When I was younger, my grandparents used to take all of us grandkids on huge camping trips every summer. These camping trips hold some of my fondest memories of my cousins. There was a large rock in the middle of the lake and we all had the goal to be able to climb up on top of that rock. It was a monumental year when all eight of us "older cousins" were able to crawl up on top of that rock. It was so monumental that my grandma had to climb up on top of it as well and the picture of all of us with my grandmother on top of that rock is one of my favorite photos. After a day spent swimming in the lake, climbing on top of the rock, running through the woods and crossing the river via fallen tree trunks, and once dinner had been eaten and the dishes cleaned, we would gather around the fire to tell jokes and the occasional scary story, roast marshmallows, and make s'mores. I don't think there was a limit to how many marshmallows we could have, but there was one, maybe two, s'mores allowed per child per night. I have vivid memories of my cousin, Stephanie, holding a graham cracker with a piece of Hershey's chocolate on it so I could place my hot melting marshmallow, still on its stick, on top of the chocolate and she would sandwich that marshmallow with another graham cracker while I pulled the stick away. I would then reciprocate the favor for her and we would enjoy these delicacies together. After s'mores, all of us cousins would pile into our huge tent and spend the night talking until we all fell asleep.
As an adult, s'mores still feel like somewhat of a delicacy. First, it was because I was a health-obsessed personal trainer, who would allow herself maybe one s'more per year. Now, it's because I find gelatin, one of the ingredients of your common marshmallow, to be one of the most disgusting things one can consider putting in their body, and vegan marshmallows, though extremely delicious, are slightly more expensive (and still being slightly health-obsessed, the sugar content is not something I want to consume regularly) so I like to maintain them as a treat. Also, though I think s'mores taste wonderful, it's not a taste I crave regularly.
Recently, Max asked if there was such a thing as vegan marshmallows (in much the same manner as a child may ask if there was such a thing as unicorns). I was happy to inform him that yes, there were, and they taste even better than their animal-based counterparts. I made a mental note to buy him a bag of vegan marshmallows the next time I came across some, and wouldn't you know, the next time I was at Whole Foods, they were fully stocked with Dandies. I felt that I owed it to Max to pick up a bag.
Something happened, however, which prevented Max from getting to try the vegan marshmallows I had bought for him. I was gathering my ingredients to make some gluten-free, vegan chocolate chip cookies for a family get-together (my grandparent's 60th anniversary and vow renewal), very excited to see all of my cousins again soon, when I came across the bag of Dandies in the cupboard. The wheels started turning, and before I knew it, I was adjusting the recipe to make the cookie base more "graham crackerish" and chopping up marshmallows (mindfully saving more than half the bag with the intention of sharing with Max) to throw in with the chocolate chips.
Once the s'more cookies came out of the oven and were cool enough to handle, I tasted a cookie, while the marshmallow was still a little gooey. The taste is remarkably like those s'mores that I used to enjoy with my cousins, while sitting around the campfire. It was so similar, that it felt as if Stephanie, dressed in clothes that matched mine (we used to try to fool people into thinking we were twins because we're ten days apart in age, but the fact that she was about 6 inches taller than me and had brown hair kind of threw people off), was right next to me, enjoying one herself. I'm guessing the cookies went over well at the get-together because there were only five and half (???) remaining when we left, and those disappeared somehow on the drive home.
Since these cookies were so good and disappeared way too fast to be able to take pictures, I had to make more (still leaving about 1/3 of the bag for Max). This batch was even better than the first, with a lightly crisp exterior and a very soft and chewy filling, just like an actual s'more, the taste even more spot-on than the first batch. Samantha even snagged one during the photo shoot, when we weren't looking. She was awfully proud of herself afterwards, so I'm guessing she liked it (and she didn't get sick from the chocolate, thank goodness). As I'm writing this, there are no more Dandies in the cupboard and my house smells like camping. You do the math.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup brown rice syrup
- 2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses (or regular molasses)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 large ripe banana, mashed
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon chocolate extract
- 1½ cups gluten-free flour mix, such as Bob’s Red Mill (or all-purpose flour)
- 1 ½ teaspooons Ener-G Egg Replacer
- ¾ teaspooon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspooon baking soda
- ½ teaspooon salt
- ¼ teaspooon ground ginger
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- 2/3 cup vegan marshmallows, loosely packed, cut in half or into quarters (I used Dandies)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, thoroughly combine your dry ingredients. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, beat together the mashed banana with the coconut oil. Add the brown rice syrup, maple syrup, molasses, and chocolate extract. Stir until combined.
