Pumpkin S’mores Bars

I don’t know about you, but I just can’t get enough pumpkin. I can’t imagine what October through December is like for people who don’t like it, not necessarily because they’re missing out, but because they must be so annoyed by pumpkin everything persistently popping up in every aspect of their lives. I have a friend who’s allergic to pumpkin, as well as all other squashes, and I truly pity her during this time of year.

I guess the one good thing about pumpkin haters is that it means more for me. And with amazing pumpkin treats like these Pumpkin S’mores Bars, why would I ever want to share? These are like the love child of good old-fashioned pumpkin pie and s’mores, taking the best qualities from each. The filling is creamy and studded with all those warm fall spices. It tastes almost identical to the custard that fills pumpkin pie. Then, the filling is layered atop tender, chewy graham cracker cookie, and buried beneath melty milk chocolate and gooey toasted marshmallows. All these magnificent flavors act as a team. They work together, each bringing something delicious to the table, and creating an entity that’s even better together than individually.

Basically, these Pumpkin S’mores Bars are the definition of ooey and gooey. There’s really no better way to describe them. They’re pure messy, gooey goodness in the best possible way. Be prepared to get your hands messy when eating these spiced pumpkin stuffed s’mores. All that good stickiness is well worth it.

A Few Tips Before You Get Cooking:

1. Mini marshmallows make cutting the bars much easier and less messy.
2. Prefer dark chocolate over milk? Go for it!
3. The graham cracker cookie base is the same recipe for my Homemade Brown Sugar Graham Crackers and slightly adapted Pumpkin Pie Spice Graham Crackers, a must-make!
4. These are great warmed up in the microwave and topped with ice cream.
5. Telling when these are done is a bit tricky, because if you use the toothpick test, you’re going to get goo from the chocolate and pumpkin, and won’t be able to tell if the cookie is done. Trust your instincts. You can tell by how a knife feels sinking into the cookie layer.
6. You will have extra dough. This isn’t a bad thing because you can make it into graham crackers!

Pumpkin S’mores Bars
Graham Cracker Cookie Base adapted from Tracey’s Culinary Adventures who adapted from Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones; rest of recipe by The Smart Cookie Cook

Ingredients:

For the Graham Cracker base

• Heaping 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups graham flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons honey

For the topping & filling

• 5 1.55-oz. milk chocolate bars (like Hersheys)
• 1 1/2 cups pure pumpkin puree
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. cloves
• 1/4 tsp. allspice
• 1/8 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• Half a 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 cups mini marshmallows

Directions:

1. Whisk both flours, the baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar and honey on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes (scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary). With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients and beat just until the dough comes together.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper so that it hangs over the sides.
3. Reserve 1/3 of the dough. Form the remaining dough into a disk and place in baking dish. Flatten out into an even layer. Lay the candy bars over top in an even layer, breaking them apart as necessary so they fit the whole pan and cover the pumpkin completely.
4. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, ginger, granulated sugar, and sweetened condensed milk. Pour over top the graham cracker layer and smooth out. Bake for 20 minutes then sprinkle marshmallows over top and bake for another 10 minutes, or until marshmallows are browned and a knife inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs.
5. Let cool on wire rack for 20 minutes then use the parchment paper to lift out the bars and let cool completely. Slice and enjoy.
6. With the extra dough, you can roll it out, cut it out, and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes for homemade graham crackers; or, you can freeze it for later use.