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S'mores Brownies

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on October 28, 2011

Time

1 hour, plus 2 hours cooling

Yield

Makes 16 brownies

S'mores Brownies

Ingredients

Crust

¾ cup graham cracker crumbs 1 tablespoon sugar 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Brownies

3 ounces (85 grams) unsweetened chocolate, chopped8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into chunks1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) sugar ½ teaspoon baking powder ¼ teaspoon table salt 2 large eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ⅔ cup (3⅓ ounces/94 grams) all-purpose flour

Marshmallow Topping

2 cups mini-marshmallows

Before You Begin

These brownies are moist and packed with chocolate flavor, but they won't crumble when you cut them. In fact, they hold up well enough to pack in a child's lunchbox or bring to a picnic or bake sale. They're pretty good at home, too, with a tall glass of milk. You will need 6 whole graham crackers to yield 3/4 cup crumbs when finely ground in a food processor. Prepare the brownie batter while the crust bakes. This recipe will not work in an oven with a separate broiler compartment.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 8-inch baking dish with foil and coat foil with cooking spray.
  2. For the crust: With fingers, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in bowl until evenly moistened. Firmly pat crumbs into prepared pan and bake until firm and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.
  3. For the brownies: While crust is baking, melt chocolate and butter in small bowl in microwave or in heatproof bowl set over pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally to combine. Cool mixture for several minutes.
  4. Whisk sugar, baking powder, salt, eggs, and vanilla together in medium bowl until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk in chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in flour until no streaks of flour remain. Scrape batter evenly over crust and gently push batter into corners to cover crust.
  5. Bake until toothpick inserted halfway between edge and center of pan (being careful not to insert toothpick into crumb crust) comes out clean, 22 to 27 minutes. Remove pan from oven and turn oven to broil.
  6. For the marshmallow topping: Sprinkle brownies evenly with single layer of marshmallows. Return pan with brownies to oven and broil until marshmallows are lightly browned, 1 to 3 minutes. (Watch oven constantly. Marshmallows will melt slightly but should hold their shape.) Immediately remove pan from oven. Cool brownies on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours.
  7. Coat knife with cooking spray to prevent the mashmallows from sticking. Using foil, lift brownies from pan to cutting board. Slide foil out from under brownies and cut brownies into 2-inch squares.
S'mores Brownies

S'mores Brownies

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Time

1 hour, plus 2 hours cooling

Yield

Makes 16 brownies

Ingredients

Crust

¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Brownies

3 ounces (85 grams) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into chunks
1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅔ cup (3⅓ ounces/94 grams) all-purpose flour

Marshmallow Topping

2 cups mini-marshmallows

Ingredients

Crust

¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Brownies

3 ounces (85 grams) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into chunks
1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅔ cup (3⅓ ounces/94 grams) all-purpose flour

Marshmallow Topping

2 cups mini-marshmallows

Ingredients

Crust

¾ cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Brownies

3 ounces (85 grams) unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), cut into chunks
1 cup (7 ounces/198 grams) sugar
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅔ cup (3⅓ ounces/94 grams) all-purpose flour

Marshmallow Topping

2 cups mini-marshmallows

Why This Recipe Works

Adding baking powder to this S’mores brownie recipe lent the brownies a slightly cakey, very sturdy texture that stood up well to the marshmallow topping didn’t crumble when sliced. Unsweetened chocolate added the richest chocolate flavor, which combined decadently with gooey marshmallow topping and a buttery graham cracker crust. Ensuring that a toothpick inserted in the middle of the pan of brownies came out with some moist batter or crumbs attached indicated the brownies were baked perfectly; around the edges the toothpick should come out clean. For the characteristic golden-brown crust on the marshmallows, we briefly broiled the marshmallow-topped, already-baked S’mores brownies.

Before You Begin

These brownies are moist and packed with chocolate flavor, but they won't crumble when you cut them. In fact, they hold up well enough to pack in a child's lunchbox or bring to a picnic or bake sale. They're pretty good at home, too, with a tall glass of milk. You will need 6 whole graham crackers to yield 3/4 cup crumbs when finely ground in a food processor. Prepare the brownie batter while the crust bakes. This recipe will not work in an oven with a separate broiler compartment.

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 8-inch baking dish with foil and coat foil with cooking spray.
  2. For the crust: With fingers, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in bowl until evenly moistened. Firmly pat crumbs into prepared pan and bake until firm and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside.
  3. For the brownies: While crust is baking, melt chocolate and butter in small bowl in microwave or in heatproof bowl set over pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally to combine. Cool mixture for several minutes.
  4. Whisk sugar, baking powder, salt, eggs, and vanilla together in medium bowl until combined, about 15 seconds. Whisk in chocolate mixture until smooth. Stir in flour until no streaks of flour remain. Scrape batter evenly over crust and gently push batter into corners to cover crust.
  5. Bake until toothpick inserted halfway between edge and center of pan (being careful not to insert toothpick into crumb crust) comes out clean, 22 to 27 minutes. Remove pan from oven and turn oven to broil.
  6. For the marshmallow topping: Sprinkle brownies evenly with single layer of marshmallows. Return pan with brownies to oven and broil until marshmallows are lightly browned, 1 to 3 minutes. (Watch oven constantly. Marshmallows will melt slightly but should hold their shape.) Immediately remove pan from oven. Cool brownies on wire rack to room temperature, about 2 hours.
  7. Coat knife with cooking spray to prevent the mashmallows from sticking. Using foil, lift brownies from pan to cutting board. Slide foil out from under brownies and cut brownies into 2-inch squares.

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