I really wanted to post a timely s’mores recipe, but Kenny and I were away. And not only were we away, but we were also at a hotel hosting the Girl Scouts for National S’more Day. Talk about hitting pay dirt! There were s’more kits and fire pits everywhere.

Now that I’m back, I wanted to pay my respects to what is truly a marvelous holiday. Sorry if I’m a few days late! But these s’mores cookie cups should be worth it. They’re chocolate chip cookies filled and topped with everything you need in a s’more: the chocolate and marshmallow love. I’m excited to have these in the house!

The other day, I had a good belly laugh, and I really needed it. I’m sure you understand. They can be hard to come by, those hearty belly laughs, but they’re the best.

Kenny has this habit of sneezing his way through the first few hours of the morning. Some mornings are more extreme than others, and so I often don’t even notice. When I do, I usually just make sure he doesn’t have a cold before I give him a kiss.

Anyway, the kids and I were sitting at the kitchen table having a peaceful breakfast when Kenny sneezed. He was walking around gathering laundry, and he sneezed again. And again. And again. The poor guy was just on a roll.

For some reason, the kids and I found this to be massively hilarious. I can’t really explain why, but the symphonic sneezing had us in stitches. We laughed until our sides hurt. Well, except for Kenny. He was waiting for one of us to say, “Bless you.” Which we did eventually.

It just felt good to laugh, especially with my children. I have to be the disciplinarian so often, which means that I don’t always have the ability to just burst into laughter. I should do it more often, though, because it’s a quick and easy way to get some therapy.

Do you know what else is quick and easy? Yep, these s’more cookie cups!

I used refrigerated cookie dough.  It was the gluten-free kind, too. Immaculate Baking makes the best GF cookie dough! The inside is filled with a large piece of Hershey’s chocolate and half a marshmallow, and then the whole thing is topped with the other marshmallow half. Inside the oven, the marshmallow inside melts, but that just makes for more gooey goodness. And that flavor remains!

There’s plenty of time in life to be serious. Sometimes it’s better to let your guard down and be silly. Having an easy treat along the way doesn’t hurt, either. After all, it’s much cheaper than a therapist’s office!

If you’re not familiar with poker terminology, let me rephrase that. It’s never decadent enough. We can always do more to make our baked goods push glorious boundaries. Brownies are particularly conducive to letting the crazy out. They’re like the best chocolate canvas ever.

These fudgy guys are a lot of fun. The bottom layer is chocolate graham crackers, followed by brownie batter with chocolate chips inside. So there’s the “triple” in the title. And then the whole kit n’ kaboodle is topped off with jumbo marshmallow slices. Aww yeah.

One of the reasons that I love to bake is that daydreaming has always been a huge part of my life. Whenever I’m off in other worlds, I imagine anything from new versions of cities I live in (I’ve dreamed an entirely different D.C. from the one people know and love) to baked goods. But sometimes, my daydreaming can really startle me with its power to completely transport me away from the present moment.

For instance, I sometimes daydream through a whole hour-long workout. Sure, my brain checks in now and then to make sure I’m still moving, but I will honestly not remember doing a lot of it. That doesn’t happen most of the time, but when I’m preoccupied or upset or trying to work something out, that other part of my brain takes over while my body just does whatever it’s supposed to do.

This morning, I was sweating through my favorite barre workout, Physique 57. It’s 57 minutes of working different muscle groups in intervals with the help of a ballet barre (yep, I actually own a barre), a ball, and some weights. Some days are easier than others. There are the days that it doesn’t really seem too terrible at all, while on other days, I actually groan out loud after a particularly grueling set.

Today was neither, because I was too busy daydreaming. This time, I was thinking about something that happened 15 years ago in my first year of teaching. It was Back to School Night, and I said something to a group of parents about the ninth grade class I was teaching at the time, and how my goal was to extend on what they learned in middle school. One person in that room went to a middle school teacher she knew and told him that I’d been trashing middle school teachers for not doing their jobs well enough.

