S’mores Sandwich Cookies with Salted Caramel
I know that I am usually #teamwinter, but believe it or not there are a few things about summer that totally get me. Eating on the porch, drinking beer, hiking… Sitting on the beach at Lake Tahoe, wearing shorts with a sweatshirt at night when it gets cold, ice cream everything. Berries, crème brûlée on my birthday, just the overall smell of warm summer air. And campfires which are obviously the best part of the whole season.
I didn’t grow up going to camp buuuut I did grow up going glamping at our cabin in Duck Creek, Utah. Maybe it’s cause everyone in Vegas needs a break from the damn summer heat or maybe it’s just the thing to do, but many people I knew growing up owned cabins in Utah. This worked out spectacularly for all us kids, as we had the *cool* basement where we could all hang out and stay up into the wee hours of the night. All of our friends would come over and we would try our hardest to stay quiet while our parents slept upstairs. We were usually playing board games, eating cookies, and generally making some of the best memories of our lives. The cabin was the pinnacle of my childhood.
When all us kids got a little older (a.k.a. v cool teens), our “thing” became campfires without the adults. I know this all sounds rather devious, but it was really just a bunch of kids sitting around the fire, drinking Coke, and talking about…I don’t know, prom probably? Anyways, every once in a while we would break out the s’mores stuff and that’s when shit got real.
S’mores sandwich cookies: homemade graham cookies, marshmallow buttercream, salted caramel, & dark chocolate.
As you may know, I have not always been pro-s’mores but luckily, I’ve straightened up. While most high schoolers were experimenting with other less innocent vices, my friends were trying to get me to eat a damn treat. I am now proud to say that I will eat a whole s’more if the ingredients are in front of me and I haven’t eaten too much onion dip! On the other hand, if there is something s’more flavored in front of me, I am all over it. Marshmallows themselves are very “meh” to me but marshmallow-flavored things are A-OK.
When I decided I wanted to do s’mores sandwich cookies, I approached it from a very specific angle. I knew it had to contain marshmallow buttercream. Marshmallow buttercream was my signature recipe in high school, long before it was cool. (I’m basically a revolutionary hipster, sorry!). And homemade graham cracker cookies were obvious, were they not? For the chocolate dip, I used trusty dark chocolate melting wafers. Milk chocolate would be great too! The salted caramel is a bit of a curveball. Honestly, there’s not much to the story there. I just saw a jar of salted caramel at Trader Joe’s, and that’s all she wrote!
Surprisingly, these s’mores sandwich cookies are very easy. There are various steps, of course, but nothing is tedious or obnoxious. All you have to do is whip up a quick cookie dough, slice the cookies, fill, and dip! It is a nice way to spend a couple hours on a warm Saturday afternoon. Plus, these s’more sandwich cookies are very freezable. Just keep them stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to two months.
(And they just so happen to be delicious while slightly frozen, ask me how I know!)
S’mores Sandwich Cookies with Salted Caramel
Notes: There are two approaches to the graham cookies: slice-and-bake or cut-out. Slice-and-bake is easier but cut-out is much prettier. I have included both instructions below.
Traditional graham crackers use some whole wheat flour, so I used a bit in these cookies. If you don’t want to use whole wheat, just use all white AP flour.
The buttercream will make more than required; I like to use extra on chocolate cake, or you could nix the salted caramel and just use the marshmallow filling.
I used salted caramel from Trader Joe’s (soooo good!). But, you can make your own if you prefer.
Lastly! I really recommend using melting chocolate wafers. It will be way easier than tempering chocolate. And every grocery store at this point has those little wafers in the baking or cake decorating section. Enjoy!
S’mores Sandwich Cookies with Salted Caramel
Ingredients
For the cookies…
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cup AP flour
- 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
For the marshmallow buttercream…
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3.5 oz marshmallow fluff
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For assembling…
- 1/2 cup salted caramel, store-bought or homemade
- 6 oz dark chocolate melting wafers
- Flaky salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
For the cookies…
- In a medium bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and honey until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs one at a time until thoroughly incorporated. Add the AP flour, whole wheat flour, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom until just mixed.
- Now you have two options for the cookies…the easier way or the prettier way. For the easier way, divide the dough in half and shape the dough into two 12-inch logs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours. Cut the chilled dough into 1/8-inch slices.
- For the prettier way, divide the dough in half and chill for about 30 minutes. Roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper until 1/8-inch thick. Use a 2-inch circle cookie cutter to cut out about 40 cookies.
- Preheat oven to 350* F. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for about 8-9 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Let cool completely.
For the marshmallow buttercream…
- While the cookies are baking, make the marshmallow buttercream. Cream the butter and marshmallow fluff together. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Whip for about 5 minutes, until light and airy.
To assemble…
- Using a frosting bag with a small tip (or a plastic bag with the tip cut off), pipe a circle of marshmallow buttercream around the edges of half of the cookies. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the salted caramel into the center of the marshmallow buttercream circles (the buttercream will keep the caramel from seeping out). Sandwich the other half of the unfrosted cookies on top of the frosted cookies, gently pressing to make little sandwiches! Place the cookies in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the chocolate over medium-low heat (don’t heat it too high or it will seize and be a chocolatey disaster). Dip half of each sandwich cookie into the melted chocolate. Sprinkle with flaky salt. Let the chocolate harden completely. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or in a cooler part of your kitchen (to keep the chocolate from melting). Serve cookies at room temperature. Enjoy!
xo Sara Lynn
*Song of the day: Please Be Mine by Molly Burch
These sound amazing and look so beautiful! Also they totally bring me back to making s’mores in highschool with my friends too – like literal ages ago!
Ahhh thank you! Thinking of high school always makes me feel so old 😂
These look so good!! I’d love to make them for a work birthday celebration. How good are they the next day? Or are they best day of? Thanks!
Hi Kris, they are typically best day-of but they will also be good the next day if you want to make them in advance! If you use a runny caramel, sometimes it can make the cookies a bit soggy. If you want to make them a day in advance, I would just recommend using a thick caramel sauce so it doesn’t seep into the cookie itself. Hope that helps!