S’mores Cookie Bars
These glorious S’mores cookie bars have a buttery, graham cracker base and fissures of gooey marshmallow and decadent chocolate running throughout.
Soft and chewy, these bars are perfect for summer cookouts, potlucks, indulgent weekend desserts, and just about any other occasion you can think of!
S’More Cookie Dough Base
The s’mores flavor runs throughout the entirety of these cookie bars beginning with the cookie dough.
There are two qualities that make this batter a little bit special:
- Graham cracker crumbs are added with the flour for structure and yummy taste.
- All brown sugar is used (no granulated sugar) for the ultimate chewy texture.
Other than that, this dough couldn’t be easier. It’s a very unfussy, one-bowl recipe.
Marshmallow Creme vs Mini Marshmallows
It may be tempting to sub out the marshmallow creme or fluff in favor of mini marshmallows, but DO NOT SUCCUMB to the idea or the pressure.
The mini marshmallows completely dissolve and liquify in the oven leaving sugary pockets where the rivulets of marshmallow should be.
It’s worth keeping marshmallow creme or fluff on hand for this recipe. It makes all the difference in the outcome of the bars!
4-Layer Bars
These s’mores cookie bars consist of four beautiful layers:
- Cookie dough
- Marshmallow creme
- Chocolate chips
- Cookie dough
As the bars bake, the dough puffs up around the soft, creamy marshmallow layer creating the ribbons of marshmallow.
PRO TIP: when assembling the bars, it helps to dollop the marshmallow creme across the cookie base before spreading into an even layer.
These bars are decadent when served warm (ooey gooey marshmallow + melty chocolate 😍) and also incredibly delicious served at room temperature (and even chilled!).
A Tried-and-True Favorite
I have been making these cookie bars for over ten years. They are a favorite for so many occasions, and they freeze really well making them a perfect treat to keep on hand all of the time!
So many of you love this recipe, too!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ These are great. I love the graham cracker texture in the cookie base. -April
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ So good! This is my go-to recipe when I want something absolutely delicious and that always impresses everyone! -Carmen
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I was hesitant to make these, cause I don’t care for S’mores…but these were phenomenal and way too addicting! -Courtney
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I have made these bars several times for farmers market and for fundraising High School projects and they are the firsts bars that go! Thank you so much for this recipe!! -Linda
S’mores Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup (227 g) salted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (318 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (200 g) graham cracker crumbs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 7-ounce jar marshmallow creme or fluff
- 2 cups (340 g) milk or semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with foil or parchment (for easy removal of the bars after they've baked and cooled). Lightly grease the foil with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed (or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), beat the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined.
- Add the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt and mix until combined.
- Press half the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Dollop the marshmallow topping on top of the cookie base and gently spread into an even layer with a lightly greased spatula.
- Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Scatter the remaining dough in pieces over the top.
- Bake until golden brown at the edges but still soft in the middle, 30-32 minutes. Cool completely. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil or parchment overhang. Cut into squares and serve.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from All You (May 20, 2011 Issue)
Recipe originally published September 2011; updated March 2025 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
Made these for my sister’s bridal shower and they were such a big hit! I did half graham and half chocolate graham. Heated up leftovers and served with vanilla ice cream. 🙂 Will definitely make this one again!
Mel- I made these for a 4th of July get together yesterday and the family went nuts over them- so delicious, gooey, and soft! Everyone wanted to recipe, so you should have some new visitors here. Thanks so much for all your work providing tasty recipes and great explanations!
Made them twice once your recipe and the once my way … which is I added 1 cup of butter scotch chips and 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips….was amazing. Thank you for the great recipe.
I took a bite of these babies after they cooled down a bit and I thought to myself, “Holy crap these are delicious!!” Took them to a church activity today and several people asked me for the recipe, you are a dang genius Mel!
Oh my gosh. These are so good. I came across them one night and almost had a heart attack….a little sandwich shop by my house sells “bites” and one is the campfire. I loved them and couldnt believe it when I saw this recipe. These are even better! These beat real s’mores hands down…of course, since they have butter in them, right? Butter makes everything better. These really are delightful. My husband put them in his top ten. They are rich and just super tasty. I do think next time I make them I will put a little more than half the dough opinion the base. I felt like I had a little too much dough on top they still turned out yummy. Thanks mel! You are the woman!
Wow, these are gorgeous! They look delicious! I’ll definitely need to try this recipe myself.
I hope you’re enjoying that sweet baby girl.
I made these today for my guys to take on their father and sons campout this weekend. They turned out so yummy and are the perfect camping treat. Thanks for the recipe, the graham cracker base is delicious.
I made this to take to a friends house and we all loved it. I am definitely making these again!
