These s'mores are for city people who don't have access to a campfire! These easy s'mores bars are made indoors with a base of graham cracker blondies topped with milk chocolate and toasted marshmallows.
S'mores are a campfire treat enjoyed in the summer and fall in North America. There are three key ingredients to perfect s'mores: graham crackers, chocolate (traditionally Hershey's milk chocolate), and marshmallows (preferably toasted).
To make s'mores, you need a campfire, which most of us city people don't have access to (and in my case, it's actually illegal to build a fire in the city). So this version of the classic dessert is s'mores for city people, in bar form, for people like me who don't have access to a campfire. Another s'mores-inspired dessert are these no-bake milk chocolate pots de crème which are topped with toasted marshmallows and graham cracker crumble.
I used to make these with a baked graham cracker crust, but the base was not super sturdy. So I've updated this recipe and switched the base to very sturdy, soft and chewy graham cracker blondies (which are blondie bars made with graham cracker crumbs and brown butter). The resulting s'mores bars are easier to serve and less messy (though it's still a pain to slice through the marshmallow layer if we are being honest. C'est la vie!
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Ingredients
The beauty of making s'mores indoors is that you need the same basic ingredients with a few extras to make the s'mores bars more sturdy. Here's what you need:
- butter—the graham crackers blondie base for these s'mores is made with browned butter to enhance the nutty, buttery flavour of the graham cracker layer. The brown butter was enhanced with milk powder to increase flavour
- sugar—use dark brown sugar if you can to create a more flavourful base to go with the milk chocolate and toasted marshmallows, but any sugar will work (granulated or light brown)
- egg—use large eggs. I added an egg to the base to ensure that these bars are sturdy and hold together well, unlike a graham cracker crust that can be more crumbly
- flour—another key ingredient to help the base hold together, use either all-purpose or whole wheat (which would enhance the flavour of the graham cracker layer in these s'mores)
- Graham cracker crumbs—either store-bought crumbs or grind your own in a food processor. You can also use homemade graham crackers if you prefer!
- leavening—a little baking powder added to the dry ingredients opens the crumb of the blondies so that the graham cracker base is not so dense
- vanilla—I bake with real vanilla extract (from Costco or homemade vanilla)
- salt—the salt in the graham cracker cookie crust is very important to balance out the sweetness of s'mores. I use Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt. If using table salt, add half the amount to avoid the bars being too salty.
- chocolate—for the sake of nostalgia and tradition, I used classic milk chocolate Hershey's chocolate bars for the chocolate layer. For a more sophisticated dessert, try Alunga milk chocolate by Cacao Barry, which is a dark milk chocolate and less sweet.
- marshmallows—I used mini marshmallows for a thinner marshmallow layer. Just enough to toast and add flavour without overwhelming the other components of the s'mores. Use more or less depending on how you like your s'mores
Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and substitutions.
Substitutions And Variations
- chocolate—I used Hershey's milk chocolate, which is what I would use for s'mores outdoors with a campfire. You could replace it with dark chocolate or white chocolate if you prefer. Dark chocolate would be a nice contrast to the sweet marshmallows!
- graham cracker crumb crust—I opted for a graham cracker blondie base, but I've also tested a baked graham cracker crust (with graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter and salt). Make sure to bake the crust so it's more sturdy, but also because you need the residual heat of the base to melt the chocolate. You could replace the graham cracker crumbs with crushed speculoos cookies, chocolate wafer crumbs, or even ground social tea biscuits.
- marshmallows—some people like to use colourful marshmallows in their s'mores. I would not go this route, but to each his own! If you have access to a fancy candy maker who makes gourmet flavoured marshmallows (like maple marshmallows, cinnamon marshmallows, or coconut marshmallows!), I'd definitely opt for those in this dessert!
How To Make S'mores Without A Campfire
Step 1—Start by whisking the dry ingredients in a small bowl (image 1) to ensure they are well mixed. Then, mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl (image 2) until smooth (image 3).
Step 2—Pour the dry ingredients on top of the wet ingredients, switching to a wooden spoon (image 4) and stir them together (image 5) until you have a clumpy cookie dough that is very thick (image 6).
Step 3—Transfer the dough for the graham cracker blondies to a prepared brownie pan (image 7) and spread it out into an even, smooth layer (image 8). Bake until set and the edges are golden brown (image 9).
Step 4—Take the graham cracker blondie bars out of the oven and place them on a cooling rack, then layer the chocolate on top of the hot base to create an even layer (image 10). After a couple of minutes, use a mini offset to smear the chocolate and smooth it out (image 11). Scatter the mini marshmallows over the melted chocolate when it is still warm to anchor them in place (image 12).
Step 5—When the bars have cooled completely and the chocolate has set, unmould the bars, removing the parchment paper. Set the bars on a board and use a kitchen torch to toast the surface of the marshmallows (image 13) to your liking. I like mine quite well done, as you can see, but I leave some that are less toasted (image 14).
Tip: Unmould the bars from the pan and remove any parchment paper if you used it to avoid setting the paper on fire. Keep the torch moving constantly at a distance from the marshmallows to toast them more evenly.
