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S’mores Chocolate Mousse Bars. The “fancy” adult version of everyone’s favorite childhood dessert. Sweet milk chocolate graham cracker crust, light and airy chocolate mousse, and finished off with a layer of creamy perfectly toasted meringue. With three layers of decadence, there’s a layer for everyone to love! These can be made up to two days ahead and toasted just before serving. Spend time making these over the weekend for Mother’s Day, then recreate them all summer long. Perfect for summer picnics and BBQ’s!
When one recipe concept fails, don’t give up entirely. Spin it into a brand new one, and you just might end up with something extra delicious. I mean, depending on the level of failure of course. Point is, don’t always let go of something that has failed. Instead try to turn the failure into something even better.
Which is exactly what I did with these S’mores bars. And while they are over the top in every way, I could not love them more.
Plus, with Mother’s Day this Sunday, Memorial day following in two weeks, and summer just a few weeks later…It’s safe to say that S’mores season is officially upon us. Time to be a kid again, so enjoy every minute of it. And these S’mores bars, are the deliciously perfect kick off!
Let me break these down for you.
Layer one: sweet graham crackers, salty butter, and luscious milk chocolate. Yes, that’s the crust for these bars. I knew I needed to make the crust very sturdy to be able to support both a layer of chocolate mousse and a layer of meringue. So I mixed the chocolate into the graham cracker crumbs to really help everything stick together. Turns out that milk chocolate stirred into graham crackers is incredible. The crust alone could be a dessert…
But, layer two and three are very much needed.
Layer two: light and airy chocolate mousse. Really, is there anything better? If you’ve never made mousse before, it’s simpler than you think, and requires only a handful of ingredients. Since we’re using sweetened chocolate throughout these bars, I decided to leave any additional sweetener out of the mousse. If you prefer an extra sweet dessert, I recommend adding a couple tablespoons of sugar in with the egg yolks. Honestly? I don’t think it’s needed though.
Layer three: sweet and creamy meringue, aka homemade marshmallow. A thick layer right overtop of the mousse, then toasted to that deep golden color we all love so much.
Do I even need to go on? Simply nothing here not to love. Every bite has a touch of crunch, is creamy, and perfectly sweet, with hints of toasted marshmallow throughout. So basically every single bite leaves you wanting another.
It’s dangerous, but there’s really nothing better than biting into one of these bars.
Too good for words.
What’s especially great about these S’mores bars is that you can make them completely ahead of time. Then just keep them in the fridge until ready to serve. Be sure to do the toasting of the meringue in front of all your guests…or kids, or whomever you are serving.
It’s a real “wow” factor, you know?
These were 100% inspired by my mom, since chocolate mousse is her all time favorite dessert, with sweet meringue following closely after. She loves anything light, creamy, and airy, and said these bars were DELICIOUS.
With enthusiasm I might add!
Here is the serious question of the day, have you gotten mom a Mother’s Day gift yet? If the answer is no, I’m solving all your problems right here with these S’mores bars. Make these for you mom and you’ll forever be the favorite chid. This I am sure of.
If you make these S’mores milk chocolate mousse bars, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
S'mores Chocolate Mousse Bars.
Servings: 18
Calories Per Serving: 1688 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Crust
- 12 graham cracker sheets, finely crushed
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 6 ounces milk chocolate, melted
Chocolate Mousse
- 8 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate, finely chopped
- 4 large egg yolks
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 1 pinch flaky sea salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Meringue
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1. Line a 9x13 inch baking dish with parchment paper. 2. In a small bowl, gently mix the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and melted chocolate until moistened. Dump the mixture out into the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Transfer to the freezer to harden. 3. To make the mousse. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium heat heat proof bowl. 4. In a medium pot, whisk together the egg yolks, 1 cup cream, and sea salt. Set the pot over medium heat and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens and easily coats the back of a wooden spoon, 5 minutes. It's import to be consistently whisking to ensure the eggs do not scramble. Remove from the heat. Strain the milk into the bowl with the chocolate, stirring until the chocolate is melted. Stir in the vanilla. Refrigerate until chilled. 5. With an electric mixer, beat remaining 2 cups heavy cream until stiff peaks form. Stir 1/3 of whipped cream into cooled chocolate mixture, then gently fold in the rest of the whipped cream until no white streaks remain. Spread the mousse in an even layer over the graham cracker crust. 6. To make the meringue. Bring a large pot of water to simmer. Whisk the egg whites and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl of the stand mixer over the pot of simmering water and cook, stirring often, until the egg whites are very warm to the touch and the sugar has dissolved, remove the bowl from the heat. Whip the egg whites on high until stiff peaks form, 4-6 minutes. Add the cornstarch and vanilla and whip until glossy and combined, about 2 minutes. 7. Spread the meringue over the mousse. Chill until set, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. Cut into bars, this will be a bit messy, so clean your knife after each cut. Using a blow torch, toast the top of the meringue. Once toasted, the bars should be served immediately.