My 7 year old picked these for the family night treat last night. I’m not a huge marshmallow fan, so I wasn’t sure if I would like them. Oh my gosh. They are amazing!! We all loved them. I had to hide them today so I wouldn’t eat all the leftovers. Thanks for another fabulous recipe Mel!
My friend made these last night and I was the lucky one who got to eat them. YUM. I just wished I had the whole pan to myself instead of sharing with all of the munchkins. I can’t wait to make them myself! Thanks, Mel.
These are insanely good. And the bonus, I always have the ingredients for them in my pantry/freezer. Marshmallow creme or Mazetta as it’s called by candy makers can be made at home. Super simple. Sugar, water,corn syrup and egg whites. One batch makes enough for the recipe with extra for spooning into hot chocolate (or directly into mouths as my kids prefer). I’m away from my recipe but I’ll post it.
I like to make my own marshmallow and marshmallow creme but since I have t made this recipe I wondered if it would work, since Mel didn’t have success with regular marshmallows. Can you share if the bars worked with your homemade creme?
Oh my goodness! These are absolutely amazing!!! I am so happy I found your blog… website? Anyways, these were fantastic. However, they are so great, I will only make them when I am taking them somewhere- out of the house- because I would be tempted far beyond what my self-control can handle.
Thank you for a great recipe!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. Made these tonight for our family and we couldn’t eat enough. I am stuffed and on a serious sugar high right now! They are heavenly. My kids think I’m the awesomest mom alive for making the best dessert ever:)
And whats up with the above commenter-mean! Geesh. Some people always gotta hate.
I made these yesterday and took them to a pitch-in. They look impressive and were inhaled in short order. I did have to taste one myself and thought they were OK despite the fact that they had marshmallow in them (which I don’t like). I thought they tasted more like a chocolate chip cookie bar than a s’more. That being said, next time I’ll just make the basic cookie bar. This was not a budget friendly (I found you through a link from moneysavingmom.com). Plus, I couldn’t even taste the graham crackers.
I’m a pretty picky cook and I ALWAYS adjust recipes. Even yours. 🙂 (No offense, I’m a compulsive cook and tend to just do that.) However, this is one recipe I didn’t adjust one tiny bit. They turned out better than I thought they would – I kind of thought it’d be a knock-off for a chocolate chip cookie bar. But right out of the oven these things are pretty dang magical. I am serving them tonight at a baby shower.
Thanks!
i’d totally skewer one of these and make it soft over an open flame. it ain’t a s’more until fire is involved. 🙂
Nevermind. My pregnant brain read the chocolate chips part wrong. I get it now. Sorry. 🙂
When do you add the milk?
So so good!! Thanks for another awesome recipe!
My 8 year old son plays football and has to be careful through the week to make weight. So after the game, he gets to pick a special treat for me to make. This was his pick and they were a hit with the whole family. I put a few aside for school lunches because I knew they wouldn’t last the weekend otherwise.
Hey Mel! Made these today, so good! I subbed in crumbled up Hershey bars for the chocolate chips so give them a little bit more authentic Smore taste…divine! You have never steered me wrong in the kitchen, thanks for all your great recipes!!!
I made these last night and they were very tasty. I forgot the vanilla though. I think it got left out of the directions part of the recipe 🙂
I made these yesterday and the whole family loved them! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
These were great! My kids especially loved them. My 4 year old asked if he could take the rest of them outside to share with the neighbors, and I admit to cringing for a moment because I wanted to eat them myself. =) I opted to encourage his giving spirit and let him share…so I better make another batch soon for me!
These look fabulous! I really wish my husband wasn’t off sugar so I could make these.
i look at cooking blogs comment sections to see if other people besides the person who posted the recipe actually think it tasted good, not just that it looks good and that you are planning on making them. let me tell you, made these yesterday for a bbq and everyone RAVED. they came together really quickly, my 2 year old couldn’t stop eating the graham cracker dough, and even my friends husband who “doesn’t like sweets” couldn’t stop eating them! highly recommend!!!
Oh my, these look AMAZING! I love S’mores (who doesn’t?), and making them in a bar form looks like perfect party food to me! Your photos are stunning, Mel!
We had a serious Melanie Gunnel night over here tonight. We had crispy chicken, herb roasted potatoes, the best drop biscuits, your strawberry lemonade, and these smore bars. We were supposed to have the ‘make ahead green bean casserole’ but I didn’t have enough time to cook them as I was back to back cooking in my oven as it was with all the above mentioned things. Isn’t that nuts? I mean really, I had about 10 different tabs open on the ipad going from one to the other cooking up a storm. And every single thing I made today was off your cute blog. I still look at this dang blog very very regularly and love it. Thank you for all your yummy recipes!
