Featured comment
5 stars. One of the best things I’ve ever eaten. I made them for Father’s Day and everyone went crazy for them. THEY ARE AMAZING.
Justine
S’Mores Bars = The Perfect Summer Dessert
Real question here: how are you not already making these? Are you now?! Okay, we’re almost two sentences in, it is definitely time that you get straight to these gems with gooey marshmallow and melty chocolate squanched between two graham-cookie layers and a secret swath of peanut butter sneaking throughout.
They’re such a great answer to any summer gathering (truly one of my top summer desserts!). Perfect to bake up and take to a potluck, or bring them up to the lake for cabin weekend. You get to skip the actual mess of s’mores and just do these!
And it is definitely as good as it sounds.
We love a dessert bar situation here in our neck of the woods and these bars are pretty next level. So. So. Good. Hope you love them too!
How To Make S’Mores Bars (Step-By-Step)
1
Make Cookie Dough Base.
Graham cracker cookie dough! Yes! Just mix it all up in a bowl to combine.
2
Press Half and Set Aside.
Press half of the dough into a parchment-lined 8×8 baking dish, and then lift out and set aside (this will be your top layer).
3
Press Other Half and Layer.
Press the other half into the bottom, then layer with chocolate bars, peanut buter, and marshmallow cream.
4
Lay Reserved Topping on Top.
Grab the cookie dough layer you set aside and layer it over the top.
5
Cool and Lift Out.
Once it’s baked, let it cool for a few hours and then lift it out.
6
Slice and Serve.
Slice into square bars and serve it up! SO GOOD.
Ingredients For S’Mores Bars
The nice part about these babies is there is absolutely no campfire on the ingredients list! You’re going to whip up that magical cookie dough and then it’s just s’mores stuff from there! Here’s what you’ll need:
For the cookie layer:
- butter
- white & brown sugars
- egg
- vanilla
- baking powder, flour, salt
- graham crackers, crushed into crumbs
For the s’mores-ing:
- peanut butter
- chocolate bars
- marshmallow creme
…GRAHAM COOKIE PEANUT BUTTER MARSHMALLOW CHOCOLATE OH MYYYYY.
Video: How To Make S’Mores Bars
Best S’mores Bars
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
Description
These really are the BEST S’mores Bars! Chocolate, peanut butter, and marshmallow sandwiched between two layers of a graham cookie crust. Everyone’s favorite summer snack (S’MORES, please!) in dessert bar form!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 6 graham crackers, crushed into crumbs (equals 1 cup crushed graham crackers, or 94 grams)
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (regular, not natural)
- two 4–ounce Hershey’s XL Milk Chocolate bars
- one 7-ounce jar of marshmallow creme
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Cookie Base: Beat the butter and both sugars. Mix in the egg and vanilla. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the graham cracker crumbs.
- Make a top layer: Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment. Press half of the dough into the bottom of the pan. Lift out the parchment with the dough on it and set it aside – this will be your top cookie layer.
- Assembly: Line again with parchment and press the remaining dough into the bottom of the pan. Layer with the chocolate bars, peanut butter, and marshmallow creme.
- Final Layer: Gently flip and place the prepared top cookie layer onto the top of the bars and peel the parchment off the top.
- Bake: Bake for 30 minutes until the top is golden brown.
- Resting Time: For the cleanest slices, I like to let the bars rest for 4-6 hours or give them a bit of time in the fridge so they can solidify enough for a clean cut! More info in the notes.
Notes
In the first 1-3 hours, the bars will be warm and gooey. They are delicious for eating in a bowl on your couch! But not ideal for a potluck or event because they are gooey and messy.
After 4-6 hours of resting, the melty layers of the bars will start to set and solidify. You can speed up this process by popping the bars in the fridge, and once they are set, you can get nice clean slices and they work great for sharing! I initially worried about the marshmallow layer getting too hard or sticky in the fridge, but I’ve never run into that issue. In fact, I usually store the leftover bars (the very few that are left) in the fridge and the marshmallow layer stays soft!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: s’mores bar, smores bar, summer dessert, dessert recipe, peanut butter s’mores
S’mores Bars: Frequently Asked Questions
For best serving (i.e. the cleanest slices), I recommend chilling in the fridge overnight. They hold together really nicely and cut into very clean bars when completely cool. The bars pictured here have been resting at room temperature for a few hours, which is why the marshmallow creme looks awesomely gooey. Also delicious, just a little harder to eat.
