1-First Step: Preheat and Prepare Before you begin mixing your ingredients, preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). This ensures your cookies will bake evenly from the moment they enter the oven. While the oven heats, line your baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. This prevents sticking and makes cleanup effortless. If you’re planning to chill your dough (which we recommend for better shape), clear a space in your refrigerator.

2-Second Step: Cream the Butter and Sugars In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup softened butter, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup white sugar. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat these ingredients until they’re creamy and well combined about 2-3 minutes. This process incorporates air into the mixture, creating a lighter texture for your cookies. The butter should be at room temperature for optimal creaming; if it’s too cold, it won’t mix properly, and if it’s too warm, your cookies may spread too much.

3-Third Step: Add Eggs and Vanilla With the mixer running on medium speed, add 2 eggs one at a time, allowing each to fully incorporate before adding the next. Then, add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Continue mixing for another minute until the mixture is smooth and slightly fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure all ingredients are evenly incorporated. This step is crucial for the structure and flavor development of your cookies.

4-Fourth Step: Prepare Dry Ingredients In a separate medium bowl, whisk together 2 1/4 cups flour, 1 cup crushed graham crackers, 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. The graham cracker crumbs should be fine but still retain some texture you want to recognize the graham flavor but not have large chunks. Combining these dry ingredients separately ensures even distribution of the leavening agent and salt throughout your cookie dough.

5-Fifth Step: Blend Wet and Dry Ingredients Gradually add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing on low speed just until combined. Be careful not to overmix, as this can lead to tough cookies. The dough should be thick and slightly sticky but manageable. You may need to finish mixing with a rubber spatula to incorporate any remaining flour from the bottom of the bowl. The presence of graham cracker crumbs gives the dough a speckled appearance and already starts to create that campfire aroma.

6-Sixth Step: Fold in Chocolate Chips Add 1 cup of chocolate chips to the dough and fold them in gently using your rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Reserve a small handful of chocolate chips to sprinkle on top of the cookies before baking, if desired. Even distribution of chocolate ensures every bite has that perfect balance of sweet and chocolatey goodness. For variety, you could mix chocolate chunks or different types of chocolate like semi-sweet and milk chocolate.

7-Seventh Step: Portion the Dough Using a cookie scoop or tablespoon, drop rounded balls of dough onto your prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart to allow for spreading. For consistently sized cookies, aim for about 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie. This recipe typically yields about 24 cookies. If time permits, chill the shaped dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking this helps the cookies maintain their shape and develop better flavor.

8-Eighth Step: Add the Marshmallows Press a marshmallow into the center of each dough ball, gently pressing down to flatten slightly. For best results, use standard-sized marshmallows cut in half or mini marshmallows placed in a small cluster. The marshmallow should be partially submerged but still visible on top. This placement ensures that as the cookie bakes, the marshmallow melts and creates that gooey center that makes these cookies so special.

9-Ninth Step: Bake to Perfection Place the baking sheets in your preheated oven and bake for 10-12 minutes. The edges should be golden brown while the centers may still look slightly underbaked. This is exactly what you want, as the cookies will continue to cook on the hot baking sheet after removal. For extra toasty marshmallows, you can turn on the broiler for the last 1-2 minutes of baking, but watch closely to prevent burning. The marshmallows will puff up and turn golden brown.

10-Final Step: Cool and Serve Remove the baking sheets from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pans for 5 minutes. During this time, they will set and become easier to move. Then, transfer them to wire racks to cool completely. The marshmallows will deflate slightly and become wonderfully gooey. Once cooled, these cookies are ready to enjoy immediately, or they can be stored for later. For that fresh-baked experience, you can warm them in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before serving.