If you’ve never dragged a graham cracker through a skillet of melted chocolate with a golden, charred marshmallow top pulling away from it, the viral TikTok skillet s’mores dip is 20 minutes away. Five ingredients, one pan, no campfire required — just a broiler and the willingness to watch those marshmallows closely.
The technique is straightforward once you know the one rule: don’t skip the broiler. Baking at 425°F gets the chocolate melted and the marshmallows puffed, but only 60 to 90 seconds under high broil delivers the toasted-marshmallow surface that makes this look (and taste) like the real thing. The cast iron skillet is the other piece — it holds heat at the table for 15 minutes, keeping the chocolate pourable long after the skillet leaves the oven.
The short version: Scatter 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, 2 tablespoons heavy cream, and 1 tablespoon butter into a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Bake at 425°F for 4 to 5 minutes, stir smooth. Pile 3 cups mini marshmallows on top. Bake 3 to 4 minutes until puffed, then broil on HIGH for 60 to 90 seconds until golden. Finish with flaky sea salt, serve immediately with graham crackers.
What makes it work
The heavy cream and butter aren’t decorative — they prevent the chocolate from seizing (turning grainy) and keep it pourable rather than fudgy once it’s melted. Two tablespoons of cream is the minimum; add a third if you’re using darker chocolate (70%+ cacao), which tends to stiffen faster as it cools.
The broil window is genuinely narrow. Watch the oven from the moment you switch to broil: at 60 seconds the marshmallows are golden and slightly charred at the tips — this is the target. At 90 seconds you’re at the edge of acceptable. At 2 minutes in a hot broiler, the marshmallows are burning. This is a watch-and-pull recipe, not a timer-and-walk-away one.
Flavor variations
Peanut butter version: Drizzle 3 tablespoons of warmed peanut butter over the melted chocolate before piling on the marshmallows. The peanut butter sinks into the chocolate during baking for a Reese’s-adjacent base layer.
Mexican chocolate version: Add ½ teaspoon cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne pepper to the chocolate as you stir it smooth. Finish with a dusting of cinnamon sugar on the toasted marshmallows.
Salted caramel version: Drizzle 2 tablespoons of caramel sauce over the chocolate before the marshmallows and scatter a pinch of flaky sea salt over the finished dip. Pretzel dippers are especially good here.
Halloween version: Use Halloween chocolate candy bar pieces (Snickers, Milky Way, Reese’s Cups — unwrapped and roughly chopped) in place of half the chocolate chips. Press Halloween-colored mini marshmallows or candy corn into the top layer before broiling.
Keeping it warm
Cast iron holds heat remarkably well — the chocolate stays fully liquid for 10 to 15 minutes at room temperature. If a crowd works through the dip slowly and it starts to set, return the skillet to a 200°F (95°C) oven for 2 to 3 minutes to loosen it back up without rebaking the marshmallows.
For a chocolate chip cookie skillet, the format is similar but uses cookie dough instead of chocolate chips — a good next step if you’ve mastered the s’mores version. If you’re building a Halloween dessert spread, pair this with Halloween candy bark and caramel apple bark — all three can be made from the same pantry staples.
