Smores Brownies

This is another recipe I've tinkered with, originally from Paula Deen on Food Network. The brownies she made were too thick, which made them more difficult to eat and the proportions of graham cracker to chocolate to marshmallow seemed off. It's really a basic graham cracker crust recipe, a basic brownie recipe, and marshmallows, scaled to a 13 x 9 pan.

Smores Brownies

Crust:

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
Pinch fine salt

Brownie:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Topping:
4 cups mini marshmallows

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 13x9 baking pan with foil so it hangs over the edges by about 1 inch, which helps for easier removal and clean-up (marshmallows stick).

For the crust: Lightly grease the foil with some baking spray. Stir together the butter, crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Press the crumb mixture evenly over the bottom of the pan. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the brownie batter. Put the butter and chocolate in a medium microwave safe bowl. Melt in the microwave on 70 percent power for 3 minutes, stirring after every minute. Remove & stir until completely melted. Mix the sugars, vanilla and salt into the melted chocolate with a whisk. Add the eggs and beat vigorously to make a thick and glossy batter. Add the flour and stir until just incorporated.

Pour batter over the graham cracker crust. Bake until the top is crispy and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean, with a few crumbs, about 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven. Carefully move rack to about 6 inches from the broiler and turn broiler on low (if your oven has that setting). Spread marshmallows evenly across the top and toast under the broiler until golden, about 90 seconds, but start checking every 15-20 seconds after one minute to prevent burning. Cool on a rack.