I like to use a conventional/standard peanut butter for this as the oil doesn’t separate.
While the peanut butter is optional, it does make these bars pretty next-level. I’ve used both smooth and crunchy in this recipe. Melting the peanut butter makes it a little easier to spread over the chocolate, and if your peanut butter gets mixed in with the marshmallow creme, that’s totally fine.
Leftover bars should be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
If that’s all you have on hand, yes! Just reduce the amount of coarse kosher salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
We call these campfire crack. They are unbelievably good.
Hello! I am making these now and can’t wait to try! I also wonder if these could go in a different direction with pumpkin for fall instead of the peanut butter? I would love to hear your thoughts!
That would have to much moisture!
I have made these with and without the peanut butter (I used natural without any issues) and with marshmallows and with Fluff – all variations are amazing! This is one of my favorite recipes and is always the first to be eaten at any event I bring them to.
Love these!! We have a peanut allergy, so I just left out the peanut butter and they were still delicious! I bet they would be great with sunbutter or almond butter! Everyone in our fam loved them.
These are delicious! I left out the PB because my husband doesn’t like it (nobody’s perfect!) but will make another batch for my daughter who loves PB! Thanks for a great recipe!
The best summer dessert! These have become a new favorite in our house.
This recipe is a MUST for s’mores lovers and for peanut butter-chocolate combo lovers. My house smells like my childhood camping memories.
For those who want cleaner ingredient marshmallow creme: toonie moonie marshmallow creme is sold in local stores. Organic and clean ingredients and worked perfectly in this recipe. I also used natural peanut butter. I just blended it really well with a hand mixer, straight in the jar!
Thank you for such an amazing recipe!!
I’ve made these twice! The first time I followed the recipe and found the graham top/bottom to be far too sweet. I removed the white sugar the second time around and the sweetness was better, but the top/bottom was a little too crumbly. Hoping to adjust the ratios to make the top/bottom more moist next time! Would love ideas on how to do that!
Holy moly, these are GOOD! That layer of peanut butter was a fantastic idea.
I have a son with an egg allergy. Do you have any recommendations for substitute in this recipe?
These are incredible!!
Delicious!!! I used a mixture of chocolate pb and regular and doubled the recipe! This is a must make and definitely a keeper!!!
Made these several times and I love the so much, my favorite part is the edge where the marshmallow gets toasted, so this time I put two thirds of the cookie dough part on the bottom and sprinkled the remaining third on the top, hopefully it’s AMAZING
They’re somehow everything you want in a s’more without the hassle of a campfire. Gooey, chocolatey, buttery, with just the right amount of crunch… basically unfair.
The hardest part of this recipe is pretending you’re only having one. I already know I’m making these again—honestly, they might become part of our regular dessert rotation. If you’re debating whether to make them, this is your sign. Your future self will thank you (even if your self-control won’t).
Oh my goodness. These were very fun to make and eat! Made them twice within a few days – once for just my family and again to bring to supper club. Everyone loved them! Thank you, POY!
These bars are so good. I dream of them!
Best dessert ever!! Perfect for summer!
These taste exactly like s’mores!! So fun and simple to make! Everyone wanted seconds!
These taste exactly like s’mores!! So fun and simple to make! Everyone wanted seconds!
These are SO GOOD! Love the addition of peanut butter. Easy to put together, will make again soon.
I’ve made this amazing treat too many times to count at this point. I’m asked for the recipe constantly. I buy the big Hershey bars and marshmallow creme in bulk. Love the cookie top and how all the sweet and gooey just mesh together perfectly. Thanks for this delight!
Making these for a group and have some PB allergies. Is it better to just omit or does that change the structure/integrity of the bars? If so do you have any suggestions on adjusting/adding anything else in place?
You can leave it out or replace with almond butter or cashew butter!
Fantastic bars! I made them with King Arthur gf 1:1 flour and gf graham crackers and it turned out perfectly.
I have made these twice now and they are such a hit! Both times I swapped out the Hershey bars for Milka chocolate bars and Giradelli chocolate bars and it makes it such a luxurious treat! So rich and delicious! My family loves these slightly warm (they’re impatient) but I love them after they’ve chilled in the fridge a bit. Both ways are delicious!
I’ve made these many times and love them! This time I didn’t have fluff on hand, so tried melted marshmallows. It didn’t work LOL. But they were still delicious!
I subbed in straight-up marshmallows for the marshmallow cream. It was ok but very messy, so I will probably try to get my hands on some marshmallow cream next time!