S'mores Bars with Marshmallow Meringue

Cheryl Day, pastry chef and co-owner of Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, Georgia, makes a delightful baked good out of a classic campfire treat: s’mores. A buttery graham cracker crust is topped with a layer of chocolatey brownies and finished with airy meringue. We adapted her recipe from her latest book, “Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking,” scaling back the ingredients to make a smaller batch. The crust calls for store-bought graham cracker crumbs, but if you prefer to start with whole graham crackers, to make the right amount of crumbs for the recipe, break 16 crackers into a food processor and blitz them until finely pulverized. A kitchen torch is the best and easiest way to toast the meringue, but a broiler works in a pinch. However, if using the broiler, be sure you carefully monitor browning because the meringue can go from perfectly toasted to scorched in a matter of seconds. Also, if broiled, the bars need to be served within a couple hours or the meringue will begin to weep. Otherwise, the bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to two days; bring to room temperature before serving.