Instead of giving me the benefit of the doubt, or letting it go, or doing anything that would have been appropriate, this teacher (or bully, really) wrote me the nastiest e-mail about how I clearly could teach him so much about how to do his job, seeing as how I was brand-new and he’d been doing it for 16 years. The e-mail was sarcastic, vitriolic, and completely the wrong message to send to a new teacher.

I never told this person what I thought of him, but part of me has always wanted to tell him that, despite his best efforts, I’m still teaching. And 15 years later, I could tell him that I actually do have a lot to teach him about doing his job because I would never do what he did to me. New teachers should be counseled and guided and encouraged. They need support, not sarcasm. The fact that this man believed a rumor about someone he didn’t even know is one thing, but how he acted on it was even worse. And I’ve never forgotten his name. Someday, I might need it.

So as I thought about him during squats and reps, I came to the same conclusion I always come to. He’s a life lesson, a great example of what not to be. And that’s probably it. Besides, I’m so much cooler. I make triple chocolate s’more brownies, for heaven’s sake. And if I ever met him, I wouldn’t share. So there.

Apparently, it was national s’mores day a couple of weeks back. Well, I’m always late to the party when these supposed holidays come up. I need a day planner that tells me what food day it is. That would help. But I didn’t want you to think that I don’t love s’mores with all my heart, so here you go.

They’re easy, fun, and perfect to eat while daydreaming. Though to be honest, I try not to daydream when I’m eating brownies. That’s the best time to be present. You can save the mental vacations for working out and other unpleasantness!

Seriously, I bought these s’more-flavored Oreos a month ago. And I was all excited about making something with them with the vague intention of having it be s’moreo cupcakes. Life got in the way, and it didn’t happen. The cookies just sat in my cabinet until a few days ago, when fate intervened.

I was trying to make cheesecake bars and realized after I began (hate it when this happens) that I was out of both graham cracker crumbs and graham crackers. But instead of giving up, which is not what a baker does, I remembered the s’moreos. And suddenly, these cheesecake bars crystallized in my head and came to life!

The inspiration is running a little low this week. Even though I have most of the summer off, this week I’m in meetings for our school leadership team. That translates into a lot of sitting still. I don’t know about you, but sitting still is one of my least favorite things to do unless the day is almost over and I’m too tired to move.

I need to move throughout the day. Movement is a friend. More and more studies are showing that jobs involving a lot of sitting do a horrible number on your heart, stress level, mind, and body in general. That’s why teaching is such a good fit for me. It’s lots of standing, all day long. But sitting in meetings and starting at PowerPoints until everything glazes over and my butt is numb? No, thank you.

After a day like today, it’s hard not to come home and stress eat lots of less than healthy foods. But that’s where these cheesecake bars really help. They’re made with low-fat cream cheese and hardly any sugar, just a quarter of a cup. Some of you might find the base a little too tart, but I think it balances all the other sweetness perfectly. If you like a sweeter base, just increase the amount to a half cup.

Cheesecake bars are a perfect use for these s’moreos. I was never really feeling the cupcake idea, which is why weeks passed and nothing happened. This is a much better way to go. The cheesecake base could not be simpler. It’s four ingredients, all of which you regularly keep in your fridge. Milk chocolate chips get folded into the filling, and then I broke up a few s’moreos for the top.

To be honest, I’m totally zonked from a day of staring at screens and listening to one presentation after another. It makes me really grateful that my job is in the classroom where I can interact with other people in an active way. So summer is still on, but I’m excited to eat cheesecake bars and think about teaching again. It’s a lot better than sitting still for hours!

Well, not love, exactly. But if you watch the series Once Upon a Time, which I’ve been binge-watching with Kenny on Netflix, you’re aware that their version of Hook is a heckuva lot sexier than the guy from the Disney movie. I mean, there’s no comparison.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, think Westley from The Princess Bride. This Hook is very similar, but with a bad guy streak. I’m super sold on him. If only I could win him over with my baking. But then, Kenny might not like that.

Anyway, I recommend the show, and I recommend Hook. And I also highly encourage you to try these s’mores bars. They’re something special!

Instead of using straight up flour, I put a hefty dose of graham cracker crumbs into the dough to give it a more authentic s’more flavor. I wasn’t sure what would happen, quite frankly. But you know what? All’s well that ends well!

