As much as I love s’mores, I have to admit there is that whole “marshmallow oozing down your chin, chocolate gushing out of the sides onto your fingers” mess factor to consider. You also have to build a fire (microwaved s’mores are just not the same) and toast a marshmallow to perfection. If you just brown the outside of the marshmallow quickly, the inside stays cold and the chocolate won’t melt. These are all important factors when creating the perfect s’more.

I found myself putting a “S’mores Cookie” together in my imagination at 2:00 am, proof that my sis-in-law is right: I have OCBD – or “Obsessive Compulsive Baking Disorder.” You know how things you think of in the middle of the night sound like genius? And then the next morning you say “What the hell was I thinking?” This was what I ran into. The cookies were a mess. My original idea was to dip mini marshmallows in chocolate, freeze them, and put them inside a graham cookie with the hope that a frozen marshmallow covered in chocolate wouldn’t dissolve and disappear as the cookie baked. Hah.

When imagination fails, improvisation comes to the rescue! The final result was a graham cookie with a milk chocolate center, topped with toasted marshmallow and more chocolate. It just doesn’t get any better than that.

S’MORES COOKIES – a little bite of heaven.

I’m not getting a kickback from Hershey’s, (though that’s not a bad idea) but I’ve got to tell you – these Hershey’s Drops are a great idea! They’re like big M&Ms without the candy shell. I taste-tested quite a few of them before I deemed them worthy.

The cookies are very simple to make, and since the dough doesn’t spread much you will only need to use two cookie sheets. That’s a plus for me, because I have a short attention span when it comes to baking cookies, and am known for getting bored with the whole process and ignoring the last batch until the smoke alarm sounds. Two sheets is very do-able!

S’MORES COOKIES
Makes approximately 30

1 cup butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup powdered sugar
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups graham flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup cornstarch
½ cup marshmallow cream (I used Kraft Jet-Puffed)
1 package Hershey’s Drops
15 large marshmallows, cut in half

• Heat oven to 350 F.
• In large bowl beat butter, brown sugar, and powdered sugar until well mixed.
• Add egg yolk and vanilla and beat well.
• Add graham flour, all-purpose flour, and cornstarch and beat on low until combined.
• Add marshmallow cream and beat on low until combined.
• With #50 scoop (or a very rounded tablespoon), scoop out dough, roll into a ball, and place on ungreased cookie sheet.
• Working with one cookie sheet at a time, press one Hershey’s Drop in the middle of each cookie so it’s level with the top of the dough.

Pressing chocolate drops into the balls of dough.

• Bake for approximately 12 minutes. The cookies should be a golden brown. Remove the cookies from the oven.
• Turn the oven to broil and move the rack to the second position from the top.
• Place one marshmallow half on each cookie, sticky side down, covering the chocolate drop.

Cookies, hot out of the oven. Press the marshmallow gently onto chocolate drop.

• Put the pan under the broiler with the door ajar for approximately 30 seconds. Watch very carefully. Seriously! About 30 seconds. The marshmallow should toast to a light brown. Any darker, and the marshmallow will get chewy.

Go for the gold! Toast them gently to perfection.

• Remove pan from oven and place on a cooling rack. Press one Hershey Drop onto each marshmallow. Allow to cool on cookie sheet.

The cookies will cool quickly, but it will take a long time for the chocolate drop to get solid. If you stack them on a plate too soon you’ll end up with a big, gooey mess. I know this for a fact!

Don’t ask me how long these will keep; it’s a non-issue in my household. If you have to ask that, you obviously have a lot more self-control than I. Speaking of no self-control, if you would like to take the s’mores theme to a new level, check out my July “Food for Thought” column in Yummy Northwest for a truly decadent s’mores cake! Yummy Northwest

Kum Ba Ya!