Great-grandma’s amazing Rocky Road recipe is just four simple ingredients: a chocolate marshmallow lover’s dream! You’d be hard pressed to find an easier no-bake dessert recipe, and people go crazy for it! It’s perfect for a simple weekend treat, potluck, or neighbor gifts during the holidays.
Rocky Road
My Mother-in-law has some totally CLASSIC recipes that she is nice enough to let me share here on the blog. Some of those include the BEST Texas Sheet Cake you will ever have and this Classic Chicken Casserole recipe, which happens to be my husband’s favorite meal from childhood 🙂 .
This Rocky Road recipe, in particular, is a treasured family recipe from her Grandmother–my husband’s Great Grandmother–that they make as a family for birthdays, Christmas, and other special occasions.
My MIL told me that her grandma would always make this for the grandkids birthdays. Each grandchild would get a whole pan just for themselves — it was the gift they most looked forward to, especially because they didn’t have to share 🙂 .
How to make Rocky Road:
You need four simple ingredients to make rocky road:
- marshmallows
- Baker’s chocolate
- butter
- vanilla
Cut the marshmallows into quarters (I use scissors to do this and I dip the scissors in water to help prevent the marshmallows sticking to the scissors). Next layer the marshmallows inside an 8” pan.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a saucepan until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and then slowly spoon the mixture evenly over the marshmallows, making sure it gets spooned lightly into every little crack and crevice over the top of the marshmallows. Place the whole pan in the fridge to allow it to set. 
Cut the fudge into small squares for serving. Cover the pan and store the rocky road in the fridge. It will last well for at least 1 week.
A few tips for this recipe:
Use regular size marshmallows, not mini’s.
I know using mini marshmallows, rather than cutting the big ones, would be easier, but the texture of the fudge wont be the same. Stick with these (any brand will work).
Salted or unsalted butter will work.
If using unsalted butter, just add a tiny pinch of salt to the chocolate mixture.
Pour or spoon the melted chocolate slowly and evenly.
Slow and steady is best to make sure you evenly cover the entire top of the pan, and to make sure the chocolate is able to seep into the crackers between all of the marshmallow layers.
If you haven’t had Rocky Road before, you are in for a huge treat! It’s the easiest thing to make and it’s soo delicious! You really can’t go wrong with marshmallows and dark chocolate!
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Recipe
Rocky Road
Ingredients
- 10 ounce bags marshmallows , cut into 1/4's
- 8 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate
- 1/2 cup butter , chopped (*see note)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- Grease a 8x8'' baking pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter.
- Cut the marshmallows with scissors into 4ths (wetting the scissors in a cup of water after each cut will keep them from getting sticky).
- Add cut marshmallow to the pan.
- In a saucepan over low heat (or a double boiler) add chocolate and butter. Stir constantly until melted and smooth.
- Remove from heat and add the vanilla extract and walnuts, if using.
- Slowly spoon melted chocolate over marshmallows, gently nudging the marshmallows with the spoon to allow the chocolate to seep into all of the cracks.
- Refrigerate until set. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe December 12, 2014. I’ve updated it with new photos and clearer instructions.
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE this recipe and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
From the video. It looks like you are using the large marshmallows. How much can I use if I substitute mini marshmallows instead? That’s all I usually buy. Also, can this recipe be doubled for a 13×9 baking pan? I say go big or go home lol. Besides I love to bake and share.
Yes you can double it. We always use the big marshmallows because they create the texture that we like, but you could try using about 6 cups of mini.
We made this for dessert last night and it was fantastic! Followed recipe to the letter
Wouldn’t change a thing! Made ours with walnuts. Thankyou for a great recipe!
I accidentally bought 4 ounces of unsweetened bakers chocolate and 4 ounces semi sweetened bakers chocolate
How do I use this in this recipe?
This is one of the best Rocky Road recipes I have ever made. It is very rich, so only tiny pieces are needed. I loved the technique of putting the marshmallows in the pan and pouring the chocolate over it.
Hi. I made this recipe for holiday gifts. I am a huge fan of marshmallows and chocolate! Rockyroad ice cream has always been my favorite. I already had Trader Joe’s Belgian dark chocolate on hand so I decided to use that. I wondered if it was going to be too sweet but actually it wasn’t probably because the dark chocolate is not as sweet as milk chocolate. I made a small batch to test it out and it turned out fine. Except I found it difficult to cut into pieces. So the second time around, I began by putting a thin layer of the melted chocolate on the bottom of an 8×8” greased pan. I let that set and then followed the recipe with cut up marshmallows and the melted chocolate and butter mixture and added the vanilla and chopped walnuts. After 2 hours, I had so much more success cutting it with the chocolate layer on the bottom. I hope this is helpful, and thank you for posting the recipe’
Just made this and it is Delicious!
This is a hit! I used a 12oz bag of marshmallows, 12 oz dark chocolate, 6oz of butter, vanilla of course, and a cup or so of whole roasted, unsalted cashews. Makes a lovely thick batch in an 8×8 glass pan. I lined the pan with parchment paper for easier removal and cutting.
I tried the recipe for Christmas and the melted chocolate didn’t reach the bottom of the marshmallows. The nuts and marshmallows should be mixed with the melted chocolates then poured onto the greased pan. That way, all the marshmallows are covered with chocolate.