In order to add to the drama of the bars, I left the Hershey bar pieces whole and cut several large marshmallows (well, regular-sized, not mini) in half and pressed them into the dough. With a little more dough on top, I could almost imagine myself by a campfire. The only problem is, when I baked these, it was 15 degrees out. So no campfire yet!

These bars are made in one bowl without a mixer. And they come together really fast. The only challenge is waiting until they’re cool. Otherwise, chocolate and marshmallow melt all over you. Well, actually, that’s a good thing!

And you can eat them while watching Hook do his thing on Once Upon a Time. He’s more than satisfactory eye candy, and you should always have a good snack handy anyway. Besides, if you get a really good heat lamp into the bargain, you can pretend it’s actually s’mores weather. Sounds like heaven to me!

Listen, I love being a mom. But part-time mommyhood is kind of my thing. I need to be elsewhere during the day to fully appreciate all of the stuff my kids pull, like covering the walls in sidewalk chalk or leaving raisins all over the house like animal droppings. I wish I were strong enough to handle them 24/7, but I’m just not.

Summer is a great wake-up call for me about my job and why I love it. I get to be an at-home mom for two months while not teaching, and then I can fully appreciate being with my kids all day. But man, is it ever the most exhausting job in the world. That’s why we need cupcakes!

This morning, my son’s buddy came over to visit. My girls were being bratty little sisters, destroying their brother’s Lego police station and screaming over the Frozen CD so that nobody could hear the millionth rendition of “Let it Go.” More on that another time, or I may never stop ranting.

Anyway. I needed to think of an easy baking project, and fast. These s’more brownie cupcakes were it!

You see, a week ago I saw these refrigerated Pillsbury s’more cookies in the grocery store. I was all over them faster than a baby boy can pee on a parent changing his diaper.

In the refrigerator the cookies went, a happy idea for another day. Until today. There are nine cookies in the package and I wanted to get maximum mileage out of them, so what better than to make them into cupcakes?

My favorite brownie base went underneath, which I baked for ten minutes to give the bottom a head start. Then my daughters carefully put the cookies on top and we baked them until they were golden and perfect. Talk about easy! Bear in mind that there are only nine cookies in a package, so unless you want to buy more cookies, you’ll have leftover brownie batter. I used mine in an upcoming recipe. Stay tuned!

And while the cookies do come with a drizzle packet, it wasn’t quite enough for our project. So we took some hot fudge, used a small star tip, and drizzled on some designs. Because we’re fancy like that.

The best part was biting into the cupcake and having that gooey marshmallow just spill out over the brownie and straight into my mouth. I thought I was going to moan out loud. Maybe I did? The girls were certainly making happy noises.

And with our chocolate high, yet another day of no camp passed without too much incident. Believe me, after mini golfing in the afternoon heat I was pretty bushed, but you know, this mom thing is fun!

When can I go back to work?

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour
• 1 package Pillsbury s’mores refrigerated cookie dough (limited edition)
• hot fudge (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Line a muffin tin with nine cupcake liners and coat lightly with cooking spray.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix the cocoa into the melted butter until it dissolves. Add the sugar and stir again. When the sugar is incorporated, mix in the vanilla and eggs. Add the salt and flour, mixing until just combined.

Fill each cupcake liner halfway with brownie batter. Reserve the rest. I’ll be sharing what to do with it in the coming week!

Bake the brownie batter for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and top lightly with a s’mores cookie for each cupcake. Return to the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until the cookies are golden on top.

Cool the cupcakes completely. If desired, pipe hot fudge onto the top of the cupcakes in any pattern you choose.

Store at room temperature for up to one week!

That was my Memorial Day weekend. We had big plans. They involved a splash park and train rides and playgrounds and ice cream and picnics. Three days of fun, all planned out! No problem, right?

Except that my son spent a majority of the weekend on the couch moaning in agony with a stomach virus which I will no doubt be getting shortly, since I kept cuddling him and giving him tummy rubs. It was sunny and 85 degrees out, not a cloud in sight. And we were huddled in the darkened living room, taking occasional breaks from the moaning to watch episodes of Curious George.

