S'mores Cookies
Brown Butter S'mores Cookies, topped with torched marshmallow and a kiss. Its a campfire in a cookie, and is perfect for your Christmas cookie box.
Brown Butter S'mores Cookies: A Campfire in Every Bite
Every December, I pack up cookie boxes for our friends and neighbors, and every year I'm hunting for the one cookie that makes people stop mid-bite and say, "Wait, what is this?"
This is that cookie.
These S'mores Cookies start with brown butter. Cooking it until it smells nutty and toasty gives you the campfire flavor before you ever pick up a flame. The dough bakes up in a mini muffin pan, so every cookie comes with a little well that's perfectly sized for mini marshmallows.
A kitchen torch toasts them golden and blistered. Then a chocolate kiss goes on top and melts into the warm marshmallow.
They look like you spent all day on them, but the dough is a simple one-bowl mix and give an unexpected flavor to your Christmas Cookie Boxes.
Ingredients and Why They Matter
- Browned butter: This is the "campfire" in the cookie. Cooking the butter evaporates its water and toasts the milk solids, so you get a nutty, caramel flavor and a chewier, denser cookie. It's the toasted-graham note you'd otherwise miss, since there are no graham crackers in the dough.
- White and brown sugar: White sugar crisps the edges, and a little brown sugar adds molasses depth and chew. The ratio leans toward white sugar, so the browned butter stays the star.
- Egg and vanilla: The egg binds the dough so it holds its shape in the muffin cups. The vanilla rounds off the toasty butter.
- Flour, baking soda and kosher salt: Baking soda gives a modest lift, so the cookie stays sturdy enough to hold marshmallow. The salt sharpens the caramelized flavors so the cookie doesn't taste flat next to all that sugar.
- Mini marshmallows: Their small size lets you tuck a couple into each cookie and toast them evenly. Big marshmallows would slide right off.
- Chocolate kisses: One kiss on top gives you the chocolate part of s'mores. Pressed onto the warm marshmallow, it softens into a melty center.
- Baking spray (for the pan): The cups give the cookies a built-in well for the marshmallows. Greasing keeps them from sticking in the mini muffin pan.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make S'mores Cookies
Brown the butter and let it cool. Melt it in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and keep it moving until it smells nutty and turns amber. The heavy pan heats evenly, so the milk solids toast instead of scorching. Cooling matters because hot butter in the bowl would start melting the sugar and cooking the egg.
Mix the dough. Stir the sugars into the cooled butter, then add the egg and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda and salt last, and stop when it's just combined. Overmixing builds gluten and makes the cookies tough instead of tender and chewy.
Prep the pan and shape the dough. Spray the mini muffin pan, then roll the dough into even balls and set one in each cup. Even balls bake at the same rate, and the cups keep each cookie compact and tender in the middle.
Bake until lightly golden. Pull them when the edges are golden and the centers still look soft. They'll finish setting from the heat of the pan.
Make the marshmallow wells. While the cookies are warm, press the back of a measuring spoon into each one. Warm cookies hold the dent. If you wait, they set and crack.
Add the marshmallows and torch. Nestle the mini marshmallows into the wells and toast them with a kitchen torch until golden and blistered. The torch gives you real campfire char without melting the cookie underneath.
Top with the chocolate kiss. Press one in right after toasting. The marshmallow's residual heat softens the chocolate just enough to bond.
In-a-Pinch
No kitchen torch: Try a few seconds under the broiler on a sheet pan, watching constantly. Marshmallows go from golden to burnt very fast.
No chocolate kisses: Try a square of milk chocolate, a chocolate chunk or a mini peanut butter cup.
FAQ
This usually happens when the cookie wells are too shallow or the torch is held too close. Press the indent deep while the cookie is warm, tuck two minis into the well, and keep the flame moving.
Watch for the foaming to slow down and little bits in the butter to turn brown. Pour it into a heat safe bowl as soon as it's browned.
Sticking usually comes from skipping or under-spraying the pan. Grease each cup well, including the rims, and let the cookies rest a minute before lifting them out.
Christmas Box Cookie Ideas
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Fresh Out of the Kitchen
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Ingredients
Method
- In a heavy bottomed medium sauce pan, brown the butter over medium heat. (See tips below)
- Pour browned butter into a large mixing bowl and cool.
- Add brown and white sugars and stir until combined. Add egg, vanilla, flour, baking soda and salt. Stir until well combined.
- Spray a mini muffin pan with baking spray.
- Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place into prepared mini muffin pan.
- Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until lightly golden browned.
- Use the back of a measuring spoon to make indention in each cookie. Place 2 mini marshmallows in each indention. Using a kitchen torch toast the marshmallows.
- Top toasted marshmallows with a chocolate kiss.
- Remove from pan and set aside to cool.
The browned butter and toasty marshmallows made these cookies taste exactly like s'mores over the fire!
Can’t get better than this. Chocolate and marshmallows!!!