If you and your family love S’mores, you’re going to go gaga over this yummy S’mores cookie recipe. Every single bit has gooey chocolate chips, graham cracker crumbs, and toasted marshmallows. The edges are super crisp, and the centers are perfectly chewy. These cookies are as tasty as a chocolate chip cookie, but they’re at a whole different level from a chocolate chip cookie.
It’s such fun to gather around a campfire and make S’mores with marshmallows, graham crackers, and a chocolate bar. But if you can’t build a campfire when the S’mores craving hits you, no problem! Just make this cookie recipe for that sweet nostalgic flavor that you can enjoy at any time.
This cookie recipe uses brown butter, which adds a delightful toffee flavor to the cookies. It takes just a few minutes to make brown butter, but it changes everything, so don’t skip that step. Just before baking the cookies, add a miniature marshmallow and some chocolate chips to the tops of the cookies.
Browning the Butter
When marshmallows are heated, the sugar inside of them becomes toffee-like in texture and flavor. Using browned butter to make the cookie batter gives even more of this flavor. To make browned butter, melt unsalted butter until you start to smell a nutty aroma. The butter will turn into a rich, golden liquid. Don’t use salted butter for these S’mores cookies.
Once the milk solids begin to toast, they add even more flavor to your cookies. To keep the butter from curdling, set aside some of the cold butter to quickly reduce the butter’s temperature before you add it to the egg mixture.
Selecting the Sugar
For this cookie recipe, you need two types of sugar: white granulated sugar and dark brown sugar. The dark brown sugar also helps the cookies stay moist when they’re cooked. The granulated white sugar gives the cookies structure and a crispy border.
Mixing the Sugars, Butter, and Eggs
Add the butter to the sugars in the stand mixer while it’s still warm. This will help the sucrose to break down into fructose and glucose, which are monosaccharides that will caramelize when mixed at decreased temperatures.
Eggs add richness and the air you need for cookies. It’s important to follow the process of mixing for 30 seconds, then allowing the mixture to rest for 3 minutes. This helps the sugars completely break down.
Adding the Dry Ingredients
To get more of the graham cracker flavor into your cookies, you need to thoroughly crumble the graham crackers and add them to the all-purpose flour. Chunky graham cracker crumbs add another layer of texture to your cookies. If you want finely crushed graham crackers, that works, too. Stir the dry ingredient mixture into the butter mixture gently.
Selecting the Chocolate
For this recipe, we use chocolate chips. You can use either semi-sweet dark chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips. Milk chocolate chips are sweeter. You can also use chocolate chunks.
Avoid Overdoing it with Marshmallows
Miniature marshmallows are the best ones for this recipe. When they are exposed to the surface of the cookies, the toasted marshmallow melts while it bakes. When the sugar dissolves and caramelizes, little puddles of toffee form around the edges of the cookies. Just one melty marshmallow added to the center of each cookie is all you need to get the S’mores look and flavor.
Mixing and Chilling the Dough
Before you can shape your cookies, the dough needs to be cooled completely. You can do this in the refrigerator or the freezer. When the cookie dough is cold enough, it will be firm to the touch.
Portioning the Cookies
Once your cookie dough is cold, use 3 tablespoons of the dough to make dough balls. This gives you a large cookie with soft centers and crispy edges.
Once you’ve shaped your cookies, add a marshmallow, some graham cracker pieces, and chocolate chips on top.
Tips for Baking
If you prepare the dough in advance, let it sit for a few minutes at room temperature before baking. Bake the cookies on a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet.
Don’t overcrowd your cookies because they expand a lot during cooking. You want just 8 cookies on a large cookie sheet.
FAQ
How do you stop the marshmallows from melting inside the cookies?
Marshmallows that touch the hot baking pan will melt and become toffee-like. Try placing one miniature marshmallow atop the cookie dough balls before you bake the cookies. This gooey marshmallow will turn golden brown in color as it expands, and it won’t completely melt.
Can I stuff my S’mores cookies?
Sure you can! You can add a little surprise to the center of your cookies by stuffing them with a small chocolate bar, a tiny piece of graham cracker, or a few miniature marshmallows. If you use marshmallows, omit the marshmallows that the recipe calls for.
Can you reheat the S’mores cookies?
These cookies are best served slightly warm, and you can reheat them easily. For a couple of cookies, reheat them in the microwave in increments of 5 seconds until they’re warm and gooey. You can also reheat them in the oven. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and bake the cookies for 5 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit (149 degrees Celsius).
S’mores Cookies
With these delicious S'mores cookies, you don't even need a campfire. The cookies are made with chocolate chips, crumbled graham crackers, and creamy toasted marshmallows.
