Marshmallow and Jam Blondies

I'm back!  I'm back!  Didya' miss me? (please say yes).  Phew, these last weeks were somethin' else.  

Weddings are weird.  We spent nearly a year planning a wedding and then poof, it's over.  The last few days I would catch myself mindlessly thinking about what I needed to still do for the wedding before I realized "Oh right, I'm already married."  

All in all, everything really went off without a hitch.  Everyone kept trying to prepare me that something might go wrong but "none of it matters and everything will happen the way it should and just don't worry and everything will be taken care of."  And ya know what?  They were right.  

Aside from marrying the man of my dreams, the wedding was so special because I was in awe all night long just looking around the room and realizing that everyone was in attendance to support Eric and me (me and Eric?  Eric and myself?).  There was so much love and support in that room.  I spent the day surrounded by the loveliest bridesmaids in history and gave more hugs and "thank you's" than I can count.  It was perfect.  

I was a bit tired and hungry by 2am.....

And if you're planning a wedding at the moment, may I make a suggestion?  Photo Booth.  Do it.  I almost didn't but I'm sure glad I did.  We got TONS of the funniest photos of nearly everyone in attendance.  I've already put the photos in a collage in a huge frame that will hang in our living room.  I smile everytime I look at it.  

Another suggestion?  Late night McDonald's after the party.>>>>>>>  

In the days leading up to the wedding, I didn't do much baking because duh.  The thing is, I actually wasn't very busy in the weeks before the wedding since I had finished much of the errands about 2 weeks before.   I just felt like I was still thinking about every silly detail, I didn't have it in me to head to the kitchen.  So what I'm saying is, I'm fooling you with an old recipe.  

I've got a secret stash of recipes that I haven't had time to post and I'll be hauling them out in the next few weeks while I get busy back in the kitchen again.  I've got a recipe list a mile long that I can't wait to tackle.  

As for the bars, this idea came to me one day after I toasted some marshmallows on my stovetop for a snack.  Not a behavior that I'm particularly proud of but I have no regrets!  Toasted marshmallows are a quick, warm, delicious treat.  So what better than to add other good things for a gooey sweet mess?  

Here's the recipe! 

Toasted Marshmallow and Jam Blondies
makes 12-16 bars

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup raspberry (or your favorite) jam
• about 1 cup large marshmallows, each sliced in half  

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9"x13" pan with cooking spray and set aside.  

2.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder and salt.  Set aside. 

3.  In a large bowl, whisk melted butter brown sugar until well combined.  Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until thick and glossy.  Add the dry ingredients and fold until just combined.  

4.  Add about 2/3 of the batter in the prepared pan and smooth into a single layer.  Using an offset spatula, spread the jam over the batter, leaving about 1/2 inch border around the pan.  Arrange the marshmallows in a single layer over the jam.  Dot the remaining batter over the top, smooshing it together a bit.  It shouldn't fully cover the pan and you should have some exposed marshmallows (that's how they get toasty!). 

5.  Bake 25 minutes until batter looks a bit cracked and firm and marshmallows look toasty.  Allow to cool completely for easy slicing (or eat immediately for a gooey mess).  

Enjoy! 

Recipe adapted from Brown Eyed Baker.