Marshmallow Brownies

These aren’t traditional brownies built on cocoa or melted chocolate. The base is butterscotch: melted butterscotch chips and butter cooled slightly, then beaten with eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla into a caramel-colored batter. The chocolate shows up as whole chips folded in, so you get distinct pockets of melted chocolate rather than a uniform chocolate flavor.

Two cups of mini marshmallows mixed into the batter melt during baking and create gooey, stretchy streaks throughout each brownie. They also keep the interior soft and chewy long after the brownies cool. Chopped walnuts add the crunch that balances all that soft sweetness.

The lower baking temperature matters. At 325°F, the brownies bake slowly enough for the marshmallows to melt evenly and the butterscotch base to set without the edges getting too dark. Test with a toothpick at 25 minutes. You want it to come out clean but not dry.

Chef Tips

• Cool the melted butterscotch mixture for a full 10 minutes before adding the eggs. Hot butterscotch scrambles eggs instantly.
• Fold the marshmallows, chips, and nuts in by hand with a spatula, not with the mixer. The mixer crushes the marshmallows.
• Grease the pan well. Melted marshmallows fuse to bare metal and make removal nearly impossible.
• Cool completely before cutting. Warm marshmallow brownies are gooey and fall apart. Cooled, they hold a clean edge.

Variations

• Swap butterscotch chips for peanut butter chips for a peanut butter-chocolate-marshmallow combination.
• Use pecans instead of walnuts for a sweeter, more buttery nut flavor.
• Press a few extra marshmallows on top during the last 5 minutes of baking for a toasted marshmallow crust.