Stuffed Peanut Butter S'mores Bars

I'm starting to think that peanut butter is a bit of a staple in my family since as far as I know, every likes it (well, except Carly obviously. But I've always thought that if she weren't allergic to nuts, she'd be a fan too). Especially when paired with chocolate. So of course I wasn't surprised when I texted Helen for more flavor ideas for Kevin's birthday present and she said he liked chocolate peanut butter. She also told me that he likes anything s'mores-flavored.

That last one got the decisive gears going in my head. I started by looking at the books and magazines and got lucky right off the bat. I had gotten a couple recipe books at a store in Chelan called The Culinary Apple (it's one of those stores that sells all kinds of pots, pans, dishes, tools, and other stuff for the kitchen). One of which is all about s'mores - not just ways to enhance the traditional s'more but also all kinds of treats with chocolate, marshmallow, and grahams. The one that stuck out to me was a bars recipe with peanut butter cups.

Stuffed PB Bars (Gimmie S'more!, pg. 8)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (the book says this is 6 whole graham crackers but if it's easier, there's nothing wrong with the pre-ground crumbs)
• 16 peanut butter cups
• 1 1/4 cup marshmallow creme (basically, 1 7-oz. jar)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350℉. Line an 8 x 8" baking pan with parchment paper and coat with cooking spray.
2. Beat together butter, sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder, salt, and crumbs until blended.
3. Spread 2/3 of dough over bottom of pan. Lightly press unwrapped peanut butter cups into dough to cover evenly. Spread marshmallow creme on top. Press remaining dough into an 8 x 8" square on a nonstick surface and then set on top of marshmallow creme layer; press down lightly.
4. Bake 30 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Let cool at least 2 hours before removing from pan to cut.

As you can see by the pictures, I wasn't entirely able to do the last part of "construction." I figured Kevin wouldn't care though. Which he didn't. And apparently these are the best I've ever made.

Side note: he and Helen LOVE the Minions from Despicable Me. So of course when I saw a Minions birthday card that wasn't age-specific (WITH SOUND!!!!), I had to get it: