S'mores Cookies

We’re gobbling down dinner when Mike eagerly queries, “what kind of cookies did you make??”

“S’mores cookies.”  I watch the disappointment slowly ebb over his being.  “Sorry babe. I know you don’t like s’mores.”

He shrugs dejectedly. 

“I don’t get it babe, how do you not like s’mores?”

Really, I don’t get it. I have never known a single person who did not like s’mores.  Although last year I discovered my dad had never had them before.  Ever.  Now how does that happen?!

Not like s’mores….I, it’s, huh?, it’s lost on me. 

That smooth squishy chocolate with the ooey gooey fire toasted marshmallow smushed between crispy mellow graham crackers….sigh…….

“I’m just not big on chocolate. There are only a few things chocolate I like.”

“My chocolate cream pie, chocolate cake, and…”

“Chocolate chip cookies.”

Hmph. Weirdo. Not big on chocolate.  I know, we’re utterly and completely incompatible in this regard. 

At this point you and I are both wondering why I married this guy.  No not really, my list is lengthy.  But he is strange.  S’mores cookies, not super chocolate….ah well, heh, still love him!

My friend Janette sent me a request, see:  “Do you have any ideas for lunchbox treats?  I started the year with all good intentions, and now it’s store-bought cookies.  #momfail”

No doubt #momfail is not appropriate.  And of course I’m gonna do all I can to lend an assist!

After a bit more conversation, her daughter hates raisins and they’re a nut-free classroom.  Duly noted.

Growing up my mom used to send me off with bologna and mustard or peanut butter sandwiches and most often, Little Debbie nummies.  My favorites were Oatmeal Creme Pies though Star Crunch or Nutty Buddy ranked right up there.  Oh, oh!, or those cinnamon streusel coffee cake thingies, yesssss. 

Swoon.

Ack, aye me I’m getting distracted! 

So waxing nostalgic, heh, obviously huh?, I sent off a list of ideas for Janette’s daughter to choose from including a few homemade versions of old time lunchbox heroes.  S’mores Cookies for the win and I was off to the races!

Some time ago I came across this recipe from Martha Stewart.  When I did a search on s’mores cookies the other day just to see what else was out there, most all were vastly different than these. Despite the increased chance for a chocolaty mess, which is partly the fun of s’mores of course, these seemed most S’Mores to me. 

So they’re really pretty easy actually, which I felt would be a lunch prep plus.  And as they’ve got oats and whole wheat flour, I figured they would lean on the healthier side. -Ish, maybe, kinda, sorta.  As much as they can I suppose.

Start by flipping on the preheat then grind up the oats in a food processor.  If you don’t have a food processor,* a mini prep* or a blender* would work or maybe an immersion blender.*  If none of those are an option, you may be able to try the oats whole though I can’t speak to the end result.

Grind up them oats.  They’ll still be pretty coarse, fyi.

Toss in the remaining dry ingredients and pop on pulse a coupla’ times ‘til nicely blended. I know, cinnamon seemed an odd inclusion but for me, it was a welcome subtlety.  I used less than advised which is reflected in the recipe below.  Leave it out if you’d rather.

Everybody in the pool now, zip zip!

In a mixer, cream the brown sugar and butter until nice and fluffy then blend in your sole egg.

Fluffy and light, whip that butter and sugar together.

On low, tap in the flour mix slowly and stir until just combined; it’ll be a bit chunky.

All mixed up and ready to bake.

Chop up your chocolate into pieces if you haven’t already, if you haven’t eaten it all beforehand, of which I used milk on half, 70% cacao on the other, just to see.  Go dark, FYI.  Better all around.

This part is mildly fussy but I recommend you don’t skip it:  with your tablespoon measuring spoon, dig out lil’ balls of dough. Give them a speedy roll into a ball then a quick flattening smush (not too far though), maybe a wee thumbprint dent in the middle and fill up your cookie sheet.

Why I was using a knife to scoop the batter out of the spoon, I dunno.

Top with the chocolate chunks next.  Key here is to make certain your chocolate pieces do not hang over the edge of the dough lest a molten chocolate slick is yours.  Stack the chocolate pieces if need be.

A little ahead of myself here.  Don’t do this.  Otherwise you end up with a mess.

Now for baking, Martha’s directions are to use two sheets, bake both at the same time and rotate the sheets halfway through.  Which you can definitely do. 