I think I’ll just move Memorial Day to next weekend.

At least I had these blondie s’mores to keep me company. While my husband took the girls out and about, I sat in the kitchen and ate these up, pretending I was at a Memorial Day picnic. It really helped! And I’ve even done a step-by-step photo tutorial for you today. That’s what happens when I have the whole day to be stuck inside the house!

The inspiration began with these s’mores bites from Trader Joe’s. Have I mentioned how much I love that place?

I took these little cuties and cut them into thirds, like this:

Do you see how they have a cross-section of graham cracker and marshmallow, all covered in milk chocolate? Mmm. These are seriously one of my TJ favorites.

Then I made the batter. I love this recipe, mainly because it doesn’t  require a mixer. You just melt the butter in the microwave and mix everything in!

Once the batter is made, it’s time to party. I took about half of the batter, spread it in the pan, and lined up my s’mores candies just so. Can you see how caramelly the batter is? It’s so exciting!

After that was done, I took the other half of the batter and dropped it on top, spreading it out carefully.  There wasn’t quite enough to cover the surface area, but no problem! I just took some dollops of marshmallow fluff and swirled that in with the batter.

Then I chopped up the remaining s’mores chocolates, sprinkled on some graham cracker crumbs, and this baby was ready to go into the oven!

And when it came out, it looked like this:

Be sure not to overbake these bars! I like things a wee bit on the underbaked side, honestly, but if that’s not your thing, aim to get moist crumbs when you test the bars to see if they’re all done.

It was so hard to wait to cut this up. So I kind of didn’t wait long enough. It’s my biggest failing, really. But what else could I do?

And in the end, I wound up with ooey, gooey, chewy blondies. The marshmallow was all stretchy across the top, just like marshmallow should be. No campfire, but I’m cool with that. Fire is scary!

I do wish my son hadn’t gotten sick, of course. Kids always wait for holiday weekends to get sick. That way, you can’t go to the doctor. You have to head for the ER eventually, where all of humanity is lined up in the waiting room. Such is life.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a happy holiday weekend, free from emergency room visits and writhing in pain. Enjoy these s’mores! They make everything better, I promise!

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 container Trader Joe’s s’mores chocolates (pictured above)
• marshmallow fluff (a few spoonfuls, to taste)
• graham cracker crumbs (just enough to sprinkle over the top)

Instructions:

Peheat the oven to 350. Line an 8 x 8 pan with foil, leaving enough to overhang the sides, and coat in cooking spray.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Take a larger bowl and mix the brown sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla until just blended. Add the dry ingredients gradually and mix until incorporated.

Chop the s’mores chocolates into thirds, as shown above. Pour half of the blondie batter into the pan, being sure to spread it to hit the edges. Line the chocolates (see the picture) up evenly in the batter. Cover with the remaining batter and dollops of marshmallow fluff, swirling the batter and the fluff. Sprinkle with remaining chopped s’mores chocolates and graham cracker crumbs.

Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes until set. Test the middle with a toothpick or knife to ensure moist crumbs come out. Do not overbake.

Cool and cut into squares. Store in an airtight container.

Well, I’m getting there! About six months ago I discovered Physique 57. They have studios in big coastal cities and in places where really rich people live, like the Hamptons or Dubai. But they haven’t hit the DC area yet, so I sweat it out to the DVD collection and their online streaming. And it’s kind of addictive, mainly because I have muscles in places I never thought about before, and I really like that.

Anyway, I was working my abs to utter exhaustion the other morning when a recipe lightbulb went off in my head, apropos of absolutely nothing. I love it when that happens. It’s so random and so appreciated, like someone you don’t know about exists somewhere in your brain just to give you fun ideas. I love that someone!

That little voice in my head said, “What if you finally used those cinnamon chips in your pantry in a s’mores brownie?” Really. That’s what she said! And she gave me this vision of a cinnamon graham cracker topped with brownie marshmallowy goodness. And I was inspired, people.

Here’s the thing. Hershey’s makes these cinnamon chips. And I’d bought them and never used them. Finally, finally a chance! And they’re delicious. I had to stop myself and my kids from eating the whole bag before I baked with them.

