Golden grahams s'mores bars are a crispy, gooey, no-bake treat made with golden grahams cereal, mini marshmallows, and milk chocolate chips. I built this one off a classic Betty Crocker recipe, adjusting the marshmallow technique so the bars stay chewy instead of setting up hard and glassy. It takes about 10 minutes of stovetop work, then 2 hours in the refrigerator to set; you never have to turn on the oven or roast a single marshmallow.
These chewy dessert bars were the treats that we took to the Girl Scout meeting and made for the church bake sale. They were made for the sleepover and wrapped in wax paper to take when we were snack parents at the t-ball game.
Fruity pebbles crispy treats are another no bake recipe that my kids LOVE.
Golden Graham Bars Ingredients:
Recipe Card?
To find the full printable recipe with specific measurements and directions CLICK HERE to go to the recipe card.
Substitutions
- Corn syrup for the sugar and water Corn syrup replaces the granulated sugar and water in step 2, giving you a smoother syrup that resists graininess. Corn syrup won't crystallize the way granulated sugar sometimes can when it's heated and cooled, so it's a reasonable one-for-one swap; use about ¼ cup in place of the sugar and water. The bars won't taste noticeably different, since the marshmallow and chocolate carry the flavor here, not the sugar syrup.
- Semisweet or dark chocolate chips for milk chocolate You lose the soft, glossy set milk chocolate gives and gain a firmer, more bittersweet bite. Milk chocolate has more sugar and milk fat, so it stays softer at refrigerator temperature; dark chocolate makes the bars snap more cleanly when you cut them.
- Large marshmallows instead of miniature Large marshmallows take noticeably longer to melt evenly and are more likely to leave unmelted centers if you don't cut them down first. Miniature marshmallows have more surface area relative to their size, so they melt fast and even over this recipe's stovetop heat. If large marshmallows are all you have, quarter them first so they melt at roughly the same rate as minis.
- Stale or slightly soft cereal You lose the crisp bite that's the entire point of this bar. The cereal doesn't toast or cook in this recipe, so whatever crunch it has going in is the crunch you get in the finished bar. Taste-test the cereal before you start; it won't perk back up once it's coated in warm marshmallow.
How to make Golden Graham smores bars:
Reserve 1 cup of marshmallows.
Melt
Keep this at medium heat just until the sugar dissolves and the mixture looks smooth. You're not cooking the sugar into a syrup here, just melting it so it blends evenly with the marshmallows in the next step.
Add
Drop the heat to low as soon as the marshmallows go in. This is the step where boiling turns chewy bars hard and glassy, so stir gently and pull the pot off the heat once the marshmallows are mostly melted with a few small lumps left; they'll finish melting into the mixture off the heat.
Stir
Stir in the chocolate chips and allow to melt completely.
Mix
Work quickly once the cereal goes in. Golden Grahams start absorbing moisture from the warm marshmallow coating right away, and you want them evenly coated while they're still crisp, not sitting in the mixture any longer than it takes to stir through.
Spread
With a rubber spatula, gently spread the coated cereal mixture into a prepared pan sprayed 9 x 13 pan.
Chill
Chill in the refrigerator until set.
Slice
Slice into bars and you're ready to serve.
Did you make this recipe?
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Tips for success:
- Don't bring the marshmallow mixture to a boil, it will harden the bars.
- Spray the rubber scraper with pan spray to help keep it less sticky.
- Spray the pan to help the bars release easier.
- Allow the bars to chill for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator to get a good bar to slice.
- Press the coated cereal firmly for a more dense bar.
- Warm a knife under hot water to help get a clean cut.
Storage tips
Store these smore bars in an airtight container as it's totally essential for preventing moisture absorption and excess air exposure.
S'mores Recipe FAQs
Golden Grahams can be added in a saucepan to craft a mouthwatering cereal bark recipe, blending them with melted chocolate, nuts, and dried fruits. They can also add a crunchy texture to a no-bake cookie recipe.
Sure! In your golden smores recipe, you can substitute corn syrup for sweetness to create a treat that showcases your love for s'mores.
This is my take on the classic Betty Crocker version, adjusted so the marshmallow mixture stays chewy instead of setting up hard. The technique changes; the flavor is still the s'more you remember.
Yes - if you're looking for a way to get s'mores flavor without a campfire or a broiler, this is that recipe. No open flame, no roasting marshmallows one at a time.
Ingredients
- 8 Cups Golden Grahams™ cereal
- 5 ½ cups miniature marshmallows 10 oz bag
- 1 ½ Cup milk chocolate chips 9 oz
- 5 tablespoons Butter
- ¼ Cup Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Water
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Reserve 1 cup of marshmallows to fold into the bars.
- Melt the butter, sugar vanilla and water in a large pot over medium heat, stirring to combine and melt the sugar.5 tablespoons Butter, ¼ Cup Sugar, 1 Tablespoon Water, 1 Teaspoon vanilla
- Add the marshmallows and lower the heat, melting the marshmallows until they are almost completely melted.5 ½ cups miniature marshmallows
- Stir in the chocolate chips and allow to melt completely.1 ½ Cup milk chocolate chips
- Mix in the cereal and 1 cup of reserved marshmallows, stirring to combine.8 Cups Golden Grahams™ cereal
- Press the coated cereal into a pan sprayed 9 x 13 pan.
- Chill in the refrigerator until set.
- Slice into bars and serve.
Nutrition
Notes
Sarah's Culinary Insight
- Keep the marshmallow mixture on low heat once you add the marshmallows, and don't let it come to a boil. Boiling drives off moisture and pushes the sugar past soft-ball stage, which is the fastest way to turn these bars glassy and hard instead of chewy.
- The reserved cup of marshmallows you fold in at the very end (step 5) is doing real work: it leaves small pockets of soft, barely-melted marshmallow scattered through the bar instead of one uniform melted texture all the way through.
- Milk chocolate chips melt smoother and stay softer at refrigerator temperature than semisweet or dark, which is why they're the better match for a bar you want to bite through cold, straight from the fridge.
- Golden Grahams lose their crunch fast once they're coated in warm marshmallow, so the goal in step 5 is fully coated, not fully dissolved. Work fast.
I am Sarah Mock. Welcome!
Sarah Mock is a classically trained Chef and a graduate of Johnson & Wales University. A culinary blogger for 17 years, Sarah helps the home cook prepare her recipes with professional results.
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