Cherry Pie Larabars! ....and Gourmet S'mores!

So, my friend Karen's birthday was this week, and I wanted to make her something special!

One of her favorite things is S'mores- (and really, who doesn't love them) so I started brainstorming ideas to come up with a good treat....

So, essentially, this is homemade. I made homemade marshmallows, homemade graham crackers, then bought some good chocolate bars.

These marshmallows were not NEARLY as difficult as I imagined they would be, as a matter of fact, they were quite easy to make!! These will definitely be on my Christmas "to make" gift list (and maybe on yours too when you see how easy they are!).... I am planning on trying a few different flavors too- maybe peppermint, or vanilla bean.....

The graham crackers were easy as well!! There was a variation for cinnamon sugar topping, I will make them again with the topping when I'm not making them for S'mores!! I was so pleased with how delicious they tasted!!

So I wrapped up the marshmallows in cellophane and attempted to make a cute tag. I am SO not crafty.

Same with the grahams....

The I bought some milk and dark chocolate bars from Trader Joe's (I personally LOVE milk chocolate, but dark is good too, especially in sweeter desserts)

Added a few skewers, and wrapped it all up with cellophane:

I will be sharing the recipes for the marshmallows and graham crackers later this week!! I am so excited to be able to make marshmallows, I have all sorts of ideas for gifts using the marshmallows.

So, I also made another type of Larabar yesterday!! The Cherry Pie flavor- they turned out GREAT!!!!!

For detailed instructions on how to make the Larabars- (it's EASY don't be afraid!) see this post: Make Your Own Larabars

For these you need:

• 3/4 cup that's 1/2 full of chopped dates, and 1/2 full of dried cherries
• 1/2 cup almonds (I got the slivered blanched)
• I used a pinch of sea salt

Roughly chop the dates. I didn't do anything to the cherries. They were AWESOME just on their own. I know, because I kept eating them as I was making these!

The almonds after their run through the food processor

The cherry/date paste

I chose these cherries because they didn't have any added sugar. Check the labels if you want your Larabars to be natural and no added sugar. A lot of dried fruit has a TON of sugar. (If I'm going to eat sugar, I want it to be Red Vines or Swedish Fish.....)

So excited to have another flavor!! I am going to try another flavor next week!! What is your favorite flavor of Larabar?? Please share!!!!!

Also, if you've completed either of the Spring Cleaning projects, share your progress!! :)

DINNER TONIGHT:

Quick and Spicy Tomato Soup (from the last freezer cooking day)

Homemade Croutons (I will make them large to go on top of the soup)

Strawberries

Salad