This Brown Butter S'mores Cookies recipe is all about taking a campfire classic and giving it a delicious twist. It’s the perfect cookie to enjoy whether you’re channeling summer vibes or just looking for something extra special to bake.
I’ve always loved s’mores—they’re such a nostalgic treat that instantly reminds me of late-night summer campfires. But for a long time, I stopped making them because I couldn’t get past the low-quality ingredients in store-bought marshmallows and graham crackers.
Between the high-fructose corn syrup in marshmallows and the overly processed ingredients in most graham crackers, I felt like I was compromising too much.
That’s why I set out to create a cookie version that is just as indulgent, but made with ingredients I can feel good about. These cookies are the solution: real food, real flavors, and no unnecessary additives.
The nutty richness of brown butter coupled with my Easy Homemade Marshmallows elevates these cookies to something truly special. Every bite is a delicious reminder that indulgent treats don’t have to come with a list of ingredients you can’t pronounce.
If you love recipes like this, be sure to check out my Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies, Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies, or Gluten-Free Monster Cookies.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Simple Wholesome Ingredients: Say goodbye to overly processed ingredients! These cookies only contain real food ingredients without any of the overly processed stuff. Plus, you probably already have everything you need in your pantry!
- Elevated Flavor: The brown butter adds an additional depth of flavor that makes them taste extra special.
- Make Ahead Friendly: Prepare the dough in advance and store it in the freezer until you're ready to use it!
Ingredients
- Butter: Kerrygold grass-fed unsalted butter is my go-to. If you use salted butter you can skip adding the sea salt in this recipe.
- Gluten-Free Flour: Look for 1:1 Gluten-Free baking flour. I typically use Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur's Cup for cup. Both work really well. If you are not concerned with making this recipe gluten-free, you can use all-purpose flour instead.
- Almond Flour: I really like the combination of using gluten-free flour and almond flour. The almond flour provides extra chewiness to the cookies. For best results, I recommend using Bob's Red Mill super fine almond flour.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: You need both of these ingredients as they are your leavening agents and also help the cookies brown.
- Sea Salt: A pinch of sea salt will help bring all of the flavors together.
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon adds a hint of warmth and spice to these cookies.
- Eggs: Pull your eggs out of the fridge a few hours before you want to make the dough so they have time to come up to room temperature. If possible grab some eggs from your local farmer's market. If store-bought is more convenient, look for eggs that are organic and pasture-raised.
- Coconut Sugar: Coconut sugar is such a great replacement for regular white sugar. I love using coconut sugar since it is unrefined but still adds a nice natural sweetness.
- Date Sugar: Date sugar has become my brown sugar substitute. It has a much finer texture than brown sugar, but it helps add a bit of chewiness to the cookies.
- Vanilla Extract: You can use vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
- Chocolate Chips: I use HU gems, but you could use any natural chocolate that you like. I use HU since it does not contain any refined sugar and is also gluten-free and dairy-free with no added fillers.
- Sweet Thins (Graham Crackers): Finding graham crackers made from real food ingredients has been a struggle! When I need a graham cracker substitute I use Simple Mills Honey Cinnamon Sweet Thins. They taste just like a traditional graham cracker but are made with nut flour, coconut oil, and honey.
- Marshmallows: My Homemade Cinnamon Marshmallows are perfect for this recipe. Make the marshmallows in advance and cut them into large chunks or make mini marshmallows.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Substitutions And Variations
- Chocolate: If you want larger chunks of chocolate you can chop up your favorite semisweet chocolate bars. You can also use semi-sweet chocolate chips or extra dark chocolate chips.
- Add-Ins: While not totally traditional, feel free to add chopped pretzels for the sweet and salty flavor combo!
- Sweetener: The mix of coconut sugar and date sugar helps create a super chewy texture, but you can swap those sweeteners for maple syrup. If you are not concerned with using refined sugar, you can also use dark brown sugar.
How To Make Chewy Brown Butter S'mores Cookies
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step 1. In a small saucepan over medium heat melt the butter. Stir the butter frequently, and continue to cook the butter until it starts to brown and has a nutty aroma. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool completely.
Step 2. In a large bowl, sift together the gluten-free flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, and cinnamon. Add your graham crackers to a plastic bag and use a measuring cup to crush them into bite size pieces.
Step 3. Add the eggs, coconut sugar, date sugar, vanilla, and cooled browned butter to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix everything on low to medium speed until combined and smooth.
Step 4. Slowly add the flour mixture (dry ingredients) to the butter and sugar mixture (wet ingredients), and mix until almost combined. You should still see some flour streaks at this point. Add ¾ cup of the chocolate chips and the graham cracker crumbs, and mix again until everything is combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour.
Step 5. Once the cookie dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees f. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and use a 2-inch cookie scoop to scoop the dough into balls. The dough should make 12 cookies.
