Brown Butter S'mores Cookies

Summer nights in cookie form.

Growing up in England, I was fascinated by the concept of s’mores after seeing them in American movies. There’s something incredibly charming about the idea of sitting around a campfire and roasting marshmallows. However, the part that intrigued me the most was the mysterious graham cracker.

I probably spent far too much time wondering whether it was more like a biscuit or if it resembled an American version of a Jacob’s cream cracker. And if it was like a cream cracker, I couldn't quite understand why anyone would want to eat that with marshmallows and chocolate.

Now that I live in America and have finally tried an authentic campfire s'more, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the graham cracker is essentially just a hybrid of a digestive and a rich tea.

According to my research, the original recipe for the s’more appeared in the 1927 Girl Scout guidebook, titled Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts. The idea was eventually credited to a troop leader called Loretta Scott Crew. The original title of the recipe was "Some More" and surprisingly, the shortened nickname wasn’t coined until much later, in the 1970s.

Cover of the revised version of Tramping and Trailing with the Girl Scouts, 1930.

If you saw my biscotti recipe earlier in the week, you might already know that I’m in the middle of planning a cross-country move, which is both exciting and incredibly stressful. One of my main challenges right now is having to cook through my entire pantry. So, if you have chocolate chips, leftover marshmallows and graham crackers on hand, this is the recipe for you!

These cookies are perfect for cozy summer nights or for sharing with friends (no campfire required). They’re buttery with crispy edges and a gooey center that’s packed with melted chocolate, marshmallow pieces and a satisfying graham cracker crunch.

The cookie dough prior to chilling in the freezer.

Brown Butter S'mores Cookies

Makes: 20

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 sticks (141g) butter

• 3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar

• 1/2 cup (100g) white sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 3/4 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1 cup (150g) chocolate chips

• 1/2 cup teddy grahams

• 10 large marshmallows

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and stir occasionally. After roughly 5 minutes, the butter will begin to foam and turn golden brown. Continue to cook the butter until you can see the brown milk solids at the bottom of the saucepan, then remove from the heat and leave to cool.

2. In a medium bowl, add the brown sugar, white sugar and cooled brown butter. Mix until all of the sugar has been incorporated into the butter, then add the eggs and vanilla extract. Stir at a faster pace, until the mixture has a smooth and glossy appearance.

3. Measure out the dry ingredients. Add the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Mix thoroughly, there should be no lumps of flour in the dough.

4. On a cutting board, cut the marshmallows into medium sized pieces. Then chop the teddy grahams into small(ish) chunks.

5. Add the chocolate chips, marshmallows and teddy graham pieces to the dough. Mix until they have been evenly distributed throughout.

6. Prepare a small baking sheet with parchment paper. Then use a large cookie scoop to measure out 20 pieces of dough, place them in the freezer to chill for at least 45 minutes prior to baking.

7. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

8. Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper, place 5 cookie dough scoops at least 2 inches apart and bake for 12-14 minutes. I find that it’s best to bake the cookies in batches to ensure they don’t spread into each other.

9. Once out of the oven, use the back side of a spoon to round the edges of the cookies if any of the marshmallow melted outwards. Then stick a cute little teddy graham in the top for decoration.

10. Bake the rest of the cookie dough or place into a freezer bag, they can be stored frozen for up to 3 months.

11. Serve and enjoy!

This is the brown butter I made for these cookies, as you can see the milk solids have settled at the bottom.

A photo to demonstrate the even distribution of chocolate, marshmallows and graham cracker pieces.

Notes:

• I didn’t specify a particular type of chocolate chip to use because everyone has their own favorite when it comes to cookies. Personally, I love using Ghirardelli (60% cacao) bittersweet chocolate chips. If you prefer milk chocolate that’s perfectly fine, just be aware that it’ll make the cookies slightly sweeter!

• For this recipe you don’t have to use teddy grahams, that’s just what I happened to have on hand! You can use any kind of graham cracker, as long as you break them into small(ish) pieces. If you live outside of the States, digestive biscuits would be a great substitute!

• If you haven’t made brown butter before, please don’t panic! It’s simply normal butter, that has been melted and left over medium heat until golden brown milk solids have settled at the bottom of the saucepan. The additional time required to make brown butter is minimal, yet it adds an incredible depth of flavor.

Thank you for reading this post, if you decide to make these cookies I would love to hear your feedback. I post new recipes every week, along with other thoughts I write down while enjoying my morning coffee.

As always, I hope you have a wonderful day!

Biscotti Sundays x