S’mores Cookies Just Want You to Be Happy
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I personally believe that S’mores are the happiest dessert out there. They’re messy, sticky, gooey, chocolatey, and fun to make because fire is involved. It’s a trip right back to your childhood. So, when I want a bit of cheering up, I look to that classic flavor combo and start a batch of s’mores cookies.
Let’s make some cookies, y’all!
Marshmallow-Stuffed S’mores Cookies
There are a hundred different ways to make a s’mores cookie, so let me quickly explain my version. These are extra large chocolate chunk cookies with bits of graham cracker throughout with a big old marshmallow tucked into the middle.
I’m committed to my favorite chocolate chip cookie dough, so we’ll be starting with that recipe and making a couple of s’moresy tweaks along the way. The first tweak will be stuffing them with a big marshmallow. This is going to do something fun in the oven.
When marshmallows heat up, they first puff and then deflate. So, you may end up with cracks in your cookie where the gooey center shows through. This is exactly what you’re looking for. You might even end up with some sticky edges. Nothing wrong with that either.
The other fun thing marshmallows do when they bake up in the center of things is they absorb into the surrounding dough. So, you’ll likely have some gooey, white, marshmallowy cracks on top, but the inside won’t be a thick layer of marshmallow. Instead, the center of your cookie will have an extra chewy and kind of sticky texture that is oh-so satisfying.
Start with Brown Butter…
The perfect chocolate chip cookie starts with brown butter. Don’t let that scare you, though. It’s really easy. Put a stick of butter in a pan, and melt it. Swirl it around until the milk solids floating on top sink to the bottom and turn dark amber brown.
That’s brown butter!
Move it to a heatproof bowl and fridge it for about 30 minutes so you have cooled but still liquid butter for the recipe.
Brown Sugar is a Must
To really start the cookie dough, you’ll cream that cool brown butter into a heap of light brown sugar. This is going to make sure your cookies are moist, chewy, and bake up with a nice golden color. Remember to scrape the sides of the bowl down every couple minutes. That way everything is mixed in well.
Once it’s good and creamy, beat in milk, egg, and vanilla. You want to get all this well mixed together before adding the dry ingredients.
The Dry Team
This is odd, but we are going to include the mix-ins with the dry ingredients. The mix ins are our chocolate chunks and graham cracker bits. This is going to break them up a little so there are little nibbles all throughout the dough.
So, flour, good salt, baking soda, instant coffee, chocolate chips, and graham crackers go in, and you give them a good mix up. Your dough is done, so now it just needs to chill.
I’m going to throw this note in here as a formality because it tends to come up with every flour-related recipe. Whenever you measure flour, please fluff it up and then spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it off at the top with a straight edge. I like to use the handle of my spoon to avoid excess dishes.
Measuring flour like this will prevent packing it in and accidentally using too much flour in your dough. So, now let’s talk about chilling.
Why You Chill Cookie Dough
You’ve seen in a bunch of times that you should be chilling your dough, but why? For one thing, this recipe has melted butter in it. Chilling helps the butter resolidify so our cookies don’t spread too much in the oven.
For another thing, chilling preserves your dough against bacteria while it mingles and marries. You’ve got flavors in there like brown butter, coffee, and vanilla that are going to get to know every bit of your cookie dough the longer it sits in the fridge. After an hour in the fridge, your dough is good. After 48 hours in the fridge, your dough is strangely magnificent.
But yeah, no, I also don’t have that kind of patience for cookies. I think one hour is just fine in this case, but let me know if you let your dough age for longer.
How to Stuff Marshmallows into S’mores Cookies
You’ve chilled your dough, and now you’re ready to stuff them and bake. This is pretty simple, but it does take a little finesse.
For starters, these are big honkin’ cookies, so you’re going to divide the dough into 8 equal portions.
Grab your first chunk of dough and flatten it out in the palm of your hand. You want it to be thick enough that it holds together but thin enough that it will fit around the marshmallow.
Set that marshmallow in the center and pull the sides of the dough up and around it. Then, pinch the seams to seal it up as well as you can. I also like to roll them a little in my hands to smooth things out a little.
They’re not going to be perfect, but they will be delicious.
When you place the s’mores cookies on the baking sheet, make sure the best-sealed side goes down. This will help you avoid marshmallow gluing your cooking to the tray. I also highly recommend using a silicone baking mat. It’s a whole lot easier to peel marshmallow leakage off that than a metal pan.
Tools You’ll Need for the Best S’mores Cookies
Here are the tools I used to make my S’mores Cookies. You likely have most of these things at home. These are simply my recommendations if you happen to be in the market for new basics.
If You Need S’more…
And if you love S’mores, you should also try my Brookie S’mores Bars. They’re really great for stress baking, for starters. But they also combine brownies, chocolate chip cookies, and s’mores into a gooey, chunky bar.
Comment below if you have questions, concerns, or opinions. And tag me @ellejayathome on Instagram or Twitter if you share pictures from any of my recipes. I love to hear from you!
S’mores Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 large egg
- 2 Tbsp milk
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
- 1½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp instant coffee crystals
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 2 sheets graham crackers chopped
- 1¼ cup chocolate chunks
- 8 large marshmallows
Instructions
- Start by browning your butter. This is optional, but it does taste phenomenal. In a sauté pan, heat your butter over low until melted. Continue cooking until the milk solids sink to the bottom and turn amber-brown. Move to a heat-proof bowl, and chill for 30 minutes. It will still be liquid but cool to the touch.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the brown sugar and brown butter. Whip until creamy, about 5 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.
- Add in the vanilla, milk, and egg. Beat until smooth. Scrape down the sides every now and then to make sure it's fully smooth.
- Add in the flour, salt, baking soda, chocolate chunks, and graham cracker bits. Stir until fully combined. The mixture will be slightly crumbly but will hold its shape when squished together. Move to a container with a lid and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 48 hours.
- Divide the dough into 8 portions. Flatten each one slightly in your hand. Place a marshmallow in the center, and form the dough back around it. Pinch and smooth any seams to discourage excess marshmallow leakage. Some is fine on top, but you want to avoid leaks on the bottom.
- Repeat until you have used all the dough and marshmallows.
- Place the cookie dough balls back in the fridge while you preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Set the cookies on a lined baking sheet. There should be 2 inches between each cookie.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes to set on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack. They are best served warm!