Top Baked S'mores Tips
If you don't have a kitchen torch, you can broil the tops of the marshmallows instead. If you choose this option, do not line the pan with parchment paper that overhangs. Instead, just line the bottom. Otherwise, the paper will catch fire under the broiler.
Make sure that your pan is heat-safe at 500 °F if you decide to use the broiler to toast the marshmallows, or else you may damage your pan. Some non-stick pans (like the OXO pan I use) are not safe at such a high temperature. If you are unsure, heat the bars at a lower temperature for longer to brown the marshmallows.
Cutting the bars is tricky because of the marshmallows, which are very sticky. I like to warm the knife up under hot water, pat it dry, and then brush it with a very thin layer of neutral oil (like canola oil) to prevent the mini marshmallows from sticking to the blade. Clean the blade if anything sticks (use hot water, and again, oil the blade after wiping dry). If any mini marshmallows stick to the blade, simply return them to their original position. All you can do is do your best to make it work!
Other Summer Baking Recipes
S'mores are a classic summertime treat and fairly easy to make, even if you don't have a campfire! Here are a few other desserts to try:
If you tried this recipe for the best s'mores bars(or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
S'mores Bars
Ingredients
- 150 grams graham cracker crumbs
- 65 grams bleached all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour
- 2.5 mL baking powder
- 1.25 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
- 85 grams browned butter cooled, made from 80 grams unsalted butter browned with 15 grams of milk powder
- 100 grams dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg(s)
- 5 mL pure vanilla extract
- 225 grams Hershey’s milk chocolate bars broken into squares
- 100 grams mini marshmallows more or less
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line a square 9x9 pan with parchment paper with overhangs. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whick together the graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking powdr, and salt.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cooled browned butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Pour the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients and stir them together until a cookie dough forms.
- Transfer the graham cracker cookie dough to the prepared pan and press it out evenly until smoothed out from edge to edge.
- Bake until set and the edges begin to brown (about 20 minutes).
- Take the pan out of the oven and set it on a cooling rack. Carefully place the pieces of chocolate over the hot blondies, scaterring them across in an even layer. Let them sit for a few minutes, then use an offset spatula to smear the chocolate across the entire surface of the blondies.
- Scatter the marshmallows over the melted chocolate in an even layer.
- Let the bars cool completely then unmould them from the pan, removing the pachment paper and setting them on a cutting board.
- Use a kitchen torch to toast the tops of the marshmallows as much or as little as you like.
- Use an oiled knife to cut into 16 equal squares.
Notes
- To make the brown butter for this recipe, I melted and browned 80 grams (⅓ cup) of unsalted butter in a small saucepan, then stirred in 15 grams (0.5 ounce) of non fat milk powder and continued stirring the mixture on low heat until the milk powder browns too. Then I let it cool slightly in my mixing bowl before adding the egg so it doesn't cook.
- For the sugar in the blondie bars, you can use any brown sugar (light or dark). I chose dark brown sugar to maximize the flavour
- For the graham cracker crumbs, you can use store-bought or homemade, or replace them with ground speculoos cookies or Teddy Grahams, or even chocolate wafer crumbs (for a different flavour).
- For the chocolate, I went with the classic Hershey's milk chocolate bars, like I would use in campfire s'mores. You could replace it with dark milk chocolate (like Alunga by Cacao Barry) or if you prefer dark chocolate or white chocolate for a different take on this dessert.
- You can also make these s'mores bars with a baked graham cracker crust.
- If you don't have a blow torch for the marshmallow layer, you can set your oven to broil and brown the marshmallows this way. If you opt for this method, be sure that your bakeware is oven safe at a high temperature (500 °F) and also, when you line the pan with parchment paper, do not use a parchment overhang because it will burn in the oven. Just line the bottom of the pan in this case.
Blue Apocalypse says
I have never thought about making smores as a baked bar before. Love the idea and looking forward to trying it out.
Melissa@Eyes Bigger says
I have a slightly different recipe for smores bars that I make and they are sooo good. Nothing I make disappears as fast as those do. Something about a childhood reminder methinks!The future will happen - it has a way of doing that 😉 You can worry about it a lot or like you said, you can just get on with living in the present. I believe things happen for a reason and everything that happens to you in the present is just like those lights on a runway - they guide you in to the place you're supposed to be 🙂
Torviewtoronto says
delicious dessert
Christine AKA Girl Versus Kitchen says
The baby shower is now over and they were AMAZING! I made two batches, AND cut them small, and they disappeared so quickly! I will say that I refrigerated them overnight and cut them this morning; the crust was pretty crumbly but I'm sure I didn't measure the butter correctly. Fantastic recipe!
Jan says
Hi Christine! So happy you enjoyed the s'more bars! About the crust, I find with graham cracker crusts, the trick is to very firmly pack the crumbs into the pan (even using another square pan to press it into place, otherwise they do crumble a bit (especially the corners). That being said, if you found the initial crumb mixture too crumbly, perhaps just an extra tablespoon could have fixed it. Some people even add in a little cream or even just water to adjust the consistency. Hope that helps!
Christine AKA Girl Versus Kitchen says
I'm making these right now (graham cracker crust is in the oven as I type) for a baby shower at work tomorrow! I'll let you know how they're received .. get it?!? Received?! Haha.
Lynn says
I haven't s'mores in so long!
mobb says
smores!!