summer

Chewy, fudgy brownie cookie bars with a marshmallow swirl, and graham cracker crust layer, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Nutella Brownie S’mores Cookie Bars Recipe

Chewy, fudgy brownie cookie bars with a marshmallow and Nutella swirl, graham cracker crust layer, and milk chocolate chips.

Chewy, fudgy brownie cookie bars with a marshmallow swirl, and graham cracker crust layer, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

If you’ve been hanging around Something Swanky for any amount of time at all really, you know my love of these brownie cookies. And if you’ve been stopping by for a little longer than that, then you also know that I’m obsessed with s’mores.

Bringing the two together was simply the natural progression of things.

Chewy, fudgy brownie cookie bars with a marshmallow swirl, and graham cracker crust layer, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Ok, so… Brownie Cookie Bars. You may be wondering why I took brownies and turned them into cookies and then took those cookies and turned them back into bars. Yeah?

And the answer is… I wanted something a little firmer than brownies, like a cookie, but still basically brownies. Ergo: my favorite brownie cookie recipe baked into bars.

So, yeah. They’re basically still brownies. A little firmer on the tops and bottoms than a brownie, but still just as rich and fudgy in the centers. I know it’s a little backwards, but just trust me on this. It works.

Chewy, fudgy brownie cookie bars with a marshmallow swirl, and graham cracker crust layer, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Speaking of centers… would you get a load of that?! ????

Sandwiched in between these rich and fudgy brownie cookie bars is a thick and gooey layer of marshmallow cream, Nutella, and a ridiculously perfect, buttery graham cracker crust.

YES. All that. ????

Chewy, fudgy brownie cookie bars with a marshmallow swirl, and graham cracker crust layer, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Chewy, fudgy brownie cookie bars with a marshmallow swirl, and graham cracker crust layer, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

These are so, so, SO easy to make. You’ll only need one bowl– and you can make the graham cracker crust layer in a ziplock bag like I did, so there aren’t even any extra dishes needed there!

Starting with the brownie cookie dough. It’s simply a variation on a box mix recipe. You will need an actual box mix, but don’t follow the recipe on there for brownie batter. I’m giving you a different set of ingredients and measurements that will create a different texture than what you’d get using the recipe on the box. More cookie-like, remember?

Next up, a dreamy graham cracker crust. I ALWAYS make graham crusts in a bag. It’s so much easier, less mess, less fuss, so it really just makes sense. Place the graham crackers in a gallon-sized zip bag and crush them up using a rolling pin until they are fine crumbs. Toss in the butter and sugar, and then nuke the whole bag for about 30-60 seconds, until the butter melts. After that, all you have to do is mush the mixture in the bag until the crust comes together! Dump it out over the brownie layer and press it down, easy peasy.

The marshmallow cream and Nutella layer is probably the hardest part, because they’re both so sticky. But if you have a release ice cream or cookie scoop, that pretty much solves all your problems. I just scoop on what I need and spread it just a little with an offset spatula.

Add some more brownie cookie to the top and your milk chocolate chips, and…

Bake.

Drool.

And then top with ice cream.

Chewy, fudgy brownie cookie bars with a marshmallow swirl, and graham cracker crust layer, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Obviously.

This quick and easy mousse looks fancy, but it's actually SO quick and easy to make!

White Chocolate Snickerdoodle Pudding Mousse Recipe

This quick and easy mousse looks fancy, but it’s actually SO quick and easy to make!

This quick and easy mousse looks fancy, but it's actually SO quick and easy to make!

This easy version of mousse has long since been one of my favorite go-to desserts. Not only is it delicious, but it’s super duper quick and easy, cheap, fairly diet friendly, and really versatile. There are so many different ways to make it! Plus, I almost always have all the ingredients on hand, so it’s a great recipe to keep in your back pocket for dessert in a pinch.

If that’s not a win all over, then I don’t know what is!

This quick and easy mousse looks fancy, but it's actually SO quick and easy to make!

The ingredient list is pretty simple. And really short.

Instant pudding mix (white chocolate flavored for this snickerdoodle variation).

Fat free milk.

8 ounces Cool Whip.

And for this version you’ll also need cinnamon, white chocolate, and (optional) snickerdoodle cookies.

This quick and easy mousse looks fancy, but it's actually SO quick and easy to make!

White chocolate and cinnamon is one of my all-time favorite flavor combinations. If you love it as much as I do, you MUST make these White Chocolate Snickerdoodle Pudding Cookies and these White Chocolate Covered Pretzel Snickerdoodles. They’re both ah-mazing!

But when you don’t have time for cookies, this mousse will do the trick ????.

This quick and easy mousse looks fancy, but it's actually SO quick and easy to make!

Enjoy!

And PS- if you want an easy way to make sweet chocolate curls like I did, use this tutorial from I Am Baker. It made chocolate curling a breeze!

Sweet and juicy strawberries and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between light and fluffy shortcake.

Old Fashioned Strawberry Shortcake Recipe

Sweet and juicy strawberries and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between light and fluffy shortcake.

Sweet and juicy strawberries and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between light and fluffy shortcake.

Ok you guys. RUN to your nearest farmers market and buy as many cute little baskets of strawberries as you can carry back to the car!!

We bought our first batch of farm fresh strawberries last weekend in NC, so I know we are on the cusp of massive amounts of strawberries being all over the place. Can. not. wait. I loooooooove strawberry season. Like, fiercely.

