S'mores Cinnamon Rolls

S'mores and cinnamon rolls are a match made in heaven! These epically gooey and super decadent S'mores Cinnamon Rolls are going to be your new favorite thing. Super soft graham cracker brioche dough, cinnamon sugar and rich chocolate chip filling, plus a toasted marshmallow fluff topping. All finished off with a drizzle of Hershey's syrup, since, why not?!

Jump to:

• Why these work
• Ingredient Notes for the Dough
• How to Make Graham Cracker Brioche
• Ingredient Notes for the Filling
• Making S'mores Cinnamon Rolls
• Toasted Marshmallow Fluff Topping
• Expert Tips and Advice
• Suggested Variations
• FAQs
• S'mores Cinnamon Rolls

Why these work

• Cinnamon and graham cracker brioche dough - my usual super soft and fluffy brioche dough gets a graham cracker facelift in this recipe! Adding the cookie crumbs and a bit of cinnamon straight to the dough really packs in a depth of cozy campfire flavor.
• Oozy melted chocolate chip filling - so there's of course sugar and cinnamon, these are cinnamon rolls after all! But, the filling is also packed with chocolate chips. Baked into the filling, these will be oozing melted chocolate goodness when served warm, just like a good old fashioned s'more!
• Toasted marshmallow fluff topping - you can't have a s'more without some toasted marshmallow! There's an entire jar of marshmallow fluff spread over these rolls while still warm and then toasted to perfection.

Ingredient Notes for the Dough

This dough is a variation of my standard brioche, which I use in my basic Brioche Cinnamon Rolls and other roll recipes.

You'll need:

• Milk - warmed full fat milk. This should be lukewarm, not hot hot! Ideally you're looking for a temperature at about 104°F (40C). A little higher temperature is fine too, you just don't want to kill the yeast with boiling hot milk!
• Dry active yeast - this recipe uses a standard sized packet's worth of dry active yeast. This is conventionally 2¼ teaspoons or 7g. You can generally substitute dry yeast with fresh yeast, but I have not tried a substitution for this in this recipe.
• Light brown sugar - this recipe uses light brown sugar, firmly packed for measurements. You can use granulated sugar instead, but you'll lose out on some of the flavour here.
• Flour - a combination of all purpose (or plain flour) and bread flour (sometimes called strong flour) will give you the perfect texture for these rolls.
• Graham cracker crumbs - you can buy the pre-packaged cookie crumbs or make your own by blitzing a few graham crackers in the food processor until finely ground. For this recipe, you'll need about half a packet (4 or 5 crackers) and you should have plenty.
• Salt
• Ground cinnamon - just a little ground cinnamon accentuates the cozy flavours in this recipe and compliments the graham cracker crumbs.
• Eggs - large eggs, at room temperature. One of the eggs will be separated into yolk and white.
• Butter - unsalted butter, softened at room temperature and cut into small pieces. You can substitute with salted butter here, but it will add saltiness to your overall recipe. To control the saltiness, I always recommend baking with unsalted butter.

How to Make Graham Cracker Brioche

The process for my graham cracker filled brioche dough is essentially the same as my other brioche cinnamon dough recipes. The difference here is the addition of graham cracker crumbs and a bit of cinnamon.

• Start off with greasing a bowl with some spare butter. This will save you time later.
• Then sprinkle a teaspoon of your brown sugar and your yeast over your warmed milk. Stir this together to coat the yeast and then leave it for about 10 minutes. During this time the yeast should foam up and develop a thick layer on the surface of the milk.
• While the yeast activates, add your flours, the remaining brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and graham cracker crumbs to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
• When the yeast is ready, add this to the flour mixture, immediately followed by two whole eggs and one egg white. The remaining egg yolk can be reserved for an egg wash when ready to bake.
• Knead the mixture on a low setting for 15 minutes until you have a sticky wet dough, which is pulling itself from the sides of the bowl. Tip: It won't pull itself cleanly off the sides, but should be showing signs of holding itself together and smacking the sides of the bowl while it kneads.
• At this stage begin adding the butter a couple of small pieces at a time, while the mixer continues to knead on a low setting.
• Once you've added all of the butter, continue kneading for 15 minutes. By the end of this cycle of kneading, you should again have a sticky dough that is showing signs of holding together. Test it is ready by stopping the mixer and touching the dough. It should be soft and quite wet, but it shouldn't stick too much to your finger or leave a lot of residue.
• Scrape the dough into your greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about 8 hours (or overnight) until doubled in size.

Ingredient Notes for the Filling

The filling for these rolls is a brown sugar cinnamon and chocolate chip mixture that will give you all the gooey goodness of classic s'mores.

You'll need:

• Butter - unsalted butter, softened at room temperature. This should ideally be at an easily spreadable consistency, but not melted.
• Light brown sugar - measurements are firmly packed. The brown sugar gives a molassesy richness. You can substitute with granulated sugar if necessary.
• Ground cinnamon
• Dark chocolate chips - you can opt for different types of chocolate here, but I find the dark chocolate to work best for the s'mores effect. You can also opt for using chopped solid chocolate instead of chips. You'll want small pieces, smaller than chunks, to ensure that the dough rolls easily.

Making S'mores Cinnamon Rolls

Once your dough has finished the first proof, which is long and slow in the fridge (ideally overnight), its time for filling!

