Frozen S’mores Bars
Celebrate warm summer days with this twist on a classic. These Frozen S’mores Bars are sure to be a hit in your family!
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We’re incredibly lucky to have a great daycare facility near our house. When Laura was pregnant, we checked out several local daycares/schools, and we picked one that happened to be closest to our house. I had a little bit of guilt about this at the time. Since I worked from home, I figured I should be able to watch Robbie at the same time. I mean, he could just sit next to my desk and play, right? Oh, how little I understood about kids back then!
Fast forward 2.5 years. That guilt about putting Robbie in daycare is completely gone. He loves his teachers, and he comes home everyday talking about what he learned. In fact, one of his former teachers is now our regular babysitter. And Robbie loves (I mean loves!) when she comes to play with him. His teachers send regular updates via an app (gotta love technology!), so we get to see photos of what he’s up to during the day. Back during the holidays, he baked us a pie. Seriously. I have pictures to prove it.
Since Robbie was ~2 years old at the time, baking a pie was out of the question. Instead, they created a no-bake pudding pie that just required a bit of mixing. Genius activity for a toddler! Robbie had a blast making his chocolate pudding pie. And knowing Robbie, he (maybe) took one bite of that pie before saying “all done.” (He apparently didn’t inherit his Dad’s sweet tooth!)
So I have to say that the inspiration for these Frozen S’mores Bars comes from Robbie. Pudding. I can’t remember the last time I made pudding. But pudding is delicious! So I decided to create Frozen S’mores Bars which featured a layer of chocolate fudge pudding on top of a graham cracker crust. Then I just mixed some marshmallow fluff with whipped topping to incorporate the marshmallow flavor and *boom* Frozen S’mores Bars. (On a side note, if you manage to scoop out a cup of marshmallow fluff without getting the stuff everywhere, then please share your secret!)
Since the days are warming up, I say it’s time to break into summer desserts! Now I’m not opposed to turning on the oven in the summer, but I do love a good frozen dessert. And these Frozen S’mores Bars are legit good! I would recommend serving these with a fork, though, as the marshmallow layer (even frozen) is still a bit sticky. Or you can just go all in and get marshmallow everywhere…that’s what the pool is for, right? Here’s to warmer days, long evenings on the backporch and delicious summer desserts! Enjoy these Frozen S’mores Bars, my friends!
Looking for more S’mores fun? Try one of these recipes!
S’mores Cheesecake
Cast Iron Skillet S’more
S’mores Ice Cream Sandwiches
Frozen S’mores Bars
Ingredients
- 15 whole graham crackers divided
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 4 oz. ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 3.9-oz. box chocolate instant pudding mix
- 2 cups milk
- 4 oz. cream cheese softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup marshmallow fluff
- 1 8-oz. container whipped topping, thawed
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line an 8”x8” baking tray with foil or parchment paper. Spray with cooking spray; set pan aside. (Tip: Use extra foil or parchment paper so that it hangs over both sides. This will make it easy to left the bars out of the pan later!)
- Using a food processor or mini-chopper, pulse 10 of the graham crackers until finely ground. Using a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar and melted butter; stir until well combined.
- Press graham cracker mixture into bottom of prepared pan. (Tip: Use a flat-bottomed glass to pack the crust mixture down evenly.)
- Bake crust for 15 minutes; remove from oven and let cool.
- Meanwhile, using a medium bowl, combine pudding mix and milk; whisk together until well combined and smooth. Place pudding mix in the refrigerator to chill for 5-10 minutes.
- Using a medium bowl, add cream cheese, powdered sugar, marshmallow fluff and whipped topping. Stir vigorously (or use an electric mixer) until mixture is smooth; set aside.
- Once the crust has cooled and pudding has set up, transfer pudding into pan with the crust. Use an offset spatula to spread the pudding evenly across crust.
- Spread the whipped topping mixture evenly on top of the pudding.
- Cover lightly and freeze for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Before serving, break the remaining 5 graham crackers into small pieces. Sprinkle graham crackers and chocolate chips evenly on top of bars.
- Lift the bars out of the pan and place on a large cutting board; slice into squares.
Notes
I have to believe it’s impossible not to make a mess with marshmallow fluff. I practically need a hazmat suit every time I open a jar! Good thing it’s delicious or I’d never use it 🙂 I love that you used instant pudding in these bars. One of my favorite childhood treats was pudding from a box–that stuff is good!
I’m so in agreement with you about the hazmat suite and marshmallow fluff. Come to think of it, a hazmat suit is a great idea…I might have to keep one handy for whenever I use marshmallow fluff in the future. I’m sure Laura won’t mind if I keep one of those hanging with the aprons! 🙂 Thanks, Kelsie!
I cant remember the last jar of marshmallow fluff I bought, but I’m itching to stop by the grocery today and get all of these ingredients. A hint of summer is all it takes to get me on the S’mores train – pinning so I can make these tonight! Thanks for the recipe and the adorable pie-making photos!
