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Summer time is coming! Having this recipe for Gluten-free S'mores Bars makes this treat so very convenient to have even if you avoid gluten and don't have a fire!
Jump to RecipeWarm days and cool nights means fires in the fire pit or chimenea. Or it means camping and cooking over a fire. In any scenario, I hope you'll find s'mores in your summer! For those of us who are required to (or who choose to) avoid gluten have sadly missed out on the campfire s'mores. Sure there are commercially made, gluten-free graham crackers, but in my experience, they leave a little to be desired in the "taste" camp.
The search for gluten-free S'mores is real!
Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when my oldest daughter and I chanced upon a coffee house that sold gluten-free S'mores Bars. The world stopped for a brief moment while we enjoyed that goodness. I went back a few days later to get some more (s'more! ha!) and they didn't have any!! They said they don't make them all the time … to which I said, "Why the heck not?!" And they didn't have a satisfactory answer.
What's a girl to do in this situation, but to experiment herself?! So I went home, consulted the trusty internet for advice, and started playing with ingredients, beginning with oatmeal.
You can certainly purchase oat flour (Bob's Red Mill is a good brand), but since I have the dry jar for my Vitamix, I just whirred oats in there for a few seconds.
I creamed coconut oil with coconut palm sugar to keep it dairy-free and a lower glycemic index, but I'm sure if you wanted to use butter and brown sugar, it would be delicious.
The only other ingredients are vanilla extract, baking powder, salt, and a little water.
Then you divide the dough in half and press that half into the pan, set it aside, and press out the other half.
Sprinkle chocolate chips or cut-up chocolate bars on the bottom layer, then marshmallows. You can also add some nuts … I love pecans, but I also love these bars with just the chocolate and marshmallows.
Better choices for chocolate and marshmallows
Let's talk about chocolate and marshmallows for just a minute, why don't we? You can use a chocolate bar and cut it up into pieces. Or you can use chocolate chips. Most chocolate chips have dairy and/or soy and come from questionable sources, and while I find myself fortunate to be able to buy dairy- and soy-free chocolate chips in the bulk section of my grocery store, I also really like the Enjoy Life brand which can be purchased from Amazon and delivered straight to your door!
As for marshmallows, that common American brand that provides us with all of our summer s'more making gooeyness … well, let's just say that their ingredients are less than desirable. The Dandies brand is still not fully healthy, but it's a better choice as it's vegan and GMO-verified.
Turn the reserved crust upside down on top of the marshmallows, peel the parchment paper back, and press the crust into the marshmallows and chocolate. Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes.
You'll be so tempted to dive right in, but you'll be better served if you allow them to set for a few hours, allowing the chocolate to harden a bit. Cutting into them right away is delicious, but you'll have to use a spoon to eat them rather than being able to cut them into nice squares. Not that there would be anything wrong with that …
More treats to enjoy:
Recipe
Gluten-free S'mores Bars
Ingredients
- 1½ cups coconut palm sugar
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons water
- 2¾ cups oat flour
- 2¼ teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 7 ounces chocolate either chopped bar chocolate or chocolate chips. If you are looking for a dairy-free option, Enjoy Life brand is excellent.
- 1½ cups marshmallows Dandies brand is vegan
- 1 cup chopped nuts optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cream the coconut oil with the coconut palm sugar. Add the vanilla extract and the water.
- Mix the oat flour with the baking powder and salt and gradually add it to the sugar mixture with the mixer on low. You can turn up the mixer as the flour is incorporated, but there's no need to overmix it. Just get it to come together. If it seems dry, add just a bit more water.
- Line a square baking dish with parchment paper and spread half of the dough on the bottom of the dish. Remove the dough and the parchment paper and set aside. Put another piece of parchment in the dish and spread the rest of the dough in the bottom.
- Evenly sprinkle the chocolate, then the marshmallows (and nuts, if using) over the dough. Carefully, turn the reserved dough upside down on top of the chocolate and marshmallows. Press down firmly, then peel the parchment paper away.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Cool at room temperature for several hours before cutting into squares.
- Bon Appétit!
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