Who wants s’mores? Everyone will, when you make these! These easy S’mores Cookies are topped with rich chocolate ganache and toasted meringue. They’re an addictive dessert you won’t forget!
Some desserts are just on another level, know what I mean? And this easy recipe for s’mores is one of those desserts! With a rich chocolate ganache filling and a swirl of piped, toasted meringue, each cookie is a knockout. The simple sugar cookie base is sweet and buttery, perfect for supporting the tasty toppings!
If you’re already thinking about Christmas cookies (I know I am!) then these are an awesome option. They’re unusual, pretty to look at, and full of rich flavor. They’re also great for birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving… pretty much any occasion, honestly!
I use a kitchen torch to lightly toast the meringue and showcase the piped design, but you could also use a camping torch, or even slide the cookies under a hot broiler for just a moment. But be sure to watch them carefully, or they’ll burn and melt!
What You’ll Need
While this recipe may seem complex, it’s really not! Each part of the cookie is easy to make, using basic baking ingredients.
For the Cookies:
- Butter: Soften the butter to room temperature for easy creaming.
- Sugar: A combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar creates a sweet, tender cookie.
- Salt
- Vanilla: Use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Flour: Regular all-purpose flour is fine.
For the Chocolate Ganache
- Chocolate Chips: Semisweet chocolate chips are the base of the rich chocolate ganache.
- Cream: You’ll need heavy cream, not half and half.
- Butter: Again, room temperature butter is needed for this recipe.
- Corn Syrup: A little bit of corn syrup adds glossy shine to the ganache.
For the Meringue:
- Egg Whites: To make the meringue, you’ll need the whites of four large eggs. You can reserve the yolks for another purpose, or just discard them if necessary.
- Salt
- Cream of Tartar: A tiny bit of cream of tartar helps to stabilize the meringue.
- Sugar: Plain granulated sugar gives the meringue a light sweetness.
- Cornstarch: A little bit of cornstarch soaks up any excess liquid in the meringue, keeping it shiny and firm.
- Vanilla: To flavor the meringue.
It’s a great idea to split this cookie-making process into two days. On the first day, you can just make the dough and pop it in the fridge. The next day you can shape, bake, and fill the cookies. If you need to do it all in one day, be sure to budget at least one hour for chilling the dough, and plenty of time for filling them.
Make the Cookies
- Cream the Butter and Sugar. Fit your stand mixer with a paddle attachment, and cream the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light—about two minutes. You can also use a hand mixer.
- Add Remaining Cookie Dough Ingredients. Add the salt and vanilla to the butter mixture, and beat together for 30 seconds. Then add the flour, and beat for 30 seconds. The dough will be very stiff and firm.
- Chill the Dough. Scrape the cookie dough out of the bowl, and off of the paddle attachment. Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a bowl, and cover it with plastic wrap. You can also store it in an airtight food storage container. Chill the dough for at least one hour, or overnight.
- Shape the Cookies. When you’re ready to bake, shape the cookies into discs with a “lip” around the edge to hold in the chocolate and meringue filling. Roll the dough into golf-ball sized balls, using 2 tablespoons of dough for each one. Place them on a cookie sheet and press down in the center, shaping the lip around the outer edge. The cookies should be about 3 inches in diameter, and should be set about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
- Bake. Preheat the oven to 350°F. When the oven is preheated, bake the cookies for 9 minutes or so. They should be soft and just slightly golden around the edges. Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet, and transfer to a rack to cool completely before adding the fillings.
Make the Ganache
- Heat the Cream. Heat the heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave, for about 1 minute or until almost steaming. You can also heat the cream in a saucepan on the stovetop, stirring well.
- Combine the Ganache Ingredients. Combine the remaining ganache ingredients in a separate bowl, and then pour the hot cream over them. Stir slowly as the chocolate melts, and keep stirring until the ganache is completely smooth.
- Cool and Pipe. Set the ganache aside to cool completely, about 15 minutes. When it’s cool, spoon the ganache into a piping bag, and cut the tip to make a nickel-sized hole (or attach a plain piping tip about that size). Pipe a thick line of chocolate on the cookies on one side, just inside the lip. The chocolate ganache should fill the cookies just about halfway.
- Allow to Set. Let the ganache-topped cookies set, while you make the meringue.
Make the Meringue
- Begin Beating the Egg Whites. Carefully wash and clean your stand mixer and whisk attachment. Make sure there is no water or grease in the bowl or on the attachment. Place the egg whites in the bowl, and whip on medium speed for 1 minute, or until a slight micro foam has begun to form.
- Beat in the Salt, Cream of Tartar, and Sugar. Add the salt and cream of tartar to the egg whites, and continue whisking for another minute, the mixture forms a foam with big bubbles. With the mixer still running, slowly pour the sugar into the egg whites. Continue beating for 3 minutes, or until very soft peaks have formed.
