Golden bars with cherries, chocolate, graham crackers, and marshmallow swirl. Bright lift from cherry soda.
# Components:
→ Dry Ingredients
01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 teaspoon baking powder
03 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
04 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
→ Wet Ingredients
05 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
06 - 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
07 - 1/3 cup granulated sugar
08 - 2 large eggs, room temperature
09 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
10 - 1/3 cup cherry soda (not diet)
→ S'mores Mix-ins
11 - 1 cup pitted cherries, halved (fresh or frozen, thawed and drained)
12 - 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
13 - 1 cup mini marshmallows
14 - 1 cup graham crackers, roughly crushed
# Directions:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for lifting finished bars.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly blended.
03 - In a large bowl, whisk melted butter with both sugars until smooth and glossy. Incorporate eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Blend in the vanilla extract.
04 - Pour cherry soda into the wet mixture and stir gently until the texture is uniform.
05 - Carefully fold dry ingredients into the wet mixture just until no streaks remain. Avoid overmixing for tender blondies.
06 - Stir in cherries, chocolate chips, and half of the graham crackers. Distribute evenly throughout the batter.
07 - Spread batter into the prepared pan. Scatter remaining graham cracker pieces and mini marshmallows evenly over the surface.
08 - Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, until edges are golden and the center is just set. For extra gooey texture, bake toward the shorter time frame.
09 - Allow blondies to cool fully in the pan. Use parchment paper overhang to lift out, then slice into squares for serving.