I don’t use marshmallow fluff all that often myself, Laura…but whenever I do, I always tell myself I should use it more. It’s such a fun way to bring marshmallow flavor into recipes without dealing with actual marshmallows! Definitely put these s’mores bars on your list…maybe for the long weekend coming up? 🙂
My friends have NO clue how lucky they’ll be when I make this soon 🙂
Hahaha! You’ll definitely have some lucky friends, Katherine…thank you!! 🙂
Little Robby is going to follow in his Daddy’s baking footsteps! This is a genius idea for summertime! All the best of summer frozen for a perfect hot summer’s day treat! Yum!!!
You are totally right, Kathy! I didn’t think about that, but Robbie really is kinda following in my footsteps. He loved mixing up that pie, too! 🙂 Thanks so much, my friend!
I think that’s brilliant that Robbie’s teachers send updates and photogrpahs of what he’s up to during the day! I’m going to suggest that my brother and his wife recommend something like that for their kids at their schools. And I love how the inspiration for these Frozen S’mores Bars comes from that time Robbie made pudding. Isn’t it great how we can get our inspiration from anywhere? Maybe one day these will be Robbie’s signature dish? 😀
I agree, Neil…and I love seeing the little alert pop up on my phone saying that there is a new update or photo of Robbie. It’s so awesome that I can stay up to date on what the little guy is doing at school each day. 🙂 (For the record, the program/app is called Brightwheel.) And who would’ve thought that those updates would’ve led to recipe inspiration here? But I’m glad they did because these smores bars are delicious! And all thanks to Robbie!
You really were clever with this dessert…it sounds like a great idea.
Thanks so much, Karen…I love these s’mores bars! They’re perfect for warm summer days for sure. 🙂
2,5 and already making a no bake pudding cake? Don’t you think you’ll get a new food blogger competing with you in a few years? And for the records, if Robbie likes lavender more than his dad, my loyalty to spicedblog might be compromised, David:) But you’re safe for now. And this dessert sounds delicious. I’m honestly a bit biased against cake/pudding etc mixes/boxes, but this chocolate layer looks luscious and rich that I’d give it a try!
You know, you make a good point, Ben! Maybe I’ll have to help Robbie set up his own recipe blog. No competition, though. I prefer to think that we’ll be working together. 🙂 And maybe the little guy will like lavender? I’ll have to find out!
On a side note, I stepped into a lavender store this past week when we were in Venice, and I totally thought of you. Everything in the store included lavender…it was like your heaven! Haha!
Hi David 🙂
I love that you are enjoying dropping Robbie off at day care, it seems like he loves it also. If Robbie is happy everyone is happy. OMG he’s getting so big and he’s such a darn cute 🙂 Somebody loves making chocolate pudding pie
Robbie really does enjoy going to day care. I mean some days he fights it a little bit, but then again he’s a 2-year-old…some days he fights everything! He really is a cute kid, and I love when he helps me cook. 🙂 I think chocolate pie is going to be his signature recipe!
I can’t wait to make this! Super easy recipe!
Thanks so much, Leo!
I was working with one of the leading Insurance Company where post my delivery my Boss told me to join back when my daughter was only 6 months old, and that is when I decided to leave the job and work for myself while taking care of my daughter too. So that is when the journey of my Food Blogging began.
BTW, Little Chef Robbie is looking too cute David. Glad that you are relaxed that Robbie is enjoying going Daycare. After all kids happiness is important to us.
BTW these frozen smores bars sound yummy. 🙂
Hey there, Puja! It really is funny how we all take different but similar paths to the world of food blogging. And I must admit that I really enjoy having the flexibility now. I can take time off whenever I need to take Robbie to a doctor…or just play “hooky” for the afternoon! 🙂 Chef Robbie is going to have to start making me dinner one of these days…haha! Thanks so much, my friend!
Dude! I missed some seriously delicious desserts! You were on a roll with that strawberry cake roll, those glazed blueberry crullers and now this frozen s’mores pie! GOSH! My drone would have gotten a workout had I chosen not to kinda unplug on our trip last week! This looks so good – sorry I cannot help you with tips on getting marshmallow fluff out without making a mess – but I could help you and Laura eat this seeing Robbie doesn’t have a sweet tooth! Speaking of Robbie – OH MY – those pictures of him making that pie are too too cute! And he’s 2 and cooking up a storm! He might not have inherited your sweet tooth but he looks to have inherited your cooking bug! Also – I cannot leave without saying this line “I mean, he could just sit next to my desk and play, right? Oh, how little I understood about kids back then! ” had me LOLing!!! Haha!
Haha…I know, I know. I think my hankering for summer desserts got the best of me there, Shashi. Oops. Too bad you and Lil Shashi weren’t around to help me polish these off!
I absolutely love those photos of Robbie making his pie. The photos are a couple months old, but they’re still some of my favorites. Now I just need to put the little guy to work in my kitchen…with his sous chef t-shirt! 🙂