White Chocolate Cranberry S'mores Cracker Candy.

Sometimes, during those long days when I hit a life rut, I think about writing a cookbook... because that's a thing people do and it helps me focus on what I love. 

Like toppling cupcake towers over.

And browning butter. 

And making stacks of graham cracker candy.

I think it would be full of imperfect bundt cakes... because I don't have the patience to sift powdered sugar.

I would stuff peanut butter cups inside cupcakes... because even a plain vanilla cupcake is capable of being something extraordinary.

It would probably be called Stacks on a Cake Stand... because that's my style. It's who I am. Own it!

And be real: there would be an entire chapter on brown butter. 

We learn who we are by doing the things we love. 

Baking teaches me that magic happens when you least expect it... usually right before you give up. Molasses and sugar become brown sugar, butter finally browns, and butter and sugar become smooth vanilla frosting. It teaches me to follow that thought that wonders if there's such a thing as a white chocolate cranberry s'more... or if you can ever really have too many cake stands. 

It teaches me that comparison truly takes the joy out of the things you love. Be you! 

Running teaches me to keep moving forward, one step at a time... and it teaches me that I'm capable of anything. I can beat my last mile time. I can run at 6 MPH without falling flat on my face. I can shut down that voice that tells me to slow down or give up. I'm stronger than I think and the good things I want in my life are worth fighting for.

Too deep? Let's talk brown sugar and graham crackers. 

One of my favorites things to bake is cracker candy. The possibilities are endless! A bubbling, caramel-toffee glaze of butter and brown sugar poured over a layer of salty-sweet crackers is the perfect blank canvas for any flavor, holiday, or season. 

Just look at all the combinations I've made so far...

Saltines + chocolate + crushed almonds     =      chocolate almond cracker candy 

(Every Christmas I bake at least two batches... it's my most requested holiday treat!)

Graham crackers + marshmallows + M&M candies      =      Christmas s'mores candy

Buttery Club crackers + chocolate + peanut butter chips + sea salt     =     salt river bars

Graham crackers + marshmallows + Hersheys chocolate     =     graham cracker s'mores candy

(my most popular and most pinned recipe!)

Cinnamon graham crackers + pumpkin spice marshmallows + white chocolate + toasted pecans     =     pumpkin spice s'mores cracker candy

(I love this combination... and it's the first thing I baked in my new apartment last fall!)

Today's combination is inspired by fall... and one of my favorite seasonal flavors (besides pumpkin!): white chocolate cranberry. Maybe I'm just ready for Christmas and cranberry bliss bars. Either way, let's make white chocolate cranberry s'mores a thing. 

This is what I imagine fall looks like.

Graham crackers covered in that sugary-rich toffee glaze and sprinkled with puffy marshmallows, white chocolate chips, tart dried cranberries, and toasted pecans.

So addicting, as rich as fudge, full of fall flavor, and as easy as melting butter, sugar, and sprinkling everything ever over graham crackers. 

This is fall baking. In and out... and out the door to find pumpkin spice lattes.  

 White Chocolate Cranberry S'mores Cracker Candy

Printable Recipe 

12 sheets of graham crackers
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 cups mini marshmallows
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan with aluminum foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang over the ends, and spray foil with cooking spray. Line graham crackers up on the foil so that the sides are touching.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and mixture comes just to a boil (about 4-6 minutes). Remove from heat and pour evenly over crackers. Bake 5 to 6 minutes, or until bubbly.

Remove pan from oven and immediately sprinkle mini marshmallows, white chocolate chips, pecans, and dried cranberries over the crackers. 

Return pan to oven for another 2-3 minutes, or until marshmallows begin to soften and puff up. 

Cool completely. Lift from pan using foil edges; cut into bars and enjoy!

Source: Inspired by my graham cracker s'mores candy. 

Graham Cracker S'mores Candy.

It's summertime! Let's make s'mores. 

But let's be different. 

Let's melt butter and homemade brown sugar and pour that creamy, caramel deliciousness over a layer of crunchy graham crackers.

And then bake it. 

Until it's almost worth burning your fingertips to shove a bubbling caramel sauce-drenched graham cracker into your face.

Side note: "Stir continuously" does not mean "leave your wooden spoon in the saucepan and stop stirring long enough to take a find your camera, find your memory card, and take a picture of melting butter and sugar, simply because it looks so good you want to rub it on your face." Who does that. I do that.

Anyway.

Since we've already established that bikinis are stupid, let's throw fistfuls of broken Hershey bars and chocolate chips and marshmallows over the top and bake it s'more. 

Heaven.

Make this. 

S'mores Cracker Candy

Printable Recipe

12 sheets of graham crackers

3/4 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 cups mini marshmallows

4 Hershey bars, broken into pieces

1 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan with aluminum foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang over the ends, and spray foil with cooking spray. Line graham crackers up on the foil so that the sides are touching.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and brown sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and mixture comes just to a boil (about 4-6 minutes). Remove from heat and pour evenly over crackers. Bake 5 to 6 minutes, or until bubbly.

Remove pan from oven and immediately sprinkle mini marshmallows, chocolate bar pieces, and chocolate chips over the crackers. 

Return pan to oven for another 2-3 minutes, or until marshmallows begin to soften and puff up. 

Cool completely. Lift from pan using foil edges; cut into bars and enjoy!

Source: Stefanie's Cooking Spot. 

Salt River Bars.

What's a salt river bar?

I have no idea. 

But as far as I can tell, it's a famously sold confection in Gilbert, Arizona's Liberty Market, somewhat close to the Salt River... either that, or they get their name from the "rivers" the chocolate makes as it begins to melt. And, you know, the salt.

Or maybe Chocolate Peanut Butter Caramel Crunch Bars was too long of a name.  

Like I said. No idea. 

But I do know that they're decadent, rich, life-changing, and dangerously addicting. 

No really.

Three layers of buttery crackers, peanut butter chips, and brown sugar caramel, topped with a thick, fudgy layer of melted chocolate, sprinkled with sea salt.

I might have just died a little.

These are similar to the chocolate almond cracker candy & the Christmas s'mores I posted about in December... but better. 

Because there's three deliciously sweet layers.

Of peanut butter. 

My work here is done.

Salt River Bars

Printable Recipe

1 box Club crackers
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Coarse sea salt

Line an 8x8-inch pan with foil, allowing the edges to hang over the side, and lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Place 15 crackers in the bottom of the pan (3 rows of 5). For three layers, divide the peanut butter chips into thirds and sprinkle 1/3 over the crackers.

Melt butter and brown sugar in a pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until bubbly and smooth and a creamy caramel color, about 4 minutes. Pour 1/3 of the caramel over the peanut butter chips and crackers, then add another layer of crackers, peanut butter chips, and caramel, then repeat again for the third layer, topping the last layer with crackers.

Melt the chocolate chips and pour over the crackers, spreading evenly.

See? Chocolate rivers.

Sprinkle coarse sea salt over the top.

Allow chocolate to being setting up in refrigerator (about 20 minutes), then lightly cut through the partially-set chocolate (to make it easier to cut after it cools completely). Place bars back into the fridge. Once cooled completely, gently remove bars by lifting out foil. Cut accordingly and serve.

*If you want to make this in a 9x13-inch pan, add about a half more of everything in measurements.