It's Friday.  We made it.  Let's celebrate. 

I know there are a few of you out there who take issue with people like myself who like to trash up their chocolate chip cookies. 

Not only have I done that, multiple times, (see here, and here), now I have trashed up my trashed up cookies by turning them into s'mores.  You are very, very welcome. 

Are these really s'mores?  I don't know.  Probably not, considering that there's not a graham cracker in sight. 

In my defense however, the whole goal of this Summer of S'mores was simply to be inspired by the three classic flavors, and these are definitely evocative of the girl scout classic, albeit they do not meet all the technical requirements.

These salty, nut-filled cookies are giving graham crackers a run for their money in my house. 

Let's get right into this.

First we need to make the cookie dough. 

You know the drill, right?  Soft butter meets sugar and an egg before it gets cozy with the dry team - flour and baking soda. 

Now for the fun part. 

And by fun, I mean chopped almonds, chunks of milk chocolate, and sea salt. 

I love a good wrinkly cookie top. 

And I live for crispy edges. 

So, now we have cookies.  Cookies that are perfectly wonderful on their own, but are we done yet?  Of course not, because it's Friday and we need more chocolate. 

Creamy peanut butter and melted chocolate make an excellent spread for lots of things.  S'mores, toast, your fingers...  

If you have not noticed yet, I am not a graceful marshmallow-toaster.  In fact, I am much more of the light-it-on-fire-and-let-it-burn type.  I like the char, and I'm incurably impatient. 

Cookies?  Check!  Peanut butter chocolate gooeyness? Check!  Toasted (read: burnt) marshmallows?  Check! 

And we are done.  Happy Friday!

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

Sea Salt & Almond Chocolate Chip Cookie Peanut Butter S'mores

makes 8 s'mores or 16 cookies

for the cookies

- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

- 1/4 cup light brown sugar

- 1/2 cup granulated sugar 

- 1 large egg 

- 1 teaspoon vanilla 

- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

- 1 cup milk chocolate, roughly chopped

- 3/4 cup raw, unsalted almonds 

- 2 teaspoons course sea salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer for 1 minute; until fluffy.  Add sugars and beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, until the mixture is light in texture and the ingredients are well incorporated.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.  

With the mixture on low speed, slowly add the flour and baking soda to the butter mixture, beating until smooth and homogenous.

Fold in the chocolate, almonds, and sea salt using a rubber spatula, being careful to evenly distribute them. 

Portion the dough out into 16 cookies, using a spring-loaded cookie scoop or a large spoon.  Place the cookies on baking sheets, lined with parchment and bake on the center rack for 10 minutes.  For even baking, rotate the pan halfway through the cooking time. 

Set the cookies on cooling racks while you prepare the chocolate peanut butter spread.  The cookies do not need to be completely cooled when you assemble the s'mores, but you do not want them to be too hot, otherwise the chocolate peanut butter spread will just slide off the surface. 

for the s’mores

- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

- 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped

- 24 marshmallows 

In a small glass bowl, combine peanut butter and chocolate.  Microwave for thirty second increments, stirring after each, until the mixture is smooth.  Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 15-20 minutes, until it has thickened slightly.

Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the chocolate peanut butter mixture unto the bottom of eight of the cooled cookies.  Top the remaining eight cookies (top-side down) with three marshmallows and place on a baking sheet.  Set the marshmallow-topped cookies under the broiler* of your oven and broil for 1-2 minutes, until the marshmallows are soft and well-toasted.  Be sure to keep an eye on your cookies so that the bottoms do not burn!  

Press the marshmallow halves against the chocolate peanut butter-coated cookies and serve immediately.  Enjoy! 

*You could forgo the broiler altogether and use a kitchen torch to toast your marshmallows, I just find sometimes that it does not melt the marshmallows all the way through.