- Make a “well” in the middle of your dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in. Mix until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and marshmallows and mix until they are evenly distributed (with not too many big clumps of marshmallows).
- Using a tablespoon, scoop the dough in heaping spoonfuls (including at least 1 marshmallow bit in each scoop), and drop onto the prepared baking sheets. Use the bottom of a measuring cup or glass to slightly press each cookie into a thick flat disk.
- Bake the cookies for about 8-9 minutes, until firm, but still soft. Remove from oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to let them cool completely. Enjoy!
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Photography by Chris Miller
Hannah
Those gooey marshmallows are completely drool-worthy! I have only just finished breakfast and now you have me craving sweets like crazy. Killer recipe- I would have never guessed by their looks that these cookies are gluten free.
Caitlin
i can just imagine taking a bite out of one of those cookies right now and they taste delicious! i love your recipe. you really utilized a lot of great ingredients. i would love to make these cookies for a special occasion. i'm sure they'd be gobbled up in no time!
and yay for max asking about vegan marshmallows. it's one of those things you don't think about not being vegan until you are vegan and you're like, "WHAT do they put in marshmallows?!" whenever dayv asks for marshmallows and they're out of the dandies at whole foods, i come home and say, "sorry, they only had the ones made with fish gelatin."
Cadry
How fitting that you'd make s'more cookies for your grandparents' celebration, after you enjoyed many camping trips with them. That's too funny that you and Stephanie tried to fool people into thinking you were twins. I can't imagine why that didn't work... 😉
This looks like some gooey deliciousness! On the rare occasions I've purchased Dandies, I never know what to do with the remaining bag after a few of them have been roasted on the fire pit. Now I have my answer!
Gabby @ the veggie nook
These are genius Kristy! I have never actually bought vegan marshmallows before because of their price. But if I ever do, I will certainly be trying these cookies. I loved smores as a kid, especially when made with burnt marshmallows. Everyone thought I was weird for purposely burning them but oh man, that was the good stuff 🙂
Erika
Yum! So wish I could eat these right now- I'll have to make them for the family so I can fill my house with yummy smells instead. 🙂
Melissa
I love this idea! I I had been thinking about s'more cookies but hadn't had an event to make them for. Your grandparent's party sounds like the perfect occasion! They look perfectly gooey. 🙂
(Love that photo of Samantha even though she got in trouble... lol)
keepinitkind
Thanks Melissa! They are a great party cookie! 🙂 And that Samantha- I always forget that she's a dog and won't ask permission to sample our food. She's pretty well-behaved most of the time, but sometimes she gets pretty sneaky! 😉
Bex @ Vegan Sparkles
Wooooooo!! Yet ANOTHER thing we don't have in Australia - S'mores! But I'm using my vivid imagination and I'm betting they are delicious! These cookies look divine and the perfect treat to take to your family gathering to invoke delicious memories. xxx
keepinitkind
They are pretty great but not really anything I craved until now. When you're out here in November, it's definitely something to look for! 🙂
Richa
😉 i dint know what smores were till like 5 years back. so cool that max asked you about them:)
i bet these cookies will be a hit at every party! add these to your store plans:)
keepinitkind
Thanks Richa! You know, I didn't even know Max liked marshmallows, so I pretty shocked (and excited) that he was interested in them. He's an awesome kid. 🙂
Heather
I absolutely adore this story, thank you fo sharing such a great memory with us!
