These S’more Chocolate Chip Cookies deliver bakery-style chewiness topped with toasted, gooey marshmallows and rich melted chocolate.
- Cornstarch interferes with gluten development, yielding an exceptionally tender, soft-baked cookie base that stays soft for days.
- Chilling the dough solidifies the butter, preventing the cookies from spreading too thin under the weight of the heavy toppings.
- A brief blast under the broiler triggers the Maillard reaction, caramelizing the marshmallow exterior while keeping the center gooey.
I still remember the smell of singed hair when my brother got a little too enthusiastic with a wire coat hanger over our backyard fire pit. My own wrist was stiff from holding a heavy cast-iron skillet, hoping to catch the stray embers while trying to assemble a messy, soot-flecked sandwich.
It was glorious chaos.
These cookies capture that exact campfire magic without the smoke. We swap the coat hangers for a baking sheet and add a serious scientific upgrade.
To make this work, we start with a modified version of our classic Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. The secret weapon here is cornstarch, which interferes with the flour's protein matrix to keep the crumb incredibly tender. We also demand a mandatory chill time because warm butter is the enemy of a thick cookie; without it, your dough will puddle into a sad, flat sheet under the weight of the toppings.
I tested several brands of chocolate for the glossy top layer. While chocolate chips failed because their stabilizers prevent a smooth melt, a chopped bar of Ghirardelli semi-sweet melted into a perfect, shiny pool.
Once the cookies bake, you will slap a sticky marshmallow half onto each warm crown and slide them under the broiler. Watch them like a hawk, because the transition from beautifully caramelized to a charred disaster happens in a blink.
S’more Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/4 cup (225g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 12 regular marshmallows, cut in half
- one 4 ounce (113g) semi-sweet chocolate bar, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup (35g) crushed graham cracker crumbs
Directions
- Fit your stand mixer with the paddle attachment and beat the room-temperature butter alongside both brown and granulated sugars on medium speed for 2 minutes until the mixture looks pale and fluffy. Toss in the egg and vanilla extract, beating again and scraping down the bowl's sides with a flexible spatula so everything integrates smoothly.
- In a separate dry bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Turn the mixer to low speed and gradually add these dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing just until a thick dough forms. Fold in the semi-sweet chocolate chips by hand or on low speed, then cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (or up to 2 days) to allow the starch gelatinization process to begin.
- Pull the chilled dough out of the fridge and let it rest on the counter for 10 minutes to take the edge off the cold. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350°F (177°C) and line two large baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Scoop out portions of dough (about 1.5 tablespoons each) and roll them between your palms into smooth spheres. Place them on the prepared baking sheets, leaving ample space for minor spreading.
- Bake the cookies for 10 to 11 minutes until the outer edges are barely golden, though the centers will still look incredibly soft and underbaked.
- Switch your oven setting to a high broil (or low broil if your oven runs notoriously hot).
- Carefully place one marshmallow half, sticky side down, onto the center of each hot cookie. Return the pans to the oven and broil for 1 to 2 minutes, keeping your eyes glued to the oven window until the marshmallows turn a toasted golden brown.
- Remove the sheets from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes. If the toasted marshmallows are standing too tall, gently press them down using the back of a clean spoon to create a flat surface.
- Melt your chopped chocolate bar in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave using 20-second bursts, stirring thoroughly after each interval until completely smooth. Spoon this melted chocolate over the warm marshmallows, then immediately scatter the graham cracker crumbs over the top so they stick.
- Let the cookies sit at room temperature for about 60 minutes (or slide them into the fridge for 30 minutes) until the chocolate coating has fully set.
Notes
Keep these essential tips in mind to ensure your cookies turn out perfectly every single time:
- Salt Conversion: We recommend using Diamond Crystal kosher salt (1 tsp = 1/2 tsp table salt) to avoid over-salting the dough, as its lighter flakes distribute more evenly throughout the flour.
- Chocolate Selection: For the glossy top layer, use high-quality baking bars like Ghirardelli or Baker's rather than chocolate chips. Baking bars lack the soy lecithin and stabilizers found in chips, allowing them to melt into a fluid, glossy glaze that sets beautifully.
- Broiler Warning: The broiler is incredibly powerful. Do not walk away, check your phone, or leave the kitchen during the 1-2 minute marshmallow toast. They can ignite or liquefy into a sticky mess in seconds.
- Freezing Advice: You can freeze the unbaked dough balls for up to 3 months and bake them straight from the freezer (just add an extra minute to the bake time). However, do not freeze the fully assembled cookies; thawed marshmallows turn unpleasantly rubbery and wet.
- Marshmallow Prep: To cut the marshmallows cleanly without tearing them, wipe down your kitchen shears with a neutral oil or dust the blades with a tiny bit of cornstarch before snipping.
Serving Suggestions
These cookies are rich and sweet, making them perfect for pairings that balance their decadent textures.
- Serve these warm alongside a cold glass of whole milk to balance the intense sweetness of the toasted marshmallow and rich chocolate.
- Pair them with a smoky black tea, like Lapsang Souchong, which echoes the campfire undertones of the caramelized sugar.
- Crumble a cookie over a scoop of salty vanilla bean ice cream for an incredible play on hot-and-cold textures.
- If you want to double down on the campfire theme, serve these alongside our S’mores Cookie Bars at your next autumn gathering.
- Dust the tops with a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt right after adding the melted chocolate to cut through the sugary profile.
Storage and Reheating
Once the chocolate has fully set, store these cookies in a single layer inside an airtight container. If you must stack them, place sheets of wax paper between the layers, or the sticky marshmallow edges will fuse them into a singular, giant mass.
They will keep quite well at room temperature for up to 3 days. After 24 hours, the graham cracker crumbs will lose some of their initial crunch, but the cookie base remains wonderfully soft.
If you prefer to keep them longer, seal them up and store them in the refrigerator for up to a week. The cold temperature will firm up the chocolate glaze into a satisfying snap, though you will lose that fresh-from-the-campfire gooeyness. To revive that melted texture, pop a cookie onto a microwave-safe plate and zap it for a mere 8 to 10 seconds before eating.
Do not freeze the finished cookies.
Ingredient Substitutes
If you need to swap ingredients, use these tested alternatives to keep the cookie structure intact:
- Unsalted Butter → Salted Butter: Swap 1:1, but omit the added salt in the dry ingredients entirely to keep the sodium levels balanced.
- Graham Cracker Crumbs → Biscoff Cookie Crumbs: Swap 1:1 by weight or volume to introduce a warm, spiced speculoos flavor, but crush them slightly finer to ensure they stick to the chocolate. If you want to go completely from scratch, try using crushed Homemade Graham Crackers.
- Semi-sweet Chocolate Bar → Dark Chocolate Bar (70% cacao): Swap 1:1 to temper the sweetness of the marshmallow, but chop it extra finely to ensure it melts evenly without scorching.
- Cornstarch → Arrowroot Powder: Use a 1:1 ratio to achieve the same tenderizing effect on the gluten structure, mixing it thoroughly with the flour.
- All-purpose Flour → Cup-for-Cup Gluten-Free Flour: Swap 1:1, but let the dough rest in the fridge for an extra 30 minutes to allow the alternative starches to fully hydrate and prevent a gritty texture.
There is something deeply comforting about a cookie that refuses to be neat. Let the chocolate smudge your fingers and the marshmallow stretch as you take that first bite.