And, because I care about you, I wanted to be sure that you had this recipe for old fashioned strawberry shortcake before your kitchen is overflowing with sweet, juicy red berries.

Sweet and juicy strawberries and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between light and fluffy shortcake.

I know that the grocery stores all want you to think that strawberry shortcake is those like sponge cake cups that you can buy right by the strawberries in the produce section.

But that’s actually false. That’s sponge cake.

Strawberry short cake isn’t made with an angel food cake loaf either.

That’s angel food cake with strawberries on top.

Sweet and juicy strawberries and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between light and fluffy shortcake.

Strawberry shortcake, REAL strawberry shortcake, is made with incredibly soft, fluffy, flaky biscuits that melt in your mouth with every bite.

And it’s ah-mazing. And way better than using  sponge cake or angel food cake. I promise.

You can certainly make the biscuits that require rolling and cutting, like these. But I think it’s even easier and just as delicious to make a good batch of drop biscuits.

A while ago I posted about these biscuits that are made with whipping cream instead of butter or shortening. I was shocked that you could make a biscuit so tender and flaky without using butter! But it turns out, YOU CAN! And that’s how these shortcakes are made.

You only need a very few simple ingredients:

  • all purpose flour
  • baking powder
  • a little bit of sugar
  • heavy cream

And that’s it!

Sweet and juicy strawberries and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between light and fluffy shortcake.

The trick to making great biscuits with heavy cream is basically the same as when you’re using butter: take it easy.

Making biscuits is all about being gentle with the dough or else it’s going to get hard and tough. Add the cream gradually, and gently mix BY HAND with a wooden spoon or spatula. And stop mixing way before you think you should.

You’re not looking for a smooth, elastic dough here. In fact, these should be really lumpy, even crumbly. Your dough should look something like this when it’s time to stop mixing:

Sweet and juicy strawberries and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between light and fluffy shortcake.

Not over mixing the dough is absolutely crucial in achieving a soft and tender biscuit.

Once the dough looks like that, you can scoop the dough (about 1/4 cup) and drop it on to a lined baking sheet.

Sweet and juicy strawberries and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between light and fluffy shortcake.

While these are baking, go ahead and slice the strawberries.

Add some sugar and let them sit for about 30 minutes.

Sweet and juicy strawberries and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between light and fluffy shortcake.

Now it’s time for the magic.

Traditionally, you eat strawberry shortcake with whipped cream. But I think it’s better with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream! As it melts, it soaks right into the biscuit and all over the berries, and it is utterly sinful.

Sweet and juicy strawberries and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between light and fluffy shortcake.

Sweet and juicy strawberries and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between light and fluffy shortcake.

You guys. I’m telling you, this is your new favorite recipe for this spring and summer! Hoard those strawberries and then invite everybody you know over for short cake!!

And here’s a tip for using frozen strawberries instead of fresh (because if you’re like me, you buy out all the strawberries when they’re so good and freeze them for later): make this strawberry sauce to go with your shortcakes instead of macerated berries! So, so good.

Enjoy!

This soft and moist blueberry quick bread can be mixed up so fast! Packed with blueberries and vanilla flavor.

Blueberry Quick Bread Recipe

This soft and moist blueberry quick bread can be mixed up so fast! Packed with blueberries and vanilla flavor.

This soft and moist blueberry quick bread can be mixed up so fast! Packed with blueberries and vanilla flavor.

Happy Friday! Any fun plans for the weekend?

I’m hoping to squeeze in a few mini photo sessions (did I tell you that I’ve started doing portrait photography? It’s so much fun!)

But before I can get to my weekend, I have to get through the Farm Days field trip with my daughter’s class…. ????.

Maybe even as you’re reading this, I’m likely trudging through animal mud with a baby strapped to my chest, a handful of kindergartners at my side, and sneezing my way through horse dust.

I am not an animal person. I know I just lost about half of you, but it’s the truth. I’m not. No, I don’t even like your cute puppy. I mean, I’m not going to kick it while you’re not looking or anything. But I’ll kind of pretend to sort of half pet it and then spend the rest of our conversation hoping your dog’s hair doesn’t make my eyes swell up or give me itchy hives up and down my arm.

I swear, I really am a nice person. I just don’t do the animal thing.

And I’m not really a kids-that-aren’t-mine person for that matter (ha! and I’m only barely a kids-who-are-mine kind of person!)

So basically, what I’m getting at is this. Farm Days with my daughter’s kindergarten class is my own personal version of parental hell. And I would so much rather be planted on the couch with a book and a warm loaf of this blueberry bread.

Just sayin. ????

This soft and moist blueberry quick bread can be mixed up so fast! Packed with blueberries and vanilla flavor.

Moving on….

This bread is so spring time to me! It’s sweet and fluffy and packed full of juicy blueberries. Remember back when I had a weird thing with the texture of blueberries and could only eat them from a can and in muffins?

Thank goodness this Berry Cheesecake Trifle came along and totally changed how I feel about fresh blueberries! Just think about all the yummy things I’d be missing out on ????.

This soft and moist blueberry quick bread can be mixed up so fast! Packed with blueberries and vanilla flavor.

This bread would be so good with a lemon glaze! But it’s also amazing on it’s own, smothered in butter, fresh and warm out of the oven with a glass of milk and a good book. It’s the perfect spring time, Saturday morning breakfast 🙂

I hope you spend at least part of this weekend curled up on the couch with a thick slice of Blueberry Bread. Enjoy!