The bottom is a layer of cinnamon graham cracker. Just that. No crumbly crust. Too much going on already, I say. Then you add the brownie, all filled with both cinnamon and mini chocolate chips. On top, another layer of the chips with mini-marshmallows. Gooey happiness!

The best part is, no mixer! That’s right. You can mix up the batter yourself and feel strong. Just like Madonna. See? I came full circle.

Take these to your next picnic or barbecue! They’re perfect in all their ooey gooey deliciousness.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour (I used oat flour, but regular is fine)
• 8 oz. cinnamon chips (Hershey brand)
• 8 oz. mini chocolate chips
• 1 cup miniature marshmallows
• cinnamon grahams (enough to fit the bottom of an 8 x 8 pan)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Coat an 8 x 8 pan with cooking spray.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix the cocoa into the melted butter until it dissolves. Add the sugar and stir again. When the sugar is incorporated, mix in the vanilla and eggs. Add the salt and flour, mixing until just combined. Fold in half of the cinnamon chips and half of the miniature chocolate chips.

Lay the cinnamon graham crackers on the bottom of your pan, sugary side up. Cover the entire surface area, even if some of the crackers overlap and you have to break them into uneven pieces.

Pour the brownie batter over the graham crackers, spreading the batter to the edges of the pan. Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle on the remaining cinnamon chips, miniature chocolate chips and the marshmallows. Put the brownies back in the oven for 10 minutes. Do not overbake.

Allow the brownies to cool (unless you just can’t, which is understandable). Cut into squares and serve!

A few years back, I almost got suckered into buying a s’mores kit. Have you seen them? They’re kind of awesome. There’s this little tiny fire pit (maybe two inches in diameter or so) in the middle of a circular tray that holds graham crackers, chocolate bars and marshmallows. You’re supposed to roast the marshmallow over the little fire and then put it all together.

Sounds good, no? Unless you’re me. See, I tried it, and then I set the marshmallow on fire. And then I screamed. A lot. Because fire terrifies me. Until my friend just looked at me and said, “I think you can blow that out.”

And you know what? She was right, and I did. And I screamed a little less the next time I made fire during an ill-advised foray into vodka sauce. But it was still traumatic.

As a result, I’ve become a big fan of marshmallow fluff. No need to roast a thing! True, it’s missing that campfire flavor, but better safe than sorry.

Besides, you won’t miss anything with these s’mores. A thick layer of Nutella cookie dough pairs with marshmallow fluff and graham crackers to make you happy. Why didn’t I think of this before? I’ve spent years spreading Nutella on graham crackers, but I never thought of the cookie dough until recently. It adds quite a bit of texture and tons of fun to the whole s’more experience!

And as always, this cookie dough is egg-free. Even better, the recipe is no-bake, perfect for warm weather! The recipe yields a lot of dough, so there’s plenty to eat off the spoon while you make the s’mores. Or, if you like, you can find other uses for the leftover dough. I’ll be posting one of those ideas Friday!

But focus for now on these. Because they’re easy and fun and the perfect way to usher in summer! It’s summer, right? Any day now? Hello?

And honestly, there’s no better way to celebrate camping season (and Nutella Week!) than with this cute riff on a classic favorite. Grab some of these and find a nice patch of grass somewhere!

Cookie Dough:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 1/4 cup Nutella
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk (I used two-percent)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup flour

You Also Need:

• 1 box plain graham crackers
• 1 jar marshmallow fluff (you will have plenty left)

Instructions:

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, Nutella and brown sugar until fluffy. Add the milk and vanilla and mix again. Add the flour gradually, beating until a soft, workable dough forms.

Take the graham crackers and break into squares. On one side of the graham cracker, spread a generous amount of fluff to cover the area of the cracker. On the other side, press about 1 and 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of cookie dough, working the dough toward the edges.

Place the two graham cracker sides together, pressing firmly, and set aside.

Note: if you want more marshmallow, spread a layer of fluff on both sides before pressing on the cookie dough.

When your s’mores are assembled, pipe some Nutella onto the tops just to be cute!