Rocky Ledge Bars

Man, it is good to be back in the kitchen baking again.  This is one of the first recipes I read after I returned to China and I made it shortly after I got back.  I picked out this Rocky Ledge Bar recipe from Martha Stewart's cookie book.  I love that book and you should buy it.  Seriously... Almost all of the recipes I have tried in the book thus far have been pretty good.  It is an excellent place to start in the world of baking if nothing else.  So enough with me selling the book, let's move on to baking! 
 

Ingredients
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon course salt
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup butterscotch chips
18 soft caramel-candy cubes, coarsely chopped

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F,  Lightly butter a 8 by 13-inch baking pan.  Line with parchment, allowing a 2-inch overhang on the longer sides.  Brush parchment with butter (not the overhang).
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.  Using a wooden spoon, mix butter and brown sugar in a medium bowl until fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add eggs and vanilla; mix until well combined.  Fold in half of each of the marshmallows, chocolates, butterscotch chips, and caramel.
3. Spread batter in prepared pan.  Scatter remaining marshmallows, chocolates, butterscotch chips, and caramels on top.  Bake until top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean,  about 35 minutes (I baked it about 30 minutes**) Let cool on a wire rack.  Lift out of pan, and transfer to a baking sheet.  Refrigerate until set, at least 30 minutes.
4. Remove parchment, and cut into about 16 triangles.  Bars can be stored in a airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

The learning issue for this post is slightly random as usual.  However, I haven't used marshmallows in a while and all of sudden they are everywhere in my recipes.  I was wondering what makes a marshmallow and why is it so marshmallowy.

Marshmallows were originally named from the inclusion of marshmallow root in the recipe. Below is a picture of marshmallow root from spiceworld.uk.com. 

The root itself is said to be medicinal and it is said to sooth the throat.  So the original marshmallows made were actually throat lozenges.  What an awesome throat lozenge right?  Candy and no more sore throat= wow!  The use of the marshmallow dates all the way back to Egypt.  In modern times, the marshmallow root has been replaced by unflavored gelatin.  Other ingredients in marshmallows are: corn syrup, sugar, water, and vanilla.

So to evaluate this recipe now. These Rocky Ledge Bars get 4.0 stars out of 5 stars in my book.  The combo of marshmallows, chocolate, butterscotch and caramel are to die for.  Think ooey goey cookie that pull apart with caramel and marshmallow dripping at the sides.  The best part about these brownie type cookie is that it is incredibly easy to make.  It is one of those mix and go recipes.  I will definitely make these again.  I didn't rate these brownies higher though because the cookie itself could be more moist and the brownie itself leaves something to be desired.  If I were to make these again, I would possibly layer the caramel in a different place and possibly change the dough itself.  I would not change the mix in contents of these brownies.  Happy Baking!