Today is my roommate/best friend’s 22nd birthday…
HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLY!!
Instead of going out to dinner, I thought it would be fun to make dinner at home for Kelly before going out to celebrate. We will start with the best part (dessert) first and then work our way backwards from there! My roommate, Hillary, and I wanted to make Kelly something different/homemade for her birthday. She isn’t a #1 fan of cake so it was kind of difficult to think of an idea. Hillary suggested S’mores bars and I found a recipe from the blog: The Girl Who Ate Everything.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 king-sized Hershey’s milk chocolate bars (if you want a more subtle chocolate flavor use regular sized chocolate bars; enough to fit)… I used Lindt Milk Chocolate
- 1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (7 1/2 oz jar)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. This part can be tricky. I made little disks with the dough and formed them into a sheet on some parchment paper then transferred it over. Spread it around gently. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.
Makes 16 cookie bars.
For dinner I made Mac & Cheese with Squash and Spinach
Served with a fresh bread (from Belvedere Market in Baltimore) and spinach/arugula salad that was topped with strawberries, candied walnuts, feta cheese, and a homemade balsamic dressing.
Everything was delicious and everyone loved it (not going to lie I was a little nervous that they wouldnt!!!). We all had so much fun together!! I decided to stay in tonight instead of going out with them to celebrate. I am super tired…had to wake up at 5 AM today because the lady I babysit for was going into Labor (induced)! I was up all night because I was afraid that I would sleep through my alarm. LOSER. I also have a long training run to do in the morning anyway and Spring Break in the Bahamas next week…so I may need to rest up haha. Instead I am going to drive all my roommates and friends out to the bars!!! So much more fun, isn’t it? I swear I am not this huge of a loser usually. Although I will admit…sometimes I am!!! haha
Question: What is your favorite “birthday dinner”?
My favorite birthday dinner is Spaghetti and Crabs…homemade by my momma 
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
OMG this looks amazing. My favorite is the dessert! can you come over and make dinner for me??
yes! seriously, lets do it after we get back from spring break!
hahaha you crack me up with your loser talk…I’m not the biggest fan of smores but those bars look yummy! When you come back to Philly for school you def have to make Lin and I dinner haha
that can be arranged. i mighttttt be living in manayunk/roxborough come May but im not positive. that would be awesome though, eh? ill have you guys over haah
Holy whoa those bars looks amazing! I love s’mores in any way, shape, or form.
Glad they loved the dinner, it looks so amazing! I’m always nervous when cooking for other people, too..so I know exactly how you felt. 
OMG those look so good!