S'mores cookie bars are soft and chewy. Made with a quick and easy graham cracker cookie dough that also doubles as the topping. The filling is made with chopped milk chocolate {like the classic Hershey's} and mini marshmallows. The dessert bars are perfect for summer cookouts, potlucks and birthday parties.
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As a busy mama and lifetime baker, I have decades of making dessert bars behind me. {marshmallow brownies , berry crumble bars or funfetti brownies anyone?}
This s'mores dessert checks all the busy baker boxes. It's quick and easy to make {hello cold butter and food processor!}; stuffed with melty marshmallows, chocolate, chewy and soft graham cracker cookie and full of nostalgic flavor.
Quicker to make than my double chocolate oatmeal bottom brownies and with no campfire required, these baked s'mores bars can be made anytime you have a s'mores craving.
💗 why you will love these easy dessert bars
- The s'mores cookie bars are baked, so you can enjoy them anytime of year.
- The easy crust using graham crackers also serves as a crumble topping.
- Graham crackers, melty chocolate, mini marshmallows and more crumbled graham cracker crust bring that classic campfire treat flavor to a simple cookie bar.
💭 what are s'mores?
S'mores are a sweet treat that consists of melty chocolate and gooey, toasted marshmallow that is sandwiched between two graham crackers. I have a cookie version with homemade graham crackers that is an absolute favorite in my house.
🛒 ingredients and substitutions
Please scroll to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the full list of ingredients and baking directions.
- Graham crackers ~ I use Nabisco Honey graham crackers. You need one full sleeve, that will get ground to crumbs.
- Brown sugar ~ adds sweetness, softness and chewiness to the dessert bars. Dark or light brown sugar can be used.
- All-purpose flour ~ if you don't have a scale for measuring your flour {this is the scale I use in my kitchen}, make sure to use the spoon and level method to ensure you don't have too much flour. {Fluff the flour in the container, then spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off with the back of a knife or the handle of your spoon}.
- Kosher salt ~ helps to balance the flavors and sweetness. If you only have table salt, use half the amount.
- Butter ~ the butter is used cold from the refrigerator; cut into cubes. I prefer unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter, just leave out the kosher salt.
- Vanilla ~ pure vanilla extract is recommended to add flavor.
- Egg ~ binds the graham cracker crust that doubles as the crumble topping together.
- Chocolate ~ the recipe is written with milk chocolate, like the classic Hershey bars used in campfire s'mores. If dark chocolate is more your thing, feel free to substitute that. If you only have chocolate chips, I have notes in the recipe card for how to substitute them.
- Marshmallows ~ mini marshmallows are needed to add the gooey marshmallow filling. Marshmallow fluff can be substituted, see the notes in the recipe card below.
🥣 how to make this s'mores dessert
Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper, lightly butter the edges. Set aside.
Add the graham crackers to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until only smaller pieces are left.
Then add the kosher salt, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, cold and cubed butter and vanilla and blend until well combined and starting to clump together.
Finally add the egg and blend until a soft dough forms.
The dough will ball together once ready.
Hold aside approximately 1 cup of the graham cracker base (about 160g) and press the remaining dough into the prepared pan in an even layer. Bake for 12 minutes.
Remove pan from oven and spread the chopped milk chocolate bar over the crust, save aside about 1 ounce/28g for garnish. Use caution as the pan is hot.
Spread the mini marshmallows over the chopped chocolate.
Then crumble the remaining graham cracker mixture over the marshmallows.
Return the pan to oven and bake an additional 12-18 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned.
Remove the s'mores cookie bars from the oven and sprinkle with chopped chocolate you set aside {it will melt from the heat of the bars}.
Allow to cool before cutting.
💬 frequently asked questions
what if they don't sell graham crackers where I live?
For my readers who don't have graham crackers; use digestive biscuits and an extra tablespoon or two of granulated sugar for the crust; the butter should stay the same amount.
I suspect biscoff or speculoos cookies would also work well here, but they will slightly change the flavor profile.
can I substitute marshmallow fluff or meringue?
Yes, if using marshmallow fluff you will need about 2 cups.