• Begin by lining an 8" square baking pan with parchment paper.
• In a small mixing bowl, mash together the softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. I use a small spatula for this. You want a smooth spreadable paste.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and scrape out of the bowl onto a well floured work surface.
• Press the dough into a rectangle and roll out to be about 12" wide by 15" long.
• Spread the cinnamon sugar butter over the surface of the dough. This is easiest to achieve with an offset spatula. Spread evenly, leaving a small gap (about half an inch) around the edges.
• Then, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of this.
• Roll the dough into a log from the bottom to the top (image 1 below).
• Using flavorless floss or thin kitchen twine, trim the ends off of the log. This is to remove the uneven and unfilled dough. You'll probably cut about an inch or so off each end. Tip: Focus more on the likely unfilled spaces than worrying about perfect evenness.
• Divide the remaining log into nine roughly even slices. Cut these with the floss and place them in your lined baking tray (image 2 below).
• Cover this with a clean kitchen towel and allow to proof for a second time at room temperature for about 2 hours, until doubled in size.

• After 2 hours (image 3 below), preheat the oven and prepare a quick egg wash by beating together the reserved egg yolk and a splash of water.
• Brush your egg wash over the rolls and bake in the centre of the preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and follow the instructions for the marshmallow topping below (image 4 below).

Toasted Marshmallow Fluff Topping

The topping for these S'mores Cinnamon Rolls couldn't be any simpler! All you'll need is:

• Marshmallow fluff - a full jar of marshmallow cream!
• Chocolate syrup - as a bit of an ode to classic s'mores, I use a drizzle of Hershey's syrup here, but you could use any runny chocolate syrup, melted chocolate or even just leave this step off.

Process

All you'll need to do is spread the fluff over the top of your warm rolls once they've finished baking. The heat from the rolls will make it easier to spread the sticky marshmallow creme.

• Start by turning your oven to a broil (or in the UK, a grill) setting.
• Spread the fluff over the rolls and try to cover as much as possible of the top of the bread. The rolls left exposed may catch under the broiler and burn.
• Place under the broiler and watch as the fluff begins to toast. Keep an eye on it and remove as soon as you're happy with the toasting.
• Drizzle with chocolate syrup for a finishing touch.

Broiler versus Kitchen Torch

I've tested this recipe both with the oven and with a kitchen blow torch and both will work for toasting your marshmallows.

There are pros and cons to each option:

• Oven
  • Pros: most ovens will have a broil or grill setting, making this a more widely available option for homebakers.
  • Cons: it can be difficult to judge how things are toasting in your oven and you have less control of where the heat is being directed. You may also be forced to remove the pan more quickly if you're worried about the rolls or overhanging parchment catching.
• Blow torch
  • Pros: more direct control. You can take the rolls out of the pan, remove the parchment, and toast as you see fit. The heat is more intense and more directed, so it will be a bit more like an authentic s'more over a campfire.
  • Cons: not everyone has a kitchen blow torch and you might not be comfortable using one. (It took years for my husband to agree to a hand held open flame in our kitchen!)

Some Easy Alternatives to Fluff

You can make this recipe using mini marshmallows or even standard sized marshmallows. The benefit of the fluff is it is more easily spreadable, so you're less likely to risk burning the top of the rolls. But you can still achieve a toasted marshmallow finish with other marshmallows!

Expert Tips and Advice

Whether you've been following along with all of my cinnamon rolls or are a complete beginner here, these are some of my top tips for making sure these rolls are a success!

• This brioche dough may seem like a lot of kneading, but don't worry! This is a long process for two key reasons. One is because we knead on a low setting to avoid overworking the dough. And two is because brioche is super buttery and enriched. Adding the butter as we do means that it takes a bit extra work to bring it all together.
• Don't be alarmed if the dough seems very sticky and isn't coming away from the sides of the bowl. It tends to be quite a wet dough, but should be holding together enough to slap at the sides of the bowl, even if it is still leaving residue on the sides. After the final round of kneading, touching the dough should be sticky, but it shouldn't cling to you and leave a film of dough on your finger (a couple little flecks is fine!).
• Lining the pan is a handy way to remove these rolls in one quick scoop later when they're ready to serve. It's not 100% mandatory, but will avoid issues of sticking to the pan or scraping your baking dish when trying to get them out.
• Be sure to spread the marshmallow fluff over the full surface of the cinnamon rolls. Any exposed cinnamon roll will be directly under the broiler and while the marshmallow toasts, is liable to burn.

Suggested Variations

• Different toppings - you can use frostings or glazes here instead of toasted marshmallows. This recipe works well with the maple cream cheese glaze from my Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls or with the creamy vanilla frosting from my Funfetti Rolls. You could even top it with a Marshmallow Buttercream (I recommend half a batch of the recipe for a topping here).
• Add nuts - pecans or walnuts are great compliments to the flavours in this recipe. You can chop some up and add to the filling to add a bit of flavour and texture. I'd recommend an ounce or so (handful) if adding to the recipe. Avoid overfilling the rolls or they may become more difficult to roll and handle.
• Graham cracker pieces - you can add a touch more graham cracker on top of this bake to really drive home the s'mores theme. Break up some whole crackers and stick a few in the top of the toasted fluff (or whatever frosting you've opted for).

FAQs

Need s'more s'mores? Try one of these recipes:

• No Bake S'mores Chocolate Cheesecake
• S'mores Blondies
• Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows (with s'mores serving suggestion)
• Chai Marshmallows (the perfect marshmallow for a Chai spiced s'more)