These cookies are a stroke of genius - I love S'mores and was so sad teh first year I turned vegan and went on our annual camping there would be no s'more for me- ever since the first camping trip i can remeber (like 6) we always had s'mores! Well, I was over the moon when I learned about dandies and even more pumped when I found them at my local health store lat year - its funny, Justin and i had a fire over the weekend and I broke out the s'more supplies....I still have half a bag of dandies, I am thinking these very s'mores cookies are on the agenda for this weekend!
keepinitkind
Thank you, Heather! I'm a big fan of dandies- I think they taste better than the original. They are such a nice little treat every now and then. I love that you and Justin just decided to make s'mores over the weekend! Once it becomes cool enough for fires out here, I think we'll be giving that a try too! 🙂
Alaine at My GF & DF Living
Wow!!! These look so great. I have missed s'mores so much since going gluten-free so this would be the perfect way to satisfy my cravings. They look nice & gooey too 🙂
keepinitkind
Thanks Alaine! These will be perfect for satisfying your cravings! Yay! 🙂
Courtney Jones
Wow! These cookies look incredible. Awesome job on these. I cannot wait to make some of these to snack on. I used to love making s'mores as a kid. Or banana boats! So glad vegan marshmallows - although expensive - are easy to find now a days. When I became a vegetarian, I thought I'd never have a marshmallow again! Thankfully the store down the street from my place sells Dandies. Mmmm!
keepinitkind
Thank you, Courtney! They are a dangerous snack food, since they're so addictive, but they are so worth it! Vegan marshmallows are kind of a godsend- the perfect occasional treat! 🙂
Somer
Do you have any idea how much I love S'mores?!? I have been eyeing this recipe for days! Can't wait to get some Dandies and test it out! I love that we were thinking about graham crackers at the same time too!
keepinitkind
I know, right! When I got your email, I had s'mores on the brain, so I was so excited to finally find some! Thank you, thank you, thank you! 🙂 I hope you like the cookies as much as we did!
Nikki @ The Tolerant Vegan
Hi! I saw this recipe on the Meatout Mondays e-newsletter and I wanted to let you know that it looks DELICIOUS!
keepinitkind
Yay! Thank you, Nikki! You are so sweet to drop by and say so! 🙂
Patricia
How in the world do you find the time to cook all of the recipes you post on your blog and keep your home and take care of your family? You must have an inexhaustible amount of energy; I envy you. I'm on the SCD diet, 14th day, and just fixed the bacon, avocado and monterey jack cheese omelette for lunch. It was very good and not too time consuming, but doing all of this cooking is about to get me down. It leaves little time for my passion, beading; I live to bead. I'm going to try some of your recipes, minus some of the starches, although I don't know how they'll turn out. You have a great site; be blessed, Pat Smith
keepinitkind
Thank you, Patricia! 🙂
Garritt Fleming
Thank you soooooo much for sharing this recipe. I made these cookies for a friend who is allergic to a bunch of things and can't eat most baked goods, and she loved them. They've almost become a staple of her diet now 😛 It's been a real blessing to have this recipe.
keepinitkind
I love hearing that, Garritt! I am so happy that your friend found a cookie she likes! Thank you! 🙂
Rob
I admit I don't bake very often, but I just tried making these cookies and it seems to me that the recipe calls for too much molasses. I taste a lot of molasses in them and they turned out darker than what your pictures show. I'm almost certain I followed the recipe exactly, but maybe I messed up somewhere.
keepinitkind
Hi Rob, I'm not sure what happened. I've made them several times and it is one of the most popular recipes on the site- lots of readers have made them as well and I haven't heard anything like this. You could make them without the molasses if it's too strong for you- just use 2 more tablespoons of maple syrup.
Kelly
Oh these look so yummy!! I was wondering, can I replace the Ener-G Egg Replacer with a flax egg?? TIA!!
keepinitkind
Thanks. I'm sure a flax egg would be fine. Thanks!
Anjali @ Vegetarian Gastronomy
Kristy! These cookies are amazing!! I just tagged you on my instagram...we loved them. I was in the mood for some holiday baking and just bought a bag of vegan marshmallows for the kids. Loved how easy and simple the recipe is and that they came out perfect. I ended up subbing more maple syrup for the brown rice syrup since that's all I had on hand. Delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!
Patricia
Hey, my kids and I made these for Santa and included a link to the recipe on my blog page! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
G @ Vegan Catering
Wow, those smores look delicious! I never would have guessed they were GF too. Combining the traditional smores ingredients into one cookie makes them much easier to work with. Thanks so much for sharing!