Rocky Road Brownies Recipe
Fudgy brownies topped with chocolate, marshmallows, and salted peanuts for a classic rocky road treat.
Servings: 12 brownies
Calories: 781kcal
Ingredients
For the brownies
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 6 ounces semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped and divided
- 2 cups white granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the rocky road topping
- 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips OR semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 ½ cups marshmallows (use a mix of mini and large if you like), divided
- 1 ½ cups salted peanuts, divided
- flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9”x13” baking pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Make the brownies:
- In a large mixing bowl add the butter and 3 ounces of the chopped semi-sweet chocolate. Melt in the microwave in 15-30 second bursts, stirring well each time.3/4 cup unsalted butter
- Add the sugar to the melted butter and chocolate. Use a handheld electric mixer to beat it into the mixture until combined. At this stage the mixture will look grainy and that is ok.2 cups white granulated sugar
- Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on a high speed until completely combined, about one minute.3 large eggs, room temperature, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt.1 cup all purpose flour, 1 cup cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon salt
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat on a slow speed until you can no longer see dry patches of flour.
- Add the remaining 3 ounces of chopped chocolate and fold through. The batter will be thick.
- Transfer to the prepared baking pan, smoothing the top with a palette knife or the back of a spoon.
- Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for 26 minutes or until the edges are set. Use a toothpick to check for doneness - for fudgy brownies it should have a few moist crumbs stuck to it. Remove the brownies from the oven and allow them to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before adding the topping.
Make the Rocky Road topping:
- Place a heatproof bowl over a pan filled with an inch of simmering water. Ensure the water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Add the chocolate chips/chopped chocolate and butter. Allow the chocolate and butter to melt, stirring occasionally.2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips OR semi sweet chocolate, finely chopped, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Reserve 1/2 cup marshmallows and 1/4 cup of peanuts. Add the remaining marshmallows and peanuts to the melted chocolate and butter and mix well to completely coat all the ingredients.3 1/2 cups marshmallows (use a mix of mini and large if you like), divided, 1 1/2 cups salted peanuts, divided
- Spread the Rocky Road topping on top of the cooled brownies. Scatter over the reserved marshmallows and peanuts so they’ll stick while the chocolate is still wet.
- Allow the brownies to set at room temperature for two hours. Before slicing, sprinkle over some flaky sea salt.flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Notes
- Take care not to over-mix the brownie batter after adding the flour and cocoa, mix only until just combined. Over-mixing at this stage can lead to tough brownies.
- These brownies took 26 minutes in our test oven, however timings may vary since not every oven is exactly the same. We recommend checking on the brownies at the 26 minute mark. For fudgy brownies there will be some moist crumbs on a toothpick inserted into the middle. If you like your brownies gooey reduce the baking time by a few minutes. Likewise, if you prefer them set all the way through, increase the baking time by a few minutes.
- This recipe has been developed with a semi-sweet chocolate topping for the rocky
road element. We recommend you use the Bain Marie method to melt the chocolate and butter as opposed to melting in the microwave like you did the brownies. This is because the ratio of butter to chocolate is different and there’s a possibility the chocolate can seize when there is less butter. - We used mostly mini marshmallows for the Rocky Road topping with a few large
ones mixed in for texture. You can use all mini if you prefer. Nuts are classic in Rocky Road and salted peanuts are an excellent addition here. You can substitute with any nuts, such as almonds or cashews. - A small amount of marshmallows and peanuts are reserved and not coated in
chocolate. This is to add some visual interest to the finished brownies. - We recommend adding a sprinkling of flaky sea salt as this balances the sweetness of the chocolate really well.