- Add the Cornstarch and Vanilla. Add the cornstarch to the meringue, and continue to whisk on medium speed for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the meringue thickens and forms stiffer peaks. Lastly, add in the vanilla and whisk for another 2 minutes, or until stiff peaks have formed.
- Decorate the Cookies with the Meringue. Spoon the meringue into a clean piping bag fitted with a star piping tip. Pipe the meringue onto the cookies, opposite and slightly overlapping the chocolate half. You can make a line, swirl, or curve. Finally, use a kitchen torch or camping torch to toast the meringue.
- Make a Great Meringue: Before you make the meringue, it’s important to make sure your bowl and whisk attachment are squeaky-clean. If there’s any butter, grease, or water, it will prevent your meringue from forming correctly.
- Make Them By Hand: While it’s easiest to make these cookies using a hand or stand mixer, you can do them entirely by hand. It will take some time and elbow-grease to cream the butter and sugar, stir up the stiff dough, and make the meringue, but it is doable! If you do make the cookies by hand, it’s great to have someone who can help with all of that mixing.
- Swap Marshmallow for Meringue: To make s’mores cookies faster and easier, you can use marshmallow fluff in place of the meringue (and skip the kitchen torch). This will make the cookies stickier and softer, so you’ll definitely need to store and serve them in a single layer! I recommend doing that anyway, however, to protect the decorative design.
Variation Ideas
This recipe is perfect for adding special mix-ins for a special touch. Here are some amazing additions you can use to take these cookies up yet another notch!
- Sprinkle chopped walnuts over the ganache before it sets
- Sprinkle shredded sweetened coconut over the meringue before toasting it
- Mix chopped Heath bar into the ganache
- Drizzle caramel sauce over the ganache before topping with meringue.
You can store your homemade s’mores cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Again, I recommend storing in a single layer, although you can also stack the cookies with parchment paper between.
Can I Freeze These?
Yes, you can! To freeze, first place the cookies on a tray or cookie sheet in the freezer, and allow them to freeze for an hour or so. Then transfer the cookies to shallow, airtight containers. If you stack them, place a layer of parchment paper between each stack of cookies. They will keep frozen for up to one month. Thaw them without opening the container on the countertop, to prevent the meringue from absorbing moisture and growing sticky.
Looking for more amazing cookies that are slightly over the top in the best way?
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- White Chocolate Dipped Gingersnap Cookies
- Old Fashioned Pinwheel Cookies
- M&M Christmas Cookies
- Best Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies
- Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
- Giant Whole Reese’s Peanut Butter Cookies
- Chewy Molasses Cookies
- Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
- Lofthouse Sugar Cookies
- Oreo Cheesecake Cookie Cups
- Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
For the Chocolate Ganache
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon corn syrup
For the Meringue
- 4 egg whites
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Make the Cookies
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar on medium-high for 2 minutes.
- Add the salt and vanilla, and beat for 30 seconds.
- Add the flour, and beat for 30 seconds. The dough will be very stiff.
- Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for at least one hour, or overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Unwrap the dough, and shape into golf-ball sized balls, using about 2 tablespoons of dough for each.
- Place the dough balls on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, and press down the centers to create a well for the chocolate filling. Each cookie should be shaped like a disc with a lip around the outer edge. The cookies should be about 3 inches in diameter, and set about 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies for 9 minutes. They will be soft, and the edges may be slightly golden.
- Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet and transfer to a rack to cool completely.
- Make the Ganache
- Heat the heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave for 1 minute.
- Combine the remaining ganache ingredients in a separate bowl. Pour the hot cream over the ganache ingredients, and stir to melt. Keep stirring until completely smooth.
- Set the ganache aside to cool completely, about 15 minutes.
- Spoon the cooled ganache into a piping bag, and cut the tip to make a nickel-sized hole. Pipe a thick line of chocolate on the cookies on one side, just inside the lip. The chocolate ganache should fill the cookies just about halfway.
- Let the chocolate ganache set while you make the meringue.
- Make the Meringue
- Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip the egg whites on medium speed for 1 minute, or until a slight microfoam has begun to form.
- Add in the salt and cream of tartar, and continue whisking for another minute until a foam begins to form with large bubbles. With the mixer still running, slowly stream the sugar into the egg whites. Continue whisking for 3 minutes, or until very soft peaks have formed.
- Add in the cornstarch and continue to whisk on medium speed, for 6 to 8 minutes or until the meringue has thickened and stiffer peaks have formed. Lastly, add in the vanilla and whisk for another 2 minutes, or until stiff peaks are visible. Spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a star piping tip.
- Pipe the meringue onto the cookies, opposite the chocolate. Pipe in a line, swirl, or curve. Use a kitchen torch or camping torch to toast the meringue. Be sure to keep the torch about 2 – 3 inches away from the meringue to avoid burning it.
Notes
Nutrition
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