S’mores Cookie Bars
- By Amy Dong
- Published Mar. 18, 2024
- Updated Mar. 27, 2024
These S’mores Cookie Bars are supremely chewy, soft, and fabulous. The graham cracker crumb crust is covered with chocolate chip cookie dough and topped with gooey, melty marshmallows and chocolate.
In This Article
Video: Watch Us Make This Recipe
Why This Recipe Stands Out
If you’re a fan of s’mores, you’ll love these s’mores cookie bars. They’re the perfect combination of a classic campfire treat and your favorite cookie recipe. Here’s why this recipe stands out:
- Perfect Texture: These cookie bars are perfectly chewy-delicious, just like our Chewy Chocolate Brownie Cookies.
- Irresistible Flavor: The combination of chocolate chip cookie dough and gooey marshmallows makes for a rich, decadent treat that’s hard to resist. Just like our Easy S’mores Dessert Bars.
- Crowd Pleaser: These bars are a hit with both kids and adults, like our Potluck S’mores. They’re the perfect dessert for parties, potlucks, and family gatherings.
- Easy: This recipe uses simple, everyday ingredients and is easy to make. Also try these Super Easy Nutella Cupcakes.
Key Recipe Ingredients
- Graham Cracker Crumbs – The base of our recipe, these crumbs add a sweet, crunchy texture that perfectly mimics the graham cracker in traditional s’mores.
- Chocolate Chips – We use semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate chips balance out the sweetness. Feel free to use milk chocolate chips if you prefer it sweeter.
- Mini Marshmallows – These are a key ingredient in our s’mores cookie bars, adding a gooey, melty, marshmallowy goodness.
- Milk Chocolate Hershey Bar – A drizzle of melted milk chocolate adds the perfect finishing touch to these bars.
Substitutions And Variations
Here are a few variations and substitutions to try:
- Dark Chocolate: While this recipe calls for semi-sweet or bitter-sweet chocolate chips, feel free to swap them out for dark chocolate chips for a more intense chocolate flavor like in our Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Cookies.
- Nuts: For some added crunch, consider mixing chopped nuts into the cookie dough. Pecans, almonds, or walnuts would work beautifully and add a delicious texture.
- Toppings: The recipe calls for a Hershey’s bar to be melted and drizzled over the top, but you can get creative with your toppings like using Nutella or salted caramel sauce on top like in our Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownies recipe.
- Gluten-Free: If you or your guests are on a gluten-free diet, you can easily make this recipe gluten-free by using gluten-free graham crackers and ensuring your chocolate chips are gluten-free.
- Peanut Butter Chips: For a Reese’s inspired twist, swap out the chocolate chips for peanut butter chips. You can also add a layer of peanut butter on top of the cookie dough before adding the marshmallows. We do something similar with our Peanut Butter Brownies!
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
- Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a bowl. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of a prepared pan.
- Using a stand mixer, combine softened butter with both sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then mix in the egg and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Add this to the butter mixture and mix until just incorporated.
- Fold chocolate chips into the dough. Spread the dough evenly over the graham cracker crust in the pan.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with mini marshmallows and continue baking for 10 more minutes.
- Once cooled to room temperature, use a serrated knife to cut into bars. Drizzle with melted Hershey’s chocolate bar, if desired.
For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.
How To Prep Ahead
Take a look at our favorite prep-ahead tips for this recipe:
- Crust: You can prepare the graham cracker crust ahead of time and freeze it. Simply line your baking pan with foil, add the crust, and freeze. Once frozen, you can lift the foil out of the pan and wrap it well with another layer of foil to freeze. When you’re ready to make the bars, just add the crust to the pan and proceed with the recipe.
- Make Entirely in Advance: These S’mores Cookie Bars can be made a few days in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
- Freeze: They freeze really well too. After they have cooled completely, simply wrap the entire pan in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. They can be frozen for up to 3 months. This is a great option if you want to make them in well in advance for a party or gathering.
