Vegan Peanut Butter S’mores Bars

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease the bottom and all sides of an 8" x 8" square pan with vegan butter or shortening. Cut 2 pieces of parchment to 8"x16" which will leave about a 2-inch overhang on all sides of the pan to act as handles to lift out the finished bars. Press in one piece of parchment then lightly grease the top of it before laying the second piece of parchment over it in the opposite direction. Greasing the pan and parchment will keep the parchment from sliding around. Cut a third piece of parchment to 8"x16" and place into bottom of the pan. This will be for the forming the top crust.

In a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or a hand mixer, cream together softened vegan butter alternative and brown sugar until fluffy, about 1 minute. Beat in maple syrup, vanilla extract and 3 tablespoons of the milk until evenly combined, about 30 seconds. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Add dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until combined, about 1 minute. If mixture seemed too dry, mix in remaining 1 tablespoon of milk to form a thick cookie dough that holds together. Divide dough in half and press one half of the dough into one smooth even layer into the bottom of the prepared pan. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Then lift out the crust using the top piece of parchment paper. Set top crust aside for later.

Press the other half of the dough into the pan in the same manner as above to form the bottom crust and prick with a fork as above. Pre-bake bottom crust at 350F for 10 minutes. Then remove from oven. Unwrap chocolate bars and place onto the bottom crust. The chocolate will start to melt, which is ok. Melt peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds in heat safe glass measuring cup or in a double boiler, to help make it easy to pour and spread. Pour peanut butter over chocolate bars and spread with an offset spatula. It is ok if peanut butter and chocolate start to mix.

Top peanut butter layer with marshmallows or spread with marshmallow creme. Place the top crust you made over the marshmallows by sliding it off of the parchment and onto the marshmallow layer. Bake bars at 350F for 20-25 minutes, until top crust is golden brown. Then remove pan from the oven and cool bars in the pan on a cooling rack to room temperature. Run a knife along the edges to loosen sides then lift bars out of the pan using the parchment overhangs. Cut into 16 2" bars and serve at room temp or slightly warm.