things that utterly terrify me.  Check her out at Aimerson.

You are now welcome to resume your formerly held stance on all things Perry and Web-ey.  I appreciate you allowing me to manipulate your brain for a moment.

Hopefully, I have convinced you that designing a dessert or snack or party around something you want to commemerate can be as easy as choosing the correct colors.

So the next time a Star Wars movie is rereleased in 3D, maybe you'll bring some gummy bears.  Ewoks always did make me hungry.

Go ahead.  Start theming your life.