These Levain Bakery-Style S’mores Cookies are made in the style of the famed NYC bakery but done up with an original s’mores flavor that’s perfect for summertime! You’ll love the combination of gooey marshmallows, melty chocolate chips and crushed graham crackers!
You don’t have to have traveled to Manhattan and eaten at the famed Levain Bakery to have probably heard of or seen the monster cookies they put out daily. Lines are usually wrapped around the block to score one of their four flavors, but nothing beats a warm cookie and then walking through Central Park! However, save the airfare money and make them at home! I have recipes for Levain’s Chocolate Chip Walnut, Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip, and Oatmeal Raisin PLUS three Levain-Inspired Cookies I created: Funfetti Cake Batter, Red Velvet, and Ultimate Peanut Butter. These S’mores Cookies are another one I have dreamed up that Levain doesn’t carry, but that are done in the signature Levain “style” we all love (or that you’ll come to love if this is your first foray with them!)
Levain Bakery is known for their huge 6-ounce-apiece cookies in four signature flavors with craggly exteriors and gooey, underbaked centers. You can get them shipped to you for a pricey fee, and apparently now they have frozen versions which I hear are less than stellar for some reason. Or just try my versions!
There are a few key components to making these cookies successful, and those components are:
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch is my number one favorite secret cookie ingredient for a light and tender cookie texture. Time after time, it yields soft cookies!
- Cake Flour: Cake flour is Levain’s secret weapon for creating large cookies with a surprisingly tender crumb. If all all-purpose flour were to be used in cookies this size and density, they would taste scone-like and too dense. The addition of cake flour lightens things up a bit.
- Extra mix-ins: There are a LOT of mix-ins in these recipes because not only do the mix-ins impart flavor, but they help maintain the structure and integrity of the cookie shape and helps discourage too much spreading.
- Brief chill-time: These cookies need to chill about 30 minutes in the fridge for optimal results. We’ll only bake one sheet of cookies at a time, so while that sheet bakes, keep the remaining cookie dough refrigerated. This keeps the dough cool enough to discourage too much spreading.
And for perfect bakery-style results, follow these tips:
- Shape: I like to shape my cookies very rough and loose. We’re so used to tight, smooth and compacted balls of cookie dough using cookie dough scoops, but these are going to be rougher, with a craggy exterior and a looser pack which gives them that texture. For accuracy, I recommend a digital cooking scale for measuring out exactly 6 ounces of dough.
- Size: These cookies are monstrous, so I recommend only baking 4 cookies on one baking sheet at a time, staggering them on the baking sheet so they’re about 3 or more inches apart from one another. This helps so that when they bake and inevitably spread a little, they won’t form into one giant cookie and it helps keep baking consistent.
- Do not over-bake!: These cookies will have a drier, duller exterior finish with a gooey, underbaked center and the key to achieving this is to not over-bake! Everyone’s oven varies in heat levels and baking times, but this should take anywhere from 8-12 minutes. Mine took around 11 minutes for these particular cookies. Remember, we’re only going to bake one baking sheet at a time for utmost accuracy and consistency. And also keep in mind that once removed from the oven, the cookies will continue to finish cooking as they set and cool. If you’re unsure, a good tip is to bake off one cookie in the center of a cookie sheet and experiment with timing that way.
- One at a time: We’re only baking one sheet at a time in the center rack of the oven.
Gooey, thick, chewy and packed with yummy s’mores goodness, you’re going to love these S’mores Cookies!
Levain Bakery-Style S'mores Cookies
Equipment
- Digital kitchen scale, for accuracy
Ingredients
- 1 cup COLD unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups semi-sweet OR milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- 1 cup roughly chopped graham crackers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 410° degrees F. Line 1 baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar together with the paddle attachment on low speed for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium and beat for another 30 seconds, then increase speed to high power and beat for a final 30 seconds or until creamy and smooth. Add in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. Add in the cornstarch, baking soda, salt, graham cracker crumbs, cake flour and all-purpose flour and mix on low speed until a soft dough comes together. Lastly, gently stir in the chocolate chips, miniature marshmallows and graham cracker pieces. Cover and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes to chill. This is mandatory.
- Using a digital cooking scale for accuracy, measure out a 6 ounce portion of cookie dough and form it into a tall, roughly shaped ball - not a compact, tightly rolled one like we're used to. Stagger 4 cookie dough balls 3" apart on the baking sheet - no more than 4 dough balls per baking sheet. We're only baking one sheet at a time, so refrigerate any remaining dough.
