S’mores Cookie Cake

This is the BEST S’mores Cookie Cake. It’s the perfect birthday “cake” for the one guy who doesn’t like cake. It’s SO easy to make but also brings the wow factor with the gooey marshmallow, melty chocolate, and toasted meringue.

What Makes this S’mores Cookie Cake the BEST?

• Easy to make. If you can make chocolate chip cookies or cookie bars, you can make this cake!
• Texture. Crispy edges, gooey center, pools of melty chocolate, and toasted marshmallow meringue frosting. This combo is truly elite.
• Salty and Sweet. S’mores can tend to lean on the sickeningly sweet side. To balance this cookie cake out a little, I swapped the traditional milk chocolate you’d usually find in s’mores for a darker 72% chocolate. I also sprinkled some flaky sea salt on top of course.
• Layers. This cookie cake starts with a graham cracker cookie on the bottom, followed by a chopped dark chocolate bar for the perfect pools of melty chocolate, a layer of marshmallow fluff, and then is finished with more graham cracker cookie dough, and chocolate chips. And after it bakes and cools it’s topped with toasted marshmallow frosting. (I’ve also included instructions for chocolate frosting if you don’t want to make meringue!)

Ingredients

• Salted Butter. Don’t be afraid to use salted butter in your desserts – salt makes sweet things taste good!
• Eggs. You’ll need 2 eggs plus 1 egg white total – if you’re doing the marshmallow frosting. If you’re going for the chocolate frosting option, you’ll just need 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk.
• Chocolate. S’mores typically calls for milk chocolate. However, cookie dough PLUS milk chocolate PLUS marshmallow is just a bit too sweet, so I opted for a darker chocolate. There’s a chopped chocolate bar layered in between the cookie dough, and dark chocolate chips and mini semi sweet chips sprinkled on top. If you want milk chocolate, go for it!
• Marshmallow Fluff. I really wanted gooey puddles of fluffy marshmallow in this recipe and to achieve that, I think marshmallow fluff is far superior to marshmallows. When marshmallows bake they take on this very chewy and sticky texture, and that’s not what we want.
• Graham Crackers. The base of this cookie cake is a graham cracker cookie dough. I used honey graham crackers, but use whatever you like and crush them into a fine powder.
• Flaky Salt. Highly recommend a sprinkle of flaky salt at the end to balance out the sweetness.
• Dry ingredients. The usual culprits – all purpose flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. I have tested this recipe using a 1 to 1 gluten free flour replacement and it works great!

How to make S’mores Cookie Cake

Make the Graham Cracker Cookie Dough.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9″ springform pan with parchment paper. Do this by laying the parchment on the bottom of the pan before you’ve attached the walls. Give the paper a bit of slack in the middle and attach the walls of the pan. Baking it this way will allow you to easily lift the cookie cake onto your cake stand or serving platter after it’s cooled.

*If you don’t have a springform pan, you can also bake this in a 9″ round cake pan or a 9″ square baking dish – it will just be more difficult to transfer out of the pan for serving as this cookie cake stays very soft in the middle.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, dark brown sugar, and granulated sugar until well combined and lightened slightly in color – about 2 minutes. Make sure to take the time to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure everything is getting mixed in evenly. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and beat for another 2-3 minutes, until the mixture is glossy.

Add the flour, crushed graham crackers, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined, being careful not to over mix. I like to stop the mixer when there are a few streaks of flour remaining and then do a final mix by hand to finish incorporating the dry ingredients. Press 2/3 of the cookie dough into the prepared springform pan into an even layer.

Sprinkle the chopped chocolate bar evenly on top of the dough. Then, spread the marshmallow fluff carefully over the chocolate. I find it easiest to dollop it all around rather than dump it all in the center. It might seem tempting to add extra marshmallow, but I promise this is the perfect amount! Any more and it bubbles up when baking and is very hard to slice! Use an offset spatula, spoon, or mini spatula to spread it as evenly as possible, but don’t worry about it being perfect.

Finally, spread the remaining cookie dough on top. It’s ok (and I encourage) letting some of the marshmallow peek through. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top and then bake at 350 for 25-27 minutes. The edges of the cookie cake should be golden, but the middle should still look under baked. It will finish baking and set up as it cools. Let it cool for a full hour before topping with frosting and slicing.

Make the Marshmallow Frosting.

Once the cookie cake has been cooling for 45 minutes or so, start making the marshmallow frosting. It’s just a simple meringue made with egg whites and sugar – meringue might sound intimidating, but I promise it’s so easy! You will need a candy thermometer to make sure the egg whites come to the right temp.

In a glass bowl add the egg whites, granulated sugar, cream of tartar, and corn syrup. Add a couple inches of water to a sauce pan and place the glass bowl on top of it. The glass bowl should not be touching the water. Whisk constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture reaches between 130-135 degrees F.

Transfer the mixture to the bowl of your stand mixer (I prefer to use the metal bowl for this because I have broken a glass one beating sugar syrups that were too hot – so better safe than sorry!) With the whisk attachment, beat on high for 7-10 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Transfer the meringue to a piping bag and pipe little dollops all around the edges of the cookie cake. Toast the meringue with a kitchen torch. You could also try toasting under the broiler, but watch it close and be careful!

Slice and Serve.

It’s best to serve this S’mores Cookie Cake when it’s just slightly still warm, but not hot. The melty chocolate and warm marshmallow fluff won’t hold shape if you slice it too soon. I recommend waiting at least an hour or 1.5 hours. If you pick up the springform pan and it seems cool to the touch but just slightly warm on the bottom in the center, it’s perfect. Slice with a sharp knife, wiping it off with a damp paper towel between cuts for clean slices. Enjoy!

Equipment

• Stand Mixer. You can make the graham cracker cookie base in either or stand mixer or in a large bowl with a hand mixer. However, for the meringue I really recommend a stand mixer because it takes a lot of whipping to get it fluffy enough with stiff peaks!
• Candy Thermometer. If you’re making the marshmallow meringue frosting, it’s essential to use a candy thermometer to ensure the egg whites reach the correct temperature before whipping them.
• Piping Bag & Tips. To pipe the frosting around the edges of the cookie cake, I recommend using a disposable piping bag and a metal tip – I used a large round tip for the marshmallow frosting.
• Kitchen Torch. To toast the marshmallow frosting, I used a kitchen torch like this one. You can also try toasting it with the broiler in your oven, but just watch it closely and be careful!

S’mores Cookie Cake FAQs

• Can I make this gluten free? Yes. I have tested this recipe with a gluten free replacement flour and it worked great. I’d recommend a 1 to 1 gluten free flour replacement like this one from King Arthur Baking or this one from Bob’s Redmill.
• Can I make this ahead of time? Yes. Bake the cookie cake as directed and frost right before serving. You can also pop it in the oven for just a minute or two to get the chocolate melty again before serving.
• How to store leftovers? You can store this covered at room temperature for several hours, but after that I’d recommend storing in an airtight container in the fridge.
• What chocolate should I use? For the chopped chocolate bar in the middle, I used a Lindt Touch of Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Bar I think it’s just sweet enough and adds that little bit of salt that this very sweet dessert needs. For the chocolate chips on top, I used Ghirardelli 72% Dark Chocolate Chips and Ghirardelli Mini Semi Sweet Chips.

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