S’mores Cookies — Birthday Sweetness from the Backyard Grill

Thirty-two. I am thirty-two years old. James made galbi — as predicted — and also his beef noodle soup (tradition) and also a chocolate cake (his specialty, not Korean, not Taiwanese, just chocolate, because some things transcend cultural categories). Kevin sent coffee — a custom roast labeled "Steph 32, notes of determination and sesame oil." He is the funniest person in my family and I will never tell him this because his ego does not need the reinforcement.

David and Karen came for dinner. Karen brought a card with $100 (David's tradition, now jointly signed, the handwriting on the card shakier than last year but recognizable). Karen looked at the kitchen — the Wallingford kitchen, the kitchen she has visited a dozen times now — and she said, "This is a real kitchen, Stephanie. This is a kitchen with a purpose." I said, "Thank you." She said, "I mean it. My kitchen was functional. Your kitchen is alive." She is right. Her kitchen in Bellevue was functional — designed for a family that ate pot roast and tuna casserole and apple pie, designed for a woman who cooked efficiently and without drama. My kitchen is alive — designed for a woman who cooks with obsession and emotion and three onggi pots and a grandmother's corrections. Both kitchens are right. Both kitchens fed daughters. Both kitchens are love. The love just looks different.

Hana gave me a rock. Not a birthday gift — a rock she found in the backyard and carried into the kitchen and placed on the counter with great ceremony and said, "Mama." The rock is gray and smooth and sits on my counter next to the onggi and the cookbooks and the photos and I will not move it because my daughter gave me a rock for my birthday and the rock is perfect.

The recipe this week is James's birthday galbi — flanken-cut short ribs, marinated in soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, grated Asian pear, sesame oil, rice wine. Grilled on the backyard grill (our first summer with a backyard grill; the grill is life-changing). The char is sweet and smoky. The pear caramelizes. The fat renders. The meat is tender and salty and everything a birthday deserves. I ate galbi and beef noodle soup and chocolate cake on my thirty-second birthday in my Wallingford kitchen with my husband and my daughter and my parents and a rock on the counter and I was happy. Fully. Simply. Happy.

The backyard grill was the real gift of this birthday — James grilling galbi in the yard while Hana stood at his elbow, and the whole house smelling like char and caramelized pear and sesame. When you have a grill and a summer evening and people you love around a table, your mind goes to fire and sweetness and things that are simple and right. These s’mores cookies are that instinct in baked form: chocolate, marshmallow, graham cracker, all the flavors of a campfire without asking anyone to stand outside longer than they already have. We made them the next day with the birthday leftovers still in the fridge and Hana’s rock still on the counter, and they were exactly what thirty-two should taste like.

S’mores Cookies

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 27 min | Servings: 24 cookies

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 8 full crackers)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
• 4 full graham crackers, broken into rough pieces

Instructions

1. Preheat. Heat your oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugars. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter with both sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
4. Combine. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, stirring until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
5. Fold in mix-ins. Gently fold in the chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and graham cracker pieces. The marshmallows will be sticky — work quickly.
6. Scoop. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Press a few extra chocolate chips and marshmallows onto the tops if you like.
7. Bake. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are golden and the centers look just set. The marshmallows will puff and toast slightly — that’s what you want.
8. Cool. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. The marshmallows will firm up as they cool.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 218 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 30g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 115mg