- Bake the cookies in the center rack of the oven for 8-12 minutes or until the cookies appear set and look dry and dull on the outside. You can always bake off one cookie to test to gauge how long your oven will take as everyone's ovens differ in time and temperature. Your cookies should be slightly gooey and underbaked in the center. Remember, do NOT over-bake! The cookies will continue to set up some as they cool. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets to set, at LEAST 30 minutes before serving as cookies are quite delicate while hot.
Notes
My fave part about these cookies? The gooey, slightly melted/caramelized marshmallow parts *drools*. SO GOOD.
Have a super sweet weekend!
xo, Hayley
Albertina says
These were very easy to make and very good in taste! I changed nothing this recipe and it was amazing. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I definitely plan to make it again!
thedomesticrebel says
Albertina, I am so glad you loved the cookies!
Dee says
Made these cookies today and they are phenomenal! I’m at a high altitude (about 5280) and I find sometimes this messes with what temp and time I need to bake things at… but i followed the recipe anyways and ended up using the full 12 min and the cookies came out perfect. The hardest part of the recipe is waiting for the cookies to cool on the sheet!
I also used “fine pastry flour” instead of “cake flour” because I couldn’t find it and while I don’t actually know the difference between the two, the final outcome was still a delicious texture and taste. Thanks for the recipe!
Susan Lowry-Nix says
Trying this today but will be converting to grams. Why would you recommend a digital scale and then not have the gram equivalent for your recipe?? Doesn’t make sense! Hope they turn out!
Reese says
This is the first time I’ve ever left a comment for a recipe I’ve tried. These cookies are THE BOMB! SO GOOD! I honestly have to resist scarfing down all the cookies when I take them out of the oven. My fave part of the cookie is the gooey texture of the melted marshmallows. I highly recommend this recipe. My boyfriend isn’t a huge dessert fan but he really enjoyed these cookies. And they’re not that sweet either! Thanks so much for creating and sharing this recipe, Hayley
I also recommend her other recipe for Levain’s Chocolate Chip Walnut cookie!!
Karen says
These are so great! The melted marshmallows make it taste almost caramel-ey. Delish!
Alexandra Robertson says
How long do these stay fresh for?
Jennifer says
THESE ARE MY FAVOURITE COOKIE. I use to buy a similar one at our local bakery and so happy to find something I can bake at home and enjoy. I’ve omitted the graham cracker (because I didn’t have any on hand ) and replaced with cornflakes and they came out amazing!
Emily says
Hi, Hayley. I have made nearly every one of your Levain Style cookies, and they have all worked out great…but for some reason these went really flat for me. Any idea where I went wrong? My only guess is that the 30-minute chill time wasn’t enough for mine, or that the chopped graham crackers I added in got crumbled up too much. I was so hopeful for this recipe. Your photos looked so good!
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Emily, these ones tend to get a little flatter because of the marshmallows! These cookies in general are formulated with a specific amount of mix-ins, but since the marshmallows melt, the structure of the cookie tends to change when baking since the mix-in amount is what helps provide structure for the cookie. Hope this helps! It’s not your fault.
Elyse Goeckner says
I had this same exact problem! Mine look nothing like your pictures ☹️ you can definitely tell it’s the marshmallow because the flattened part is nice and toasted. Is there any way to help this?
sheila ronsen says
Can you tell me how many days I can make these in advance?
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Sheila, I would say 3 days in advance or so if stored at room temperature airtight.
Reinette says
How long can I store the cookie dough in the freezer
thedomesticrebel says
I would say up to 6 months!
Lauren says
If I freeze the dough, what should I do with baking time/temp when I’m ready. Can I bake from frozen or do they need to defrost a bit? They look so good!
thedomesticrebel says
Hi Lauren, I can’t say with 100% certainty since I have not frozen the dough, but I would freeze the dough into balls first since that would be easier, and then bake the dough balls from frozen. I would add some cooking time, maybe 2-3 minutes. My best recommendation is to test bake ONE cookie and see rather than bake the whole batch and experiment with all the cookies at once.
Lauren says
These came out absolutely incredible for me. I froze the dough balls and then baked them at 195 Celsius for 16 minutes. I am going to have to try all your levain style cookies now- but oh my god, these are amazing.
thedomesticrebel says
Lauren, thanks so much for your review! I’m glad they turned out wonderful for you and you enjoyed them!