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Recipe for S'mores Bars called for melting milk chocolate chips on top of previously baked marshmallows (on top of graham cracker crust). Oven at 350F.

My chocolate didn't melt, and the bars don't hold together.

I used homemade marshmallows, which are quite a bit lighter and more delicate than commercial. I substituted some bittersweet chocolate that I had on hand, which was a bit old.

I haven't tried anything yet to fix it. Tastes great but it's not a bar, more of a crumbly topping at this point. Is there any way to fix it? Melt some milk choc chips separately and pour/spread on top of the bittersweet?

It's not a typical situation of 'seizing' since I wasn't heating and stirring it separately.

Anastasia Zendaya
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Barbara
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    What did you do to melt it? – Sneftel Mar 28 '21 at 21:49
  • I put it on top of the marshmallows+graham cracker crust, then in the oven at 350 for 10 min, per recipe. And then 4 min more when I saw it hadn't melted. – Barbara Mar 28 '21 at 22:11
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    Are you sure it didn’t melt. Chocolate can retain it’s shape even when it’s melted. Did you try to spread it? – Debbie M. Mar 29 '21 at 04:06
  • Didn't try to spread it while it was hot. It crumbles off the marshmallow now, so it's def not melted. – Barbara Mar 29 '21 at 13:02
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    If it is crumby, then it did melt and seize - seizing doesn't have anything to do with stirring separately. Is the texture like a normal, freshly-unpacked block of chocolate, and you are just saying that it "crumbles" because you have chopped it and the chopped pieces fall off, or is the internal structure of the chocolate dry and crumbly? Also, what was the exact type of product you used? There are chocolate blocks sold for eating, e.g. "Lindt excellence", then there are chocolate glazes sold as blocks, and there are also other products, and people sometimes call all of them "chocolate". – rumtscho Mar 29 '21 at 14:14
  • See also [Should I have been able to melt white chocolate and marshmallows together?](https://cooking.stackexchange.com/q/114024/20413) (my question) – Chris H Dec 24 '21 at 16:33

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Assuming the chocolate really hasn't melted at all, I would just remove it and melt it seperately before pouring it back on top so it can actually combine with the marshmallows.

If it sort of fused with the marshmallows, I would consider getting more to just put on top, depending on how well the not-melted chocolate covers the marshmallows. If the newly melted chocolate can't reach the marshmallow, it'll still just fall apart after the 2nd batch of chocolate cools.

Melon Dusk
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I've had a nearly identical problem with a recipe in which you're supposed to melt chocolate on top of shortbread, and then adhere chopped nuts on top.

I suspect that the problem is in the additives that can be in chocolate chips to help them maintain their shape is preventing them from melting at 350°F. After some time, they can be spread with an offset spatula, but you have to get the timing just right when it's able to be spread (without tearing up the shortbread underneath), and before it starts to seize.

Chopping up chocolate bars seems to work better than chips, but I haven't done a side-by side comparison. I also haven't tested if chips made without emulsifiers or gums melt more easily than the standard ones, or if there might be some issue with how I store my chocolate. (as I'll often stock up during sales, and then make these for christmas gifts)

Joe
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