But. I personally always only ever bake one sheet at a time in part because every oven, regardless of expense, has hot spots, uneven heating, and cookies are best baked on the middle rack.  A sheet under another blocks heat from circulating properly, even if you do rotate to accommodate.  

You have more control with one sheet.  Sure, yes, it adds time but better cookies are so worth it.

Another reason to bake cookies one sheet at a time: if you come across an issue like I did, you can fix it on the next sheet.  Here the chocolate didn’t hang over the edges of the dough.  Messy still but not nearly as so.

So if you follow Martha, bake, rotate, then heat the broiler.  Add a marshmallow half to each cookie and toast ‘til lightly browned and poofy. 

If you follow me, bake a sheet, heat the broiler, place a rack at the second level below the top, slide the sheet to one side of the oven, toast, then the other side which results in more even browning. Then reset your oven for baking and repeat with the second sheet.

Tada, S’mores cookies!  Sorry, I think I’m drooling on my keyboard, hang on. 

Either way, slide the cookies onto a wire rack to cool and allow the chocolate to set back up. 

Whatcha get:  a nice, not too sweet, somewhat crumbly dry like a graham cracker crunchy cookie with a mildly messy chocolate schmear and a not sticky but yet still gooey marshmallow atop.  Aka, what you’d imagine a s’mores morphed into a cookie to be.  Nice!

Mike later in the kitchen, rifling for dessert items.  He opens the container of cookies, leaning peer, half grunts, tosses a few cookies around like they’ve got cooties. 

“You’re not even going to try one?”

“Eh, mmrf, nope.”  Then probably feeling like a jerk for not wanting to taste something I baked…..”Ok, fine.” 

He brings himself a variety pack plate of items and one milk chocolate S’mores cookie.  He feels me waiting.  Watching.  He picks it up, gives a huff, takes one bite, chew chew, grunts, tosses the half eaten cookie back on the plate. 

“No?”

“Not my thing.” 

Ah well.

But then I felt bad.  Here I baked something, Mike was excited that I baked, and it’s a no-go zone.  

Felt like I owed him one.  So I baked him a Yogurt Apple Cake with Buttered Cinnamon Brown Sugar and now he’s very happy.  I hope Janette’s daughter is happy too!

Note:  This content originally appeared on Flaky Bakers.

S'mores Cookies

Yield

30 cookies

Prep time

20 Min

Cook time

15 Min

Total time

35 Min

Turn a happy campfire favorite into a tasty and portable cookie version.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (45 g) old-fashioned oats
• 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (113 g) whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon (1.3 g) ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) fine sea salt
• 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter room temperature (2 sticks, 16 tablespoons)
• 3/4 cup (214 g) light brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• 8 ounces (170 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, cut into 30 squares
• 15 large marshmallows, cut in half lengthwise

Instructions

1. Begin by preheating the oven to 350° F (~177° C).
2. Using a food processor, grind the oats until fine. They will still be slightly coarse.
3. Add the all purpose and whole wheat flours, cinnamon if using, the baking soda, and salt, then pulse to blend.
4. With an electric or stand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until fluffy. On low, beat in the egg.
5. With mixer still on low, stir in the dry ingredient mix until just combined. The batter will be chunky.
6. Using a tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop out dough and quickly shape into balls, flatten them lightly, then indent the middle with a slight thumbprint. You may have more than 30 cookies worth of dough so have some extra chocolate on hand.
7. Set the dough at least one inch apart on two cookie sheets and top each cookie with chocolate. Do not let the chocolate overhang the dough; stack as necessary.
8. Bake cookies for 11 to 13 minutes until lightly golden brown on the edges. Recommended: bake one sheet at a time for best results though both sheets can be baked together. Be sure to rotate the sheets halfway through if you are baking two at a time.
9. Remove the cookies when ready and top each with half of a marshmallow.
10. Move an oven rack to the second level below the top and turn on the broiler. Slide a cookie sheet all the way to one side, brown the marshmallow tops then slide the sheet to the other side, browning the other half of the sheet.
11. Cool the cookies on a wire rack.

Notes:

Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

155.71

Fat (grams)

8.80

Sat. Fat (grams)

5.25

Carbs (grams)

19.26

Fiber (grams)

1.15

Net carbs

18.11

Sugar (grams)

10.67

Protein (grams)

1.80

Sodium (milligrams)

64.66

Cholesterol (grams)

22.47

Please see the "info" section for nutrition details.

cookies, s'mores

recipe

American

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