Step 6. Place a marshmallow in the center of each dough ball and carefully fold the dough around it to cover the marshmallow completely. This will ensure it does not ooze out! Shape the dough into a ball and set it on the lined baking sheet. Press gently to flatten slightly.
Step 7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately add a few more chocolate chips, graham cracker pieces, and small pieces of marshmallow to the top of each cookie. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Nadia's Expert Tips And Notes
- Brown Butter: Browning butter can seem intimidating, but it really is simple! Just be sure to watch it closely, as it can burn very quickly. Once you start to see the brown bits forming, turn the heat off and continue to stir the melted butter as it will continue to cook.
- Chill Time: You don't want to skip this step! This is a really wet dough that can be hard to work with if you don't let it chill. Also, chilling the dough allows the flavors to fully develop. If you are baking your cookies in two batches, place the dough back in the fridge while you bake the first batch.
- Oven Temperatures May Vary: Once your cookies has been in the oven for 8 minutes, keep an eye on them. Oven temperatures tend to vary, so your cookies may be ready in 8 minutes and some ovens may take closer to 12 minutes. If you like crispy edges you may want to bake them for a few extra minutes.
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Serving Suggestions For Classic S'mores Cookies
This is the perfect dessert to serve at any BBQ, summer party, or cozy gathering. You can serve it warm or at room temperature. Here are a few ideas for you.
- Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the ultimate ice cream sandwich.
- Pair with a cold glass of homemade cashew milk, hot chocolate, an iced maple latte, or a festive peppermint matcha latte.
- Add these cookies along with sourdough discard chocolate chip cookies, and sourdough brownies for the ultimate Christmas gift box.
Storage And Reheating
- Storage: You can keep the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. You can also store them in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Freezing: Feel free to freeze the unbaked cookie dough balls for up to 3 months and bake directly from frozen.
- Reheating: Warm cookies on a cookie sheet in a 250-degree oven for 3-5 minutes or until the cookie is oozing marshmallows and the chocolate is melted.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can, but that doesn't mean you should! The brown butter adds a unique nutty flavor that makes these cookies special. I highly recommend not skipping this step!
Yes! The dough can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours before baking. This actually improves the flavor and texture of the cookies.
The marshmallows will melt when you bake the cookies. If you want some gooey marshmallows in your cookie, add a few small pieces to the tops of the cookies right when you remove them from the oven.
The edges should be lightly golden brown, but the centers will look slightly underdone. They'll continue cooking as they cool on the baking sheet.
Other Related Dessert Recipes
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Brown Butter S'mores Cookies
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons Butter
- 1 cup Gluten-Free Flour
- ¼ Almond Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- 2 Eggs
- ½ cup Coconut Sugar
- ¼ cup Date Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup Chocolate Chips hu gems
- ¾ Graham Crackers simple mills
- 1 cup Marshmallows no high-fructose corn syrup
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat melt the butter. Stir the butter frequently, and continue to cook the butter until it starts to brown and has a nutty scent. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool completely.
- In a large bowl, sift together the gluten-free flour, almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, sea salt, and cinnamon.
- Add the eggs, coconut sugar, date sugar, vanilla, and cooled melted butter to the bowl of your stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix everything on low to medium speed until combined and smooth.
- Slowly add the flour mixture (dry ingredients) to the butter and sugar mixture (wet ingredients), and mix until almost combined. You should still see some flour streaks at this point. Add ¾ cup of the chocolate chips and the graham crackers and mix again until everything is combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 1 hour
- Once the cookie dough has chilled, preheat your oven to 350 degrees f. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and use a 2-inch ice cream scoop to scoop the dough into balls. The dough should make 12 cookies.
- Place a marshmallow in the center of each dough ball and carefully fold the dough around it to cover the marshmallow completely. This will ensure it does not ooze out! Shape the dough into a ball and set it on the lined baking sheet. Press gently to flatten slightly.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges start to turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately add a few more chocolate chips and small pieces of marshmallow to the top of each cookie. Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Brown Butter: Browning butter can seem intimidating, but it really is simple! Just be sure to watch it closely, as it can burn very quickly. Once you start to see the brown bits forming, turn the heat off and continue to stir the melted butter as it will continue to cook.
- Chill Time: You don't want to skip this step! This is a really wet dough that can be hard to work with if you don't let it chill. Also, chilling the dough allows the flavors to fully develop. If you are baking your cookies in two batches, place the dough back in the fridge while you bake the first batch.
- Oven Temperatures May Vary: Once your cookies has been in the oven for 8 minutes, keep an eye on them. Oven temperatures tend to vary, so your cookies may be ready in 8 minutes and some ovens may take closer to 12 minutes. If you like crispy edges you may want to bake them for a few extra minutes.
Nadia says
I hope you love this recipe as much we our family does!