Commonly Asked Questions
What kind of chocolate should I use for the S’mores Cookie Bars?
You can use either semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips for the cookie dough. For the chocolate bar that’s melted and drizzled over the top, we recommend using a milk chocolate bar like Hershey’s.
How do I cut the bars into neat squares?
To cut the bars into neat squares, use the foil sling to remove the entire dessert onto a cutting board. Then, using a long serrated bread knife, firmly press straight down into the dessert to cut into bars.
Can I freeze these S’mores Cookie Bars?
Yes, you can freeze the S’mores Cookie Bars. After they have cooled completely, wrap the entire pan in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. They can be frozen for up to 3 months.
How long do homemade S’mores Cookie Bars keep?
These S’mores Cookie Bars can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 days. If stored in the fridge, they can last for up to a week.
Did you make this?
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S’mores Cookie Bars
These S'mores Cookie Bars have the perfect chewy, soft, and dense texture for the classic S'mores flavor any time of year.
Ingredients
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 6 TB salted butter, melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup salted butter, slightly softened
- 1 large egg, room temp
- 1 TB vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp table salt
- 1 ½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips, or bitter sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- 1 milk chocolate bar, 1.5 oz Hershey's bar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Line a 8×8 baking pan with foil, using two perpendicular sheets so there is an overhang for a “sling” for easy removal.
- In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter, mixing well until mixture resembles wet sand. Press evenly and firmly into bottom of prepared pan, and set aside.
- In bowl of stand mixer, combine slightly softened butter with both sugars. Mix until mixture is light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in the egg and vanilla extract, mixing just until well incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together well. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, and mix just until incorporated; do not over-mix.
- Using rubber spatula, fold chocolate chips in evenly into dough. Dough may be sticky. Spread dough evenly over graham cracker crust in pan.
- Bake for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with mini marshmallows and continue baking for about 10 more minutes or just until marshmallows start looking lightly toasted on top.
- Cool on wire rack until reaches room temp. Melt Hershey’s bar and drizzle over top of dessert (I use a Ziploc baggie with tiny bit of tip cut off.) Chill in fridge until ready to serve.
- To serve, use foil sling to remove entire dessert onto cutting board. Using long serrated bread knife, firmly press straight down into dessert to cut into bars. Drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired.
Notes
- For the graham cracker crumbs, you can either buy them pre-crushed or make your own by placing graham crackers in a ziplock bag and crushing them with a rolling pin.
- Make sure to leave an overhang with the foil in the baking pan. This will make it easier to lift the whole slab of cookie out of the pan for easy cutting.
- Take care not to overmix the dough when adding the dry ingredients. Overmix can make the bars tough and dense.
- Feel free to customize your s’mores cookie bars with different types of chocolate. White chocolate, dark chocolate, or even flavored chocolate chips can all add a unique twist to the recipe.
- Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting. This will help them hold their shape and make for neater, more uniform bars.
- Drizzling the melted Hershey’s bar over the bars not only adds a decorative touch but also an extra layer of chocolatey goodness. Feel free to use more or less chocolate, depending on your preference.
- If you want to get creative, you can even add a layer of peanut butter or Nutella before adding the marshmallows.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 420kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 261mg | Potassium: 203mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 447IU | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 3mg
More to bake and eat
- S’mores Peanut Butter Crispy Bars – These s’mores peanut butter crispy bars are super easy, amazingly yummy, and so fun to make. They keep well and will satisfy all peanut butter lovers.
- Potluck S’mores – Potluck S’mores are great all year round. For all those times you want a mess-free, easy, crowd-pleasing treat. Make a bunch – they’ll be gone in a flash.
- Award-Winning Almond Bars – These unbelievably delicious Almond Bars are so good, they won 1st place at a local baking contest. The baker of these bars was kind enough to share the recipe with us.
- Samoas Cookie Bars – These Samoas Cookie Bars are melt-in-your-mouth, magically delicious! They’re like famous Samoas cookies but made super easy in a dessert bar.