S'more Cookies, please.

.  Hi everybodyyyyy!  I've missed this place a bit.  But I'll be honest, Labor Day weekend was a much needed break.  I'm sure you'll all agree.  How was your long weekend, by the way?

As I mentioned, Robbie and I spent Labor Day weekend in the beautiful state of Colorado hanging out with his parents and also celebrating the marriage of some of our dear friends, the Cafaro's.  Some perfect and exciting days, I would say!

But now we're back to reality and blogging.  I was a bit eager to get back to LSM though because you know why?  Well, it could be that Fall is my absolute favorite time of year and by far my favorite season to bake.  Yep, that's it.  The thought of pumpkin, apple, cranberry, and spices galore could only get a baker excited but what can I say, I have the baker in me.  And I can't get to Fall baking soon enough, my friends.

But to end the summer right, I felt obliged to offer up one last summery treat that I had inadvertently not ventured to this past season.  S'mores.  And what is a summer without some s'mores?  The answer: no summer at all.  So to fulfill my duties, I'm [un]officially ending my summer baking with S'more Cookies.  And baa-lieve me, these are a keeper.

Unbeknownst to you all, I've tried a s'more cookie recipe here or there but obviously they weren't any good since they never made it to LSM.  And I typically put up recipes I've tried out, regardless, because everyone's tastes are different.  So that's saying something about this particular recipe I snagged from the Cookies & Milk book my mom gave me a while back.

These cookies have your basic s'more ingredients: chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers.  But the fun twist is how they are used.  The cooke is soft and jam packed with chocolate pieces, gooey marshmallows, and then coated in a crunchy, cinnamoney graham cracker mixture.  Pure heaven.  Pure s'mores heaven.

Deliciously unique, huh?  I told you I'd send you off with a delectable summer treat, but the only way to judge is to try them for yourself.  Go ahead, bake your ❤ out  .

My Notes:

• I had a wonderful bag of See's Candy semisweet chocolate chip disks [also from my mama] that I used in this cookie and I absolutely loved them!  Not only for their flavor but also because the disks create layers of chocolate in the cookies.  You can see this in some of the above pictures and let me tell you, it's a simple tip but really makes the cookies unique.
• These cookies last about one week when stored appropriately and to get that right-from-the-oven gooeyness, try warming up the cookies in the microwave for a few seconds.

Adapted from Milk & Cookies

Ingredients:

Cookie Dough:

2-1/2 c. all purpose flour

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 c. vegetable shortening, at room temperature

1-1/2 c. sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. mini marshmallows

2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Graham Cracker Coating:

1 c. graham cracker crumbs

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:

1. Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl.  Set aside.
2. Combine the butter and shortening in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.  Begin beating on low speed to blend together.  Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and creamy (about 3 minutes).  Add sugar in a slow and steady stream and continue to beat for 2 minutes.  
3. Reduce the speed to low and add eggs, one at a time, beating until completely blended.  Add vanilla extract and when blended, slowly beat in dry ingredients in two parts but still leaving streaks.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in mini marshmallows and chocolate chips, mixing until evenly distributed.
4. Scrape the dough from the bowl, pat into a disk, and cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.
5. Heat oven to 350°F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.  Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon in a shallow bowl; set aside.
6. Remove dough from refrigerator.  Using hands, form dough into 1-1/4 inch balls.  Roll each ball into crumb mixture to coat completely and place 2-1/2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets.
7. Bake 12 minutes or until golden.  Let cool for 1 minute before removing cookies to wire rack to cool completely.

Yield: 30 cookies