Recipe Redux: S'mores Cookies

Happy Friday!

Time for this month's Recipe Redux. I wasn't even planning on redoing this recipe anytime soon, however my little brother asked for S'mores Cookies for his birthday. Let's jump right in, shall we?

Here's what the cookies previously looked like:

So, yeah. Since I was already making them, I decided to make S'mores Cookies April's re-do. 

These cookies were actually partially a mistake back in 2012. I had made the cookie dough intending for a thicker cookie, like a chocolate chip cookie. Instead, the butter I'd used had been too soft, and the cookies spread a ton and were kind of flat. Ok, really flat. I was upset at first, simply because they weren't aesthetically what I was going for. And aesthetics are important to me. However, one bite was enough to convince me the recipe was not a mistake. The thin texture of the cookie provides a base that almost tastes like a graham cracker. I've made these cookies with firmer butter for a thicker cookie, and you lose that graham flavor. 

You could use a food processor to break down your graham crackers. You can even buy graham cracker crumbs at the grocery store now (really, seriously? People can't even break down their own crumbs anymore??). But my preferred method for graham cracker crumbs is to put the crackers in a ziploc bag, grab a blunt instrument, and pretend I'm playing Whac-A-Mole. 

Does anyone remember Whac-A-Mole? Ah, growing up in the 90's. Sigh. 

While I've been known to use Mallow Bits for these cookies, I was out this time. The only place I can buy them in the area (that I've found) is Walmart. And I didn't feel like going. Here's the thing about my Walmart. The hubby and I basically live on the Ohio River. Walmart is right across the river from us, however there is no bridge to cross there. Or even a road. So, we have to take the highway about 5-6 miles south to the nearest bridge, cross the river, and then head back north towards frickin' town. We can do the same thing if we take the highway north initially. We still come to a bridge about 5-6 miles north, cross the bridge, and then again, head back south towards Walmart. Picture a diamond shape with a river running right across the center of it. That's our situation. It's not horrible, but for some reason, it annoys me. To be perfectly honest, it annoys me for one big reason. Walmart is at the base of a large hill. A seriously large hill with one lone, ginormous white house on it. When we come out of the hills from our house to the highway (yes, we live in the hills of Appalachia. Stereotypical, I know), you can look right across the river and see that gigantic house. Once again being reminded that if I were a bird, it would take me 5 minutes to get to Walmart. Instead, it takes me about 30 minutes. 

Wow, was that a privileged and entitled rant or what? Anyhoo, the point of all that was I was out of Mallow Bits. So I decided to sub mini-marshmallows. I found they melted into the dough a lot more than Mallow Bits, but they lent the dough a seriously chewy factor. In a good way. In a Tony-the-Tiger great way.

My method for getting a little bit of marshmallow on the tops of the cookies is to bake the cookies for 6 minutes, pull them from the oven, hurriedly arrange a couple of marshmallows on top of the cookie, and then bake them for 2 more minutes. 2 minutes is the perfect melting time for the marshmallows on top. 

Gosh, these were almost too pretty to ship away. But I did it. I received a hilarious text from the bro upon trying the cookies. One I would normally share, however, this one is amusing due to it's inappropriateness. So I'll spare the little bro the embarrassment this time.

Ok, I'll give you a hint on the content of the text. There is an SNL-Lonely Island song named after the theme of the text, mainly doing something in his pants. The video guest-stars Molly Sims and Jamie-Lynn Sigler. SNL fans, it's likely you know exactly what sketch I'm talking about.

And you're probably giggling to yourself now.

Cuz' that's how I roll!

Have a great weekend everyone! Make these cookies! All the fun of a campout, you know, without the campfire smell, the dirty sticks, and getting sticky, melted marshmallow everywhere! Oh, and I almost forgot-

Happy Birthday Little Bro! :)

Ingredients (makes 2 dozen cookies):

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

6 tbsp white sugar

6 tbsp brown sugar

1 egg, room temp

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup mini marshmallows, halved 

topping: 1/4 cup mini marshmallows, halved (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper ---> This is not optional. Cooking spray will not cut it here. Parchment paper is mandatory for best results. 

2. In a large bowl, combine flour through salt. Whisk to combine, set aside.

3. In a separate large bowl, add butter and sugars. Beat with a hand mixer until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in egg. Mix in vanilla. Mix in flour mixture. Add chocolate chips and marshmallows to the bowl, fold in with a spatula.

4. Using a 1-tbsp cookie scoop, scoop cookie dough onto parchment paper. Place 6 cookies per sheet with plenty of space in between. I got the best shape for my cookies by rolling the dough into a little log that you stand upright. This helps the cookie spread into a circle. Bake cookies in preheated oven for 6 minutes. Remove sheet form oven, place 3 marshmallow halves in the center of each cookie. Place sheet back in oven, bake for 2 minutes. {If skipping this last step, simply bake the cookies for exactly 8 minutes before removing them from heat}

5. Remove cookie sheet from oven. Cookies will look undone, and indeed, they need about 15 minutes before you remove them from the sheet. I found it easiest to lift the parchment paper from the cookie sheet, place the cookies on the counter, and allow them to cool on the parchment paper for about 30 minutes. At this time, I removed the cookies to a cooling rack, covered them with a dish towel, and let them set until morning. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. 

Printable Recipe

Recipe adapted from Baked Perfection.

If you liked this recipe, you may enjoy these:

S'mores Cookie Sandwiches

Dipped S'mores

Chocolate Dipped Malt Cookies

Linked to: Weekend Potluck, Foodie Friday, Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party, Snickerdoodle Sunday, Treasure Box Tuesday, Create It Thursday, Thank Goodness It's Thursday