toasted marshmallow squares.

Hey guys ... I'm forcing myself to break away from buffers, muscle contraction, and fluids momentarily to bring you these delicious squares I recently made.

I needed to bake. You know that point when food becomes an emergency more than a want? Yeah. I needed to bake today, or else I don't even know. 

I'm planning on doing crazy, outrageous things after my MCAT .. like shopping. Responding to my friend's texts. Talking to my parents. Baking something interesting. And maybe, just maybe, getting my nails done. 

I hate getting my nails done. Well, I enjoy it, but I feel like I'm paying so much for something I could do equally as well. I really want to try the gradient trend ... we'll see. 

I wish there was more of a gradient in these squares. I forgot about the crust portion in the oven because I found out the episode of Suits that I'd missed was on ... I'm obsessed with that show. I blame my aunt for breaking my .. 6? 7? year streak of not watching TV. But it's totally fine, because I forgot how awesome some shows can be! (and how ridiculously terrible others can be). 

So the crust wasn't as chewy as it was probably meant to be, but it's still good (& buttery) all the same! There's a thin layer of dulce de leche spread atop the crust after it's removed from the oven and cooled a bit. Then, I cut JUMBO - and I mean enormous, they're 2x2" - marshmallows into four slices to place over the dulce de leche before broiling. 

The marshmallows get all oozy, soft, toasted, and golden. Yummmm. You could totally replace the dulce de leche with squares of dark chocolate or Nutella .. or jam or preserves. Go crazy, yo. Let that hair down and massage that scalp for some creative juice power. 

Let me know if you switch it around! Or if you think of something awesome for me to do to celebrate the end of my 3 month straight studying. 

I'm getting separation anxiety from my science workbook & I smell Famous Singha's pizza in the kitchen .. try this out, and enjoy! 

Toasted Marshmallow Squares
from joythebaker.

• 1 stick (4 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 
• 1 tspn vanilla 
• 1 egg yolk 
• 1 cup + 2 Tb all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling (I used half whole wheat) 
• 1/4 tspn salt 
• heaping 1/4 cup dulce de leche 
• marshmallows (can use mini - if using the bigger ones, consider cutting them with scissors to make flatter)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a square pan with foil so some of the foil goes up the sides and may hang over the edges. You want to be able to remove the cookie crust with the foil after its done baking.
2. Cream butter and sugar for about 3 minutes. 
3. Incorporate vanilla and egg yolk. 
4. Add flour and salt. Mix until blended. 
5. Turn out dough into the prepared pan. Sprinkle some flour over the top, and press out dough into pan with your fingers. 
6. Bake for about 20 minutes. The edges will be especially golden. 
7. Remove pan from oven, and after a couple minutes, remove the crust from the pan using the foil. Let cool a couple minutes. 
8. Transfer crust to a baking sheet (I just left the crust on the foil), and spread out the dulce de leche on top of the crust. Add as much dulce de leche as you want. Top with marshmallows. 
9. Broil for a couple seconds. Don't even close the oven door - seriously. Rotate the pan so the marshmallows get evenly toasted. 
10. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!