Capture the campfire-inspired flavor with these delicious Golden Grahams smores bars. Packed with the nostalgic taste and crunchy texture of the classic s’mores treat, they’re a no-bake dessert made with Golden Grahams cereal, gooey marshmallows, and melted chocolate – no campfire needed!
Golden Grahams smores bars are what you get when S’mores meets rice krispie treats or even Lucky Charms treats! They’re made with golden graham cereal held together with a sweet and chewy melted chocolate marshmallow mixture made with brown butter and then set with even more marshmallows on top!
They’re a no bake smores bar recipe that has all the elements of a classic smores with a dessert bar twist.
Decadent and chewy, sweet and delicious, you won’t believe how easy it is to make something this yummy. This vintage recipe was an absolute hit with my kids!
Homemade Smores Bars
Why you’ll love this recipe
- It’s made with a handful of simple ingredients.
- They’re make ahead and freezer friendly.
- Can be cut into 12-24 bars, depending on how generous you feel.
- A no-bake treat perfect for potlucks, dessert tables, and snacks!
Helpful Tools
Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe, why you need them, and possible substitutions. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card with measurements.
Jump- Salted butter: Using salted butter helps balance the sweetness.
- Mini marshmallows and chocolate chips: Melted with the butter, the chocolate chips melt into the marhsmallows, making it a chocolate marshmallow mixture.
- Corn syrup: This helps to prevent the sugar from crystallizing and becoming solid, helping to keep the smores bars nice and chewy.
- Vanilla extract: For flavor.
- Golden Grahams cereal: The crunchy, graham cracker flavor in the form of crispy cereal.
- Marshmallow bits: These are teeny tiny marshmallows that are chewy and have almost a dehydrated texture. They’re usually in the “ice cream toppings” section of the market, if not near the regular marshmallows.
How to make Golden Grahams Smores Bar
This section shows you how to make this recipe, with process photos showing the steps to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
Jump- Step One: Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Stir constantly. To make brown butter, once it melts, it will start to foam and then clear up to a golden color. Once you start seeing brown flakes (milk solids), it should start to produce a nutty aroma. Be careful not to burn it!
- Step Two: Add half of the mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, and corn syrup to the browned butter. Stir constantly until fully combined and bubbly. Scrape down the sides of the pot as needed.
- Step Three: Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Then, add the cereal and stir until all the pieces of Golden Grahams are fully and evenly coated.
- Step Four: Stir in the remaining marshmallows and then transfer the mixture to your prepared baking dish. Use the back of a spatula to gently press it down into an even layer. Do not pack it in too much, or your bars will be too hard, but you do want them to stay together.
- Step Five: Immediately top with the marshmallow bits and let that sit for an hour before slicing them into bars. Enjoy!
- Be sure your marshmallows are fresh and not stale. This will ensure they melt easily into a creamy consistency.
- Making brown butter is totally optional, but highly recommended. Also known as liquid gold, this kind of melted butter adds so much flavor. Please refer to my brown butter chocolate chip cookies and salted brown butter chocolate chip cookie bars with pecans for necessary research ;).
- If you’re not interested in brown butter, just melt it over low heat as you normally would.
- I tested with both semi-sweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips, and the milk chocolate won out with my kids.
- For clean slices, you can try using a plastic knife. If it’s too difficult, a sharp knife sprayed with cooking spray will do the trick.
Storage
How to store leftovers
This smores bar recipe makes enough for leftovers, if you’re lucky enough to have any left! These can be kept at room temperature, covered in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.
Freezing Instructions
Once they’ve cooled completely and you’ve sliced them into bars, wrap them individually in plastic wrap. Transfer them to a freezer bag to keep frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before biting into one again!
Need more no-bake desserts? Try these:
Click here to view my entire collection of dessert recipes.
Golden Grahams Smores Bars Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 5 Tablespoons salted butter cubed
- 10 ounces mini marshmallows divided
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips
- ¼ cup corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 cups Golden Grahams cereal 11 oz box
- marshmallow bits
Instructions
- Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray and set aside.
- To a large heavy-bottomed pot, over medium-low heat, melt the butter, stirring nearly constantly. The butter will melt, then foam, then clear up, turn golden, then start getting brown flakes and smell nutty.5 Tablespoons salted butter
- Reserve ½ cup of the mini marshmallows and pour the remainder of the bag into the browned butter. Add the chocolate chips and corn syrup, stirring constantly until fully combined and bubbly, scraping down the sides of the pot as needed.10 ounces mini marshmallows, 1 ½ cups chocolate chips, ¼ cup corn syrup
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pour in the cereal and stir until evenly coated.8 cups Golden Grahams cereal
- Stir in the reserved ½ cup of marshmallows until evenly distributed.
- Gently press the mixture into an even layer into the prepared pan with the back of the spatula. You don't want to pack it in, but you do want the bars to stay together.
- Immediately top with marshmallow bits and let set for at least an hour at room temperature before slicing into bars.marshmallow bits
Notes
- Browning the butter is an optional step but adds great flavor. If you don’t want to, just melt the butter over low heat and proceed with the recipe.
- I tested with semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips. My kids preferred milk chocolate, use your favorite.
- The recipe will make 12-24 bars, depending on how generously you slice them.
- Store leftovers covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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