I also tested this s'mores dessert with a meringue layer. For that version I used the entire amount of graham cracker layer on the bottom of the pan and baked for about 22 minutes. Once it was cool, I added a layer of chocolate ganache and topped it with a homemade meringue. Mr. two sugar bugs loved this version on Father's Day!
For the meringue I used 2 large egg whites, ½ cup granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt and a ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. Use the same method as you do for my meringue cookies, but just layer the meringue on top of the ganache.
👩🏻🍳 expert tips for dessert bars
- Line the 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper and lightly butter or spray the sides with baking release spray. The marshmallow layer makes them sticky and you will thank me for this tip when removing them from the pan.
- Remember your oven is different than mine and the baking time may be slightly different. I use this oven thermometer to ensure my oven is at the temperature I think it is.
- For less dishes to wash, use a food scale and skip the measuring cups! This is the scale that I use and love. Using a scale also helps to make sure you have the correct quantities of ingredients.
- If you need to speed up the cooling process, once the s'mores cookie bars have cooled enough that you can pick up the pan with your bare hands, place the dessert bars in the refrigerator to cool completely.
- Allow the bars to cool before cutting to firm up the melty chocolate and gooey marshmallows.
Remember to pin this recipe to Pinterest! Use the button on the recipe card or the share buttons on the side or bottom of this page.
💡 how to serve
My testers enjoyed the s'mores cookie bars best at room temperature.
The dessert bars are also fantastic with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
🫙 how to store
Store any leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for to 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
The s'mores cookie bars also freeze well for up to 3 months.
Remember to snap a picture and tag me @twosugarbugs on Instagram if you make these S'mores Cookie Bars. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!
more dessert bars to enjoy
If you make this recipe {or any recipe!} from two sugar bugs please come back and leave a review and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating. I read every comment, and I LOVE hearing from you!
📖 recipe
Easy S'mores Cookie Bars
recipe created and tested by:
I highly recommend using weight (metric) measurements when available for more accuracy and the best results.
Please note
When using 2x or 3x ingredients, the grams DO NOT adjust, you will have to manually do that.
Ingredients
- Graham crackers 1 sleeve/9 full crackers/140g
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour 94g
- ½ cup brown sugar packed (100g)
- ½ cup unsalted butter cold and cubed (113g)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 8 ounces milk chocolate bars chopped (226g)
- 2 cups mini marshmallows* 96g
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper, lightly butter the edges. Set aside.
- Add the graham crackers (1 sleeve/9 full crackers/140g) to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until only smaller pieces are left.
- Then add the kosher salt (½ teaspoon), all-purpose flour (¾ cup/94g), brown sugar (½ cup/100g), cold and cubed butter (½ cup/113g) and vanilla (1 teaspoon) and blend until well combined and starting to clump together.
- Finally add the egg (1 large) and blend until a soft dough forms.
- Hold aside approximately 1 cup of the graham cracker base (about 160g) and press the remaining dough into the prepared pan in an even layer. Bake for 12 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and spread the chopped milk chocolate bar (8 ounces/226g) over the crust, save aside about 1 ounce/28g for garnish. Use caution as the pan is hot. Spread the mini marshmallows (2 cups/96g) over the chopped chocolate. Then crumble the remaining graham cracker mixture over the marshmallows. Return the pan to oven and bake an additional 12-18 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped chocolate you set aside (it will melt from the heat of the bars). Allow to cool before cutting.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information is based on third-party calculations, is an estimate only and may not be entirely accurate. Actual nutritional values will vary based on brands used and portion sizes.
Ben | Havocinthekitchen says
Wow - look at these ooey gooey bars - their texture looks irresistibly rich and inviting. What a great twist on s'mores!
Tasia says
Thanks Ben! My testers went wild for them!
Jenelle says
Made this recipe for a church potluck and they were a big hit. Thank you for the great directions.
Hannah says
I liked this recipe because it uses Hershey just like s'mores and has a graham cracker cookie base. They are good but I noticed the bars in the picture are much thicker, and mine came out very flat. It still tastes good though.