Marshmallow Brownie Bars

Oh. My. Goodness.

A. is the one who gets credit for discovering this one. Borders serves a pretty mean marshmallow-brownie confection in its coffeeshop. The first time he saw the treat, my smart boyfriend thought, "Hmm. That is probably tasty in its cooled, stable form, but I bet it would be delicious if I heated it up." He was right: it was delicious, gooey, chocolatey, marshmallowy, and perfect to split over good books (and a glass of milk, of course). When he shared his discovery with me, I ate, enjoyed, considered, and promised him I would make him a whole tray of these delights. It couldn't be that hard, right?

I have never been so happy to be right. Approximate directions follow:

Marshmallow Brownie Bars
1/2 bag of chocolate chips (in two 1/4 portions)
1/2 bag of mini marshmallows
Your favorite brownie recipe

Make brownies as you usually would, only adding one portion of the chocolate chips to your usual batter. Once brownies are fully baked, remove from oven, and mix together remaining chips and all marshmallows. Toss evenly over top of brownies. Let melt together. Cool if desired (these suckers are slippery when they're warm), but definitely reheat for ~15 seconds in the microwave before you enjoy.

I might add, this is the second recipe I've gotten a proposal out of. The first was a flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce--dark, rich, so very worth the money sunk into good chocolate. You can make this with slightly cheaper stuff: store-brand marshmallows, box brownie mix. For a richer treat, use less sweet chocolate chips. I pulled out the Ghirardelli 60% Cacao option for this, and it really turned out nicely.