The chicken was awesome! The drop biscuits were SO good! The herb potatoes are a family favorite now and never fail. The smore bars were the best thing I’ve eaten in quite awhile, and the lemonade was made from bottled lemon juice as I didn’t have any fresh lemons. Yeah that’s right, bottled. You know, the one in the green bottle you keep in your fridge (well you probably don’t. I’m sure you’ve found a way to harvest your own lemon patch with the amount of lemon you use:), but the rest of us usually have a bottle of it on hand). Needless to say my lemonade didn’t turn out quite like I’m thinking it would have if I would have used actual lemons:).
THANKS cute Melanie! My family consistently benefits from your cooking.
Haha!!!! I have to crack because look at my last posting on my recipe blog!!! Slightly different recipes, but the same thing : ) We are on the same wave link, I think!! I will be trying yours to see which I like better!!!
http://twinnersrecipeblog.blogspot.com/
I really need to stop reading your blog. You’re dangerous to a woman who’s trying not to do better with her consumption of sugar.
But really I think you’re awesome and I thank you for helping me with my sugar cravings when I need them ;).
Oh, and I’m totally going to keep reading your blog.
I made these today for my family and we LOVED them! I loved that you could taste the graham crackers and it wasn’t just the usual chocolate chip cookie bar taste. thanks for a great recipe.
I made these this evening, and LOVE them. Not too sweet, nice mix of graham crackers, marshmallow and chocolate.
OH MY GOSH! When I think of “bars” I think hard, thick, crunchy, dry…so I have NEVER made ANY bars….UNTIL NOW, that is. These are absolutely divine!!! I am simply speechless! Thank you for showing me that bars can be moist, chewy, and splendid!!
I made these yesterday. They’re long gone now, they were great. I used only half the butter called for and they still turned out wonderfully. Thanks for sharing.
Ditto all the above comments, this looks so yummy that I want to make it before the weekend is over. And, this will be a great send-off as we see the end of the summer weather. I think I will also make it for a potluck next week – everyone will want the recipe (adults want their s’mores fix too!). Thanks for posting this, love all the cookies and bar recipes you share.
I love all the s’more cookie variations that are going around and your bars are not an exception!
These look addicting! I’d eat them all in one sitting.
I read your recipes religiously but rarely (if ever) post. Just wanted to tell you I absolutely love your site. And This is making me want to go buy some fluff NOW!!!! (maybe I can talk my DH into it…)
Keep up the good work!
That’s funny. I did the exact same thing with this exact same recipe. Notsogood. I bought some fluff shortly thereafter to try and they haven’t been made yet. Thanks for the reminder!
Can’t. Wait. To. Try. These!!!! Yumm!
I have hate but half love you 🙂 (actually more love, dont worry!) These look absolutely divine, if only marshmallow fluff was readily available to me in my little welsh town…when im back at uni in the big city I know exactly what i need to buy! 🙂
You know it is meant to be when you are craving a special combination of flavors and the email smiles at you and says, Mel has found it and given you the recipe.
Thanks for supplying me with today’s after school treat, after all it is Friday and Graham crackers are healthy… right??
Is it good to use parchment paper instead of tinfoil?
You can use either (each has their pros and cons).
WOW, these are going on the MUST try list!
These sound amazing! This will have to be my next recipe to try.
Laura D, Just by the size of the jar, I think it’s pretty close to 2 cups—maybe a tad more or less, but not much.
I am OBSESSED with S’mores!!! In fact I even did a S’mores themed week on my blog and I wished I had had this recipe then because it looks to die for. Oh well I guess I will just have to have S’mores week again! : )
Mel – or anyone else – do you know how many cups are in a jar of Kraft Marshmallow creme? I was planning to make a different smores bar recipe this weekend (for a 9 inch square pan), but these look better! I have one jar of marshmallow creme, but could stop on the way home for another. Perfect bars to wrap up the summer!
Laura – that’s a good question! It depends, probably, on the size of jar. I’ve seen both small and large. I have the larger size (13 oz) in my pantry and while I haven’t ever officially measured, I’m guessing there is at least 2 1/2 to 3 cups in there.
I am going to try these this weekend — looks like a perfect treat to take to a Scouting Court of Honor. I even already have ALL the ingredients on hand. I’ve been watching various s’mores-inspired recipes make the rounds on the food blogs lately, but nothing really seemed like what I was looking for until this one! Thanks!
These look so dangerously good! Wow! Can’t wait to try!
Thank you for cautioning against subbing in mini-marshmallows. I’ve always been a little frightened of marshmallow fluff, so I would probably have gone with the mini-marshmallows had you not said anything. This recipe is definitely motivating me to overcome that fear!
These look like so much fun! Great recipe.