Hi! I was confused by your instruction to “strain the milk” while making the mousse. I tried to strain the thickened egg yolk and cream mixture, but nothing really came out, so I just mixed it all in. I don’t think my mousse has the right consistency but it tastes ok. Just curious what I did wrong!
I think I’m going to substitute the chocolate with Nutella I will let you know how it taste. What do you think?
Hi June! Hmm, I am not sure how that will turn out consistency wise. I would recommend following the recipe as directed and instead stirring in and addition 1/2 cup nutella and seeing how that goes. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I just made this for Memorial Day, and it is quite delicious! I have a few questions for you.
-I was wondering if there is a reason you didn’t suggest semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips for the mousse vs finely chopped chocolate? [just thought it would be easier/save a step next time. I did shave chocolate bars.]
-The mousse portion of the recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, but the instructions (# 3. & 4.) do not mention doing anything with vanilla extract for the mousse. I ended up omitting it, since I was uncertain. I did of course add vanilla to the meringue.
HI Christine! I like using a high quality chocolate bar as chocolate chips tend to have added ingredients that don’t melt as well. I have fixed the instructions to include the vanilla. Sorry about that! Please let me know if you have any other questions. So glad you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
These bars look so delicious!! Absolutely the perfect dessert for summer!
Thank you! I hope you try these! xTieghan
I want to make these, but hate making meringue! How do you think marshmallow fluff would work out?
Marshmallow fluff will be great! Such a good idea! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Do you think this would be good with the vegan mousse in your triple chocolate vegan mousse cake? Or would it not be thick enough?
Hey Nicole, I think the vegan mousse would work great here! Such a good idea! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Served this on Wednesday, along with your caprese sliders. I actually made this on Sunday, and debated whether to wait and do the meringue on Wednesday, but did it on Sunday, since the recipe said you could make it 2 days ahead. The meringue deflated and melted leaving a lot of liquid in the bottom of the pan. Now it was still absolutely delicious – so rich! But tip if you’re going to make this ahead of time, hold off on the meringue until the day of.
Thank you so much Kathy! I am so glad you loved this recipe! xTieghan
Love your recipes, and was super excited to try this one tonight. I took your suggestion and substituted coconut milk for the heavy cream – what’s your secret to getting it to whip? Not quite sure what i did wrong, but mine stayed liquid-consistency and I couldn’t get it to thicken at all.
Hey Autumn! I am so sorry you had trouble. I actually do not recommend using coconut milk in place of the heavy cream for this recipe. It’s best to use heavy cream as it will whip much easier for you and hold up better. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I’m not a huge desserts person, but I LOVE s’mores and s’mores-themed sweets! These look right up my alley!!
Right?! So good! Thank you Sarah! xTieghan
These are going to be served on Mother’s Day at our house! How long do you whisk the egg whites, initially? Just to combine ?
HI! Yes, just to combine, then place them over the pot of simmering water. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
These look delicious! Is there an alternative way to toast the meringue without using a blow torch?
Hi Sarah! You can either leave the meringue un-toasted OR you can skip making the meringue and top the bars with store-bought, toasted marshmallows. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Was so going to make this tonight except I don’t have a blow torch, can I make the merengue and then put it in the oven for a bit and take it out?
Or how else can I do that?
HI! I do not recommend putting the bars under the broiler as the mousse will melt. You can either leave the meringue un-toasted OR you can skip making the meringue and top the bars with store-bought, toasted marshmallows. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I can hear good sound thank you so much for sharing nice post.
Thank you Sharon! xTieghan
I would definitely win Mother’s Day if I brought these to dinner on Sunday! They look so luscious and creamy. And that toasted meringue on top is perfection. Also loving that these can be prepared in advance. I’m all about that this weekend. Happy Friday!
Yes! You totally should! I hope everyone loves these, Leanne! Thank you! xTieghan
You totally rock at recipe development!! Trying this super soon.
Thank you! I hope you love this! xTieghan