No campfire required! This Gluten Free Smores Bars Recipe starts with graham cracker cookies and is filled with chocolate, marshmallow, and peanut butter. They're the best summertime treat!
This post was originally published on June 30, 2020 and has been updated with an entirely reimagined recipe, new pictures, and a new video.
I am a true marshmallow lover. I love all things marshmallows. Marshmallows by themselves. Marshmallows with chocolate. Marshmallows with caramel. Marshmallows with peanut butter. I'm not at all picky when it comes to what I eat my marshmallows with. At the very top of my list of marshmallow favorites is s'mores. What's not to love, right? Chocolate, graham crackers, and toasted marshmallows? It's a trio that's been around forever and loved by so many.
When I first saw this recipe, I was literally drooling at my laptop screen. Not only does it have those three smores flavors in one easy bar recipe, but peanut butter, too? Say it isn't so! My favorite marshmallow partner is peanut butter (even over chocolate), so as soon as I saw this recipe I knew I was making it gluten free and sharing it with y'all.
the ingredients in this smores bars recipe
- Gluten free graham cracker crumbs -- you could make it extra easy and buy gf graham crackers from the store, but making my gf graham crackers and subsequently grinding them into crumbs will probably take you less time than actually going to the store to find them. And they're way better anyway.
- Hershey bars -- any chocolate bars will do, but the original s'mores recipe was with milk chocolate. Using the XL Hershey bars gives you that nice and thick chocolate layer in the middle.
- Marshmallow fluff -- what could be easier (or better) than adding marshmallow fluff to anything?
- Peanut butter -- I know it's not the norm to add peanut butter to anything smores, but trust me, it works! It tones down the sweetness slightly and brings a little bit of that salty/sweet combo some of us love.
how to make gluten free s'mores bars
- Make the cookie dough. Beat butter and sugars until fluffy. Add in the egg and vanilla. Mix in the gluten free flour, baking powder, and salt and then fold in gluten free graham cracker crumbs.
- Divide dough in half. Press half the dough into the bottom of a parchment-lined 8 by 8-inch square baking pan. Lift it out (parchment and all) and refrigerate. This will be the top of the bars.
- Press the other half of dough into pan. Once again, line the pan with parchment (with an overhang for easy removal of the bars). Press the other half of the dough into the pan and top with the chocolate bars, followed by the melted peanut butter and then the marshmallow cream.
- Top with the other cookie dough square. Remove the cookie dough square from the fridge and carefully flip it over onto the marshmallow cream and press very lightly.
- Bake. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until golden brown (and soon to be delicious!). Allow to cool and serve.
Smores Bars FAQs
While milk chocolate is traditional for smores, you are welcome to use dark chocolate instead. I would suggest getting the Hershey's Special Dark XL bars.
Peanut butter goes great with marshmallows AND chocolate, so why not? It adds a little salty/sweet combo thing to the bars. You can certainly leave it out if you want (though I urge you to try it with).
I honestly haven't tried it so I don't know for sure, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I prefer the texture of the marshmallow cream myself.
Simple. Just swap my gluten free AP flour blend with a regular all purpose one!
more summertime treats
If you don't have the campfire, you can still have the s'mores. This gluten free smores bars recipe makes the perfect treat for summertime!
Gluten Free S'Mores Bars
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Cookie Dough
- ½ cup (1 stick or 113g) butter, softened
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¼ cups (175g) Kim's all purpose gluten free flour blend (a store bought blend should also work)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 90 grams gluten free graham cracker crumbs (regular (wheat-based) graham cracker crumbs may be substituted)
Filling
- 2 4.4 oz (124g) Hershey's milk chocolate XL bars (or equivalent by weight)
- ½ cup (120g) creamy peanut butter, melted
- 1 7 oz (198g) jar marshmallow creme
Instructions
Make the Graham Cracker Cookie Dough
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper with a little overhanging.
- In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined. Fold in the graham cracker crumbs.
Assemble
- Divide the cookie dough in half and press half of it into the bottom of the baking pan that's been lined with parchment. Lift it out on the parchment and place it in the fridge until ready. This will be the top layer of cookie.
- Take the other half of cookie dough and again, press it into the baking pan that's again been lined with parchment paper. Top it with the chocolate bars, followed by the peanut butter (drizzled over the chocolate) and then the marshmallow creme. Smooth out the marshmallow creme as best you can. It's okay if some of it mixes with the peanut butter.
- Remove the other half of the cookie dough from the refrigerator and carefully flip it over onto the top of the marshmallow fluff. Unpeel the parchment gently from the cookie dough. Press the cookie dough lightly onto the top of the marshmallow creme.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until GBD (golden brown and delicious).
- Cool completely before serving (or serve warm with lots of wet naps).
Notes
Adapted from Pinch of Yum's Best S'Mores Bars
Heather says
These are so good it's unreal. Don't make them unless you have a lot of friends to help you eat them!
Bethanie says
This one looked great in theory and just fell flat in reality. The Graham cracker crust was no crust, just a bunch of crumbs and I use weights for all of my baking for accuracy. The brownie middle seemed good but the marshmallow topping after 2.5 mins of broiling started to burn and became one massive hard marshmallow sticky clump that could not be cut. It would probably be good scooped out with some ice cream and fudge on top but bars these were not. Very disappointed in wasting ingredients thus.
alison says
I'm curious about this because it looks like you are reviewing a completely different bar. there is no brownie middle here and it doesn't get broiled
Kim says
Oh, that was from the original recipe, which was in brownie form. I've recently updated the post and actually changed the entire recipe, and that excerpt was from the old post. It has been corrected. Thanks for catching that!
Maria says
Hello, I don't see when the canola oil gets added?
Kim says
I'm sorry! You add it with the butter. I fixed it. Thank you for catching that 🙂