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Brownie cookies and melty marshmallow goodness inspired by all these summer fire pit nights. Weather in July, here in Boston, was so miserably rainy we didn’t have our nightly fire pit time with the kiddos. So we took that goodness to the kitchen and devised these Brownie S’mores Sandwich Cookies to fill the void until the weather stopped sucking. Excuse the French. August is shaping up to be much better and these Brownie S’mores Sandwich Cookies would be equally fun around a campfire.

Here’s the thing though, I used real life marshmallows and they harden up quick. None of that fluff stuff you need a dictionary to read along side the ingredient label. But that means you need to turbo speed your way through the sandwiching process, working in small batches and they’re best eaten fresh. Although frankly, no one was complaining about the hardened marshmallow versions the next day.

I must have made several different batches of “brownie” cookies (no complaints from the family!) trying to get consistencies right and mine to crackle more. There’s so many other recipes out there and I read people’s complaints with those recipes. I tried upping the flour and ended up with a “cakier” cookie. But with only 3/4 C flour, the batter is runnier than your traditional cookie. Chill it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes prior to baking and use a small spoon or Tbsp to measure out scoops because they spread (account for that when filling your pan) and know that they don’t rise like your traditional chocolate cookie. They are Brownie Cookies.  They’re meant to crackle and be “fudgier.” When you’re sandwiching marshmallows between them, they’re perfect.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 C All Purpose Flour

3/4 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 C + 2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar

1/4 tsp Espresso Powder

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

10 oz Chocolate (I used 5 oz semi-sweet chips + 5 oz shaved dark chocolate)

1/2 C Salted Butter

2 Large Eggs

Large Marshmallows (I use the Dandies brand because I like the ingredients better)

Crushed Graham Crackers

 

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 350 F and mix your dry ingredients together–flour, baking powder, espresso powder and salt. Set aside.

Melt your chocolate and butter in a double broiler, stirring until combine. Pour into a large mixing bowl and using a handheld mixer, add granulated sugar, whipping for a minute or two until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat just until combine.

Slowly add in flour mixture and mix just until batter comes together.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

On a baking sheet lined with a Silpat Baking Mat or parchment paper, use a Tbsp to portion out the batter. The batter spreads so give yourself space on the pan and don’t use a big scoop or you’ll end up with a huge cookie.

Bake for 10 ish minutes, until they’ve spread, crackled and are starting to harden. You want to pull them out while they’re still soft and not quite set fully in the middle and then let them cool on the pan for 5-10 minutes. After letting them rest on the pan, move them to the wire rack and let them cool a bit.

Keep oven set at 350 F. Using a Silpat baking mat or parchment paper, line your cookie sheet and space out single marshmallows accounting for the fact they puff up quite a bit. And don’t reuse your parchment paper like I did below because the marshmallows were harder to get off.

You need to move fast with the sandwiching process. So get set up before you need to pull your marshmallows out of the oven. Set out your graham cracker crumbs in a small bowl and a spatula sprayed lightly with oil to help move faster with the sandwiching process.

MARSHMALLOW FILLING

Work in small batches (3-4 marshmallows on a pan). Bake the marshmallows in the oven at 350 F, watching them closely. You want them to double in size and brown a bit. Pull them out and get to work immediately. Using the oiled spatula and a cookie in one hand, take a marshmallow off the pan and smoosh it onto the underside (ie flat side) of the cookie. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over the squished marshmallow and grab another brownie cookie, pushing the flat side into the marshmallow and squish it into a sandwich. You want the pretty crackle side facing out.

Clearly these would be more fun around a campfire but for a rainy day activity with the kiddos, they’re sure fun! They’re best eaten while the marshmallow is hot and melty.

Enjoy these yummy treats captured beautifully by Ruth Eileen Photography.