1cupminiature marshmallowsplus about 1/2 cup more for topping
1.5cupsmilk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chipsdivided
Instructions
Preheat Your Oven – Put the oven's rack in the center position. Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (191 degrees Celsius).
Mix Together the Dry Ingredients – Whisk together in a medium bowl 3/4 cup of crumbled graham crackers, the flour, and the baking soda. Set this mixture aside.
Brown the 14 Tablespoons of Butter – Cut the sticks of butter into 14 pieces evenly sized. Melt 10 of the butter slices in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl constantly, so the butter is evenly melted. As you cook and stir, scrape the skillet's bottom with a spatula until the butter starts to develop a nutty aroma and turn golden brown. This process will take between 1 and 2 minutes.
Remove from Heat – Turn off the burner and remove the skillet from the stovetop. Stir in the 4 tablespoons of the remaining butter until it melts completely.
Combine the Sugars and Butter – Insert a whisk attachment into a stand mixer. Add the melted butter to the bowl. Then, add the white granulated sugar, brown sugar, pure vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk the sugars and butter for 30 seconds on medium speed until they are combined.
Add the Eggs – Add the egg yolk and the large whole egg to the mixer's bowl. At medium-high speed, whisk the eggs into the sugar and butter mixture until there are no more sugar lumps. This will take about 30 seconds. Allow the mixture to stand in the bowl for 3 minutes.
Repeat the Process – Repeat the resting and whisking process 3 more times. Continue with 30-second mixing and 3 minutes for resting. After you've done this process 4 times, the cooking mixture will be smooth, thick, and shiny.
Add the Rest of the Dry Ingredients – Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to stir the flour mixture into the sugars and butter just until combined. It will take approximately 1 minute. Then, stir in the miniature marshmallows and 1 1/4 cups of the semi-sweet chocolate chips. Stir the dough to make sure there are no remaining flour pockets.
Allow the Dough to Chill – Put the mixer bowl in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes so the dough can chill. Alternatively, you can put the dough in the freezer for about 15 minutes. The dough needs to come to the temperature of 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit (18-21 degrees Celsius). The texture of the dough shouldn't be too sticky.
Form the Dough Balls – Once the dough has chilled, pull it from the fridge and use a cookie scoop to divide it into 16 portions. Every portion will be approximately 3 tablespoons of cookie dough (2 ounces). Roll each portion into a cookie dough ball. If the cookie dough begins to get sticky or feel warm, put it back into the fridge for 15 minutes.
Enhancing the Look of the Cookies – To make your cookies appear to be more rustic, you can tear the dough balls into two halves. Then, press the halves together so that the torn sides face upward, exposing the chocolate chips. Shape the dough sides back into the shape of a circle.
Garnish the Cookies – Put 1 mini marshmallow into each dough ball's center, along with some of the remaining crushed graham cracker crumbs and chocolate chips. You want them to pop out of the cookie's surface.
Arrange the Cookie Dough – Put the cookies minimally 2 inches apart onto a lined cookie sheet. Place 8 cookies per cookie sheet. If you use smaller cookie sheets, you'll have to bake your cookies in 3 batches. By the time you place the cookie sheets into the oven, the cookie dough should be close to room temperature or slightly below so that they cook evenly.
Bake the Cookies – Bake one sheet of cookies at a time for 5 minutes in your oven's center position, then rotate the cookie sheet. Continue baking for about 5-7 more minutes until the cookie centers look just slightly underdone and the cookie edges turn golden brown.
Cool to Room Temperature – The cookies' color will become darker as they cool. Put the cookie sheet on a wire rack and allow the cookies to cool for between 20 and 30 minutes.
Repeat the Process – Repeat the process with the remaining cookie sheet. Be sure to allow the oven to return to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (191 degrees Celsius) before adding another cookie sheet to the oven.
Notes
Storing baked cookies: You can store baked cookies for 5 days at room temperature in an airtight container. You can freeze cooked cookies for up to 3 months. Defrost the cookies before serving them.Make the dough ahead: If you want to make cookie dough in advance, you can keep it ready for cooking for 1 week in the refrigerator in a Ziplock bag. You can freeze the cookie dough balls for up to 2 months. Before baking them, garnish them with chocolate chips, a marshmallow, and graham crackers.Reheating cookies: To reheat baked cookies, microwave on high in increments of 5 seconds. You can also reheat cookies in the oven on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the cookies for 5 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit (149 degrees Celsius).
Cassie brings decades of experience to the Kitchen Community. She is a noted chef and avid gardener. Her new book "Healthy Eating Through the Garden" will be released shortly. When not writing or speaking about food and gardens Cassie can be found puttering around farmer's markets and greenhouses looking for the next great idea.
