Crunchy Peanut Butter and S'mores Cookie Bites

A couple years ago I participated in a cookie exchange. I really wanted to make a cookie that no one had ever had before. After doing a lot of investigating I came across a great recipe. The only trouble was that it took hours to put the cookies together. They were such a hit but I didn't want to go through all that trouble making them again. This year I decided to try the cookie recipe as a bar. They still tasted great and it took a so much less time and effort to make. The original recipe is worth a try if you have the ambition to really impress your friends and family with something different. I will put that recipe at the bottom of this post if you are interested in trying it out. 

Sorry the pictures on this post are so bad. My camera stopped working so I took these pics with my cell phone.

Ingredients:


1 cup crunchy peanut butter
3/4 stick of butter
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal 
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup coconut flakes
1/2 to 1 cup marshmallow fluff


Yields around 2 dozen bites


Time: 30 minutes prep time and 5 minutes cooking time (in microwave)


Directions:

Pour chocolate chips in small microwave bowl. Microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds on 50% reduced power. Stir and microwave in 20 second increments until chocolate is melted completely. 

Line a 9x13 inch baking pan with parchment paper. Pour melted chocolate on paper and spread an even layer across bottom of pan. 

I would recommend skipping this next step because it stopped the chocolate from sticking to the rest of the bar and it kept falling off. 

But here it is if you were curious... Mix the graham cracker crumbs and coconut together. Evenly spread half the mixture across the chocolate.

In a small microwave bowl melt butter and peanut butter. Mix well.

Pour powdered sugar in medium bowl. Add melted peanut butter and butter mixture to the powdered sugar and mix well. 

Fold in puffed rice cereal.

Place dollops of mixture on top of the chocolate mixture in pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Remove from fridge and gently spread topping into a smooth, even layer.

Spread marshmallow fluff in a smooth, even layer.

Spread the remaining graham cracker crumb/ coconut mixture on top of the fluff. If you skip the step that I recommend you will have plenty of this mixture, if you don't, you might want to make more to cover the top completely.

Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.  To cut easily, pour hot water in a coffee mug. Place a sharp knife in the hot water and cut one section at a time. Replace knife when it becomes sticky. 

It's best to cut small bites because this dessert is very rich. It is also recommended to not leave it out on the counter too long because the marshmallow fluff will melt and make a sticky mess (pictured below).

To make the fancy cookie version of this bar double all ingredients. This makes 4 dozen cookies and takes about 2 hours of assembly time and 3 hours of refrigerating time. 

• In a large bowl add peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar. Mix with electric mixer until smooth. Fold in rice cereal. Using a teaspoon scoop mixture into balls, then press into the shape of a quarter. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
• To make bites, dip cookies into melted chocolate then toss in the graham cracker crumbs/coconut mixture until coated. Double coat each peanut butter coin. Arrange on wire racks and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Add marshmallow fluff to pastry bag. Add dollops of fluff to one cookie and sandwich with another until all cookies are assembles. Refrigerate for 1 hour.