This Easy Rocky Road Recipe is a much loved sweet treat at Christmas time in our household and a favourite no matter what age you are! Feeling like you’re hanging for some now? You can make this simple rocky road recipe in minutes.. Now, we’re really trying to be healthy here and for some reason this recipe… you could say it going a bit in the opposite direction. But…..in saying that we aren’t all about abstaining from everything but rather a little bit of those “naighty” foods is ok.
If you’d rather some healthier chocolate treats then you might like our other favourite recipes like 5 Ingredient Chocolate Date Bark Recipe, No Bake Caramel Slice with Medjool Dates, and our Healthy Homemade Peanut Butter Twix Bars.
What is Rocky Road?
Rocky road is a popular American treat loved worldwide and well yes…it’s pretty delicious. It’s a combo of simple ingredients, fluffy marshmallows, nuts, chewy raspberry lollies, desiccated coconut all combined with melted chocolate. It’s colourful, lumpy, soft, chewy and gorgeously sweet! Far out who can resist that? Yes a very decadent.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
It’s the perfect sweet no bake recipe that takes 20 minutes to prep. A couple of hours chill time.
Only 6 ingredients – a simple classic rocky road reciperecipe
No Bake Treat – Who really wants to cook anything in the oven. Yeah….nah.
Create your own signature style – Traditionally the ingredients are chocolate, marshmallows, red chewy lollies, coconut and of course chocolate you can switch up to whatever tickles your fancy.
Whip up a batch for yourself and share the love creating an edible homemade gift to give to your lucky friends. It’s a perfect Festive Christmas gift and anytime birthday treat too. Enjoy and get creative.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Milk Chocolate – irresistible milk chocolate. Our fave is Plaistowe cooking chocolate. The cheap chocolate will work as well but if you’re going chocolate….lets go all the way! You can use chocolate melts. (not the milk chocolate chips)
- Marshmallows – a 280gm pack of pink and white marshmallows worked perfectly.We like the Pascall brand. Cut them in half for a bumpy look slice. We like the chunky monkey effect so halves for us. In quarters if you prefer for a flatter slice or use miniature marshmallows..
- Red Chewy Raspberry Snakes – for Christmas gifting why not go the festive green and red theme with your snakes (or any type of jelly sweets.similar to snakes) . We’ve used Allen’s Snakes for this recipe chopped in small pieces. Any colour sweet is fine as long as they are chewy.
- Desiccated Coconut – love the addition of coconut and gives it a nice texture. We like to use half a cup for this recipe.
- Coconut Oil – keeps the chocolate soft and makes for easier cutting.
- Unsalted Peanuts – I like to use crushed nuts but feel free to cut them into the size you like. Cut them on the chopping board finely or just buy crushed nuts from your supermarket or wholefoods store.
Recipe Tips
When melting the chocolate try not to get it too runny. Just melted is fine. If the chocolate mixture is too runny, even though mixed the the ingredients, it can ooze to the bottom of the baking dish and form a thick base and leave the ingredents at the top with a thin coating of chocolate. The ideal chcolate mix is to have averything coated and when plopped into the lined tin so it will basically set as is, all lovely chocolate coated.
How to make this Easy Rocky Road Recipe step by step.
- Prep 20 cm x 20 cm square pan (8 inches x 8 inches) with non stick cooking spray then line with baking paper. Cut up your marshmallows into halves or if you prefer quarters if they are on the larger side.
2. Cut your jelly snakes up (yes looks like I’m decapitating them) into a large mixing bowl, then add your chopped crunchy nuts, desiccated coconut. Add the melted chocolate and coconut oil mix to the bowl of cut ingredients and mix till all are nicely coated.
3. Melt your chocolate and coconut oil and add to the marshmallow mix ingredients and be sure to coat it all.
3. Pour your chocolate mixture into your prepped pan and smoosh to all the sides. Refrigerate 2-3 hours. (more details in the recipe card below).
How do I cut rocky road?
It’s best to cut at room temperature as the chocolate and all the other ingredients are softer to slice through.
To get nice straight slices, use a clean dry sharp knife. I like to wipe and dry between each cut to ensure it’s a sharp and straight line.
You can also heat your knife in hot water, then dry it off before cutting. Though the enemy of chocolate is water so make sure your knife is super dry.
I love having it cut into long rectangular pieces especially if I am gifting and popping into a clear bag. (PS makes amazing gifts using the clear cellophane bags) For eating ASAP chunky squares are perfect
Variations and Additions
Make this your own signature easy rocky road recipe by varying the ingredients that you love.
Green or different colored sweets – the world is your oyster!
White chocolate – what about marbling your rocky road slice with two coloured chocolates. A visual delight
Maltesers – Chocolate in chocolate with a crunch. Turn it into Malteser rocky road!
Turkish Delight – oh my the decadence is calling. Or glace cherries or Cherry ripe slice.
Different nuts and Pistachios
Plain pieces of chunky biscuits – digestive biscuits hit with a rolling pin just to break them up (not into breadcrumbs) mixed in also gives a crunchy texture.
Pieces of meringue – this will add to the sweet factor for sure
Cranberries, raisins and dried fruits – well it just might make us feel that bit healthier.
How to Melt Chocolate
Microwave
The best way I’ve found (and I’d call it the easy peasy way) is to melt your chocolate In the microwave.
I pop the chocolate and coconut oil into a microwave safe bowl and melt it in 20 to 30-seconds bursts at a time. I try not to stir to vigorously as this can make the chocolate go hard and unworkable.
Stove Top
You can also use a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. (medium to low heat) or a double boiler. Be sure to have a gap of around 3-5 centimeters between the water and the bowl to avoid overheating the chocolate.
Word of warning …..be careful and try not to get water into the melted chocolate as it can seize.
Why did my chocolate seize?
Water and chocolate don’t mix well when they come together, it ruins your chocolate.
Sometimes the less expensive brands of cooking and chocolate are a bit harder to work with and I’ve found might stiffen more quickly. Adding 2 tabs of coconut oil helps keep it runny and makes cutting it just that bit easier.
How To Store Your Rocky Road
Store your rocky road in an airtight container but if it’s mega hot day the fridge is the perfect place.
But honestly….is it going to last that long or will the kiddos get to it first? 😁 It will usually keep for around 1-2 weeks but keep an eye on it as sometimes the chocolate can be effected by heat.
Other Easy Chocolate Recipe
You might like our Easy Chocolate Spiders Recipe. Only 3 ingredients and the kids will love them. Or that might have just that bit less chocolate that you might love is our Choc Chip Zucchini Loaf recipe. It’s got lovely dark chocolate chips through it!
Recipe Card
Easy Rocky Road Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 gms Milk Chocolate cooking/melting chocolate
- 2 tbs coconut oil
- 300 gm marshmallows pink, white or both colours halved (1 medium sized pack)
- ½ cup desiccated coconut
- 200 gm packet red snakes cut into 2 cm sized pieces
- ½ cup unsalted peanuts crushed or chopped finley
Instructions
- Prep and line a 20 cm x 20 cm tin with baking paper.
- Cut your marshmallows in half and place into a large bowl along with the cut up snakes (or red lollies of your choice), coconut and peanuts.
- Into a heat proof microwave bowl add both the milk chocolate along with the 2 tablespoons of coconut oil.
- Place into microwave and melt in bursts of 20 second intervals until a fairly melted consistency. Avoid stirring to often but gently mix through.
- Once melted pour into the bowl with marshmallows, nuts, coconut and lollies and stir through then pour into prepared tin.
- Place into fridge to set for around 2 to 3 hours.
- When ready cut into your desired shapes and eat!*
