I’ve never made a chocolate cookie before.  Traditional chocolate chip cookies I’ve made, of course, even though my husband usually eats the dough before I have a chance to make very many cookies, but I’ve never made a chocolate dough with chocolate chips inside.  This summer we moved from Salt Lake City to Ann Arbor, so we haven’t been able to go camping.  Last summer we were lucky enough to go three different times with our good friends, the Reyes family and one of my absolute favorite things to do is to sit around the campfire.  And of course you can’t sit around a campfire without singing a few campfire songs and roasting some marshmallows to make S’mores.  Since a summer isn’t complete without camping, which sadly we haven’t yet gotten to do (I’m still crossing my fingers we’ll get a chance to go) I’ve been wanting to find a way to have some camping fun by bringing the S’mores indoors.

I looked from some online recipes for S’mores, but most use regular cookie dough or some kind of bar.  When we lived in Salt Lake City our family went to a party at another resident’s house.  Someone there brought S’more cookies for dessert.  I was very skeptical, but after one bite I was hooked.  They had gotten the cookies at a bakery downtown (I wish I knew the name!) and they were kinda pricey so the box they brought had like a total of six large cookies.  Mike had gotten one for us to share just so we could try it.  Ha!  The exchange went something like this: he took the first bite and said, “Here Lis, I got this for us to share.  It’s super good you’ve gotta have a bite.”

“It’s okay, babe, you eat it.”

“No, I’m serious, you’ve got to try just one bite.”  At this point I rolled my eyes and sighed because, much like my grandpa, Mike is very persistent if he thinks you need to taste something.  Basically, no matter how bad you might not want to, you’re gonna give in just to get him to leave you alone.  (TOTALLY like my grandpa.  Said with a ton of love and a great big smile.)

So I gave in and reluctantly took the cookie.  When I took a bite I was thankful my husband wasn’t smart enough to have lied to me and told me that it was just “okay”.  Because he never got the cookie back.  As I was chewing the first bite I mumbled “Oh…my…gosh” with my mouth sticky and full and he grinned and said, “I told ya.  Good, right?”

“Mmm hhmmm.”  He reached for it and I turned away.

“Hey!”

“You’re the one that wanted me to try it!”  I teased.  Now because I love him I did offer him the last part of the cookie, but because he loves me he let me have it.  The proof that we’re both kinda stingy though is the fact that neither one of us thought to share it with our kids!  Sadly, I have to confess that this recipe isn’t as incredibly scrumptious as the cookie from the Salt Lake City mystery bakery.  They’re still pretty fun though.  And yes, it kinda makes you wish you were camping.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) salted butter
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips divided
• 1 large egg
• about 1 cup mini marshmallows
• 5 graham crackers broken into pieces (NOT crumbs, pieces)

Directions

1. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Melt butter and brown sugar in medium saucepan over low heat.  Once the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth add 3/4 semisweet chocolate chips, cover, and let stand off heat until the chocolate melts, about five minutes.  Stir the mixture until smooth and then transfer to a mixing bowl to let cool for 10-15 minutes.
3. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat egg into chocolate mixture until thoroughly combined.  Reduce speed to low and mix in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute.  Stir in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.  Cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls and place 3 inches apart on baking sheet. (I use my regular small spoon utensil and make balls that are about 2 inches in diameter.  My regular sized cookie sheet fit 9 cookies.)  Bake for eight minutes with the cookie sheet on the middle rack.  Then remove from the oven and top each hot cookie with 3 miniature marshmallows, graham cracker pieces, and a few extra pieces of semisweet morsels.  Adjust your baking rack so that it’s now near the top and put the cookies in again for two minutes.
6. After two minutes the marshmallows should be golden brown, take the cookie sheet from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet.  This helps them set without getting overdone.

Notes: Makes about 24 dozen cookies.  Cookies can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for about five days.  To prevent the “old cookie” taste, we tend to just leave the dough in the fridge and roll ’em as we want ’em so they’re fresh.  If you’re cookies don’t turn out somewhat soft and chewy, then you might want to roll the next batch in bigger balls.  To send these over the top, I might try drizzling extra melted chocolate on top next time.  I feel like the answer to “Could this use a little more chocolate?” is almost always an enthusiastic, “YES!”

Recipe adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Holiday Cookies 2010 Special Issue