No-Bake Rocky Road Bars

These classic Rocky Road Bars are a no-bake treat for a decadent chocolate indulgence. Crispy cookie bits and nuts, chewy raisins, and soft marshmallows dotted throughout a rich, creamy chocolate and peanut butter fudge. Ooh-la-la!  (Skip to recipe.)

Okay. It is time.

Time for something sweet, as Winnie the Pooh would say.

And if you're going to go for a little something sweet, might as well go all out. These decadent Rocky Road bars definitely do that. They fill the bill to answer all your cravings.

They're a:

rich

decadent

no-bake

crunchy

nutty

chewy

rubbly

marshmallowy

chocolate indulgence.

And if you're like me and Pooh Bear, you always have the time and inclination for a little chocolate indulgence. You can make these Rocky Road Bars as a thrifty way to use up broken bits of crispy cookies and those last little marshmallows in the bag.

Or you can just go out and buy a box of animal crackers and a bag of marshmallows especially to make them. I won't tell.

You can even dress them up with candy-coated chocolates for special occasions.

Here in Alberta, we're known for our horrendous roads. Every spring, when the snow melts and the frost comes out of the ground, we're faced with a new network of frost heaves and potholes big enough to swallow small cars and errant elephants whole. When we're finally rid of that cold white stuff still piled high outside our windows, we'll be bumping down our rocky, rubbly roads. This kind of 'rocky road' is much nicer than the pothole-riddled real one, and much sweeter. It's the only kind I want to see this spring.

I love that I can melt chocolate with a blob of butter and a spoonful of peanut butter, then throw in a couple handfuls of marshmallows and broken cookies, a few nuts and raisins, and, there . . . I've got a decadent treat.

The hardest part is waiting for that luscious chocolate fudge to firm up. (I might have to test a few spoonfuls from the corner of the pan - to share with Winnie the Pooh, of course.)

* * * * *

Kitchen Frau Notes: Use any kind of crispy cookies you've got (make sure they're gluten-free, if necessary). Try not to crush the cookies up too much, or the crumbs make the chocolate fudge mucky. Break the cookies into roughly 1-inch pieces.

No-Bake Rocky Road Bars

• 2 cups packed (110gms) mini marshmallows
• 1½ cups (100gms) cookie chunks - about 1-inch chunks (graham wafers, digestive biscuits, or other crisp cookies, gluten-free if necessary. I use gluten-free arrowroot animal crackers and break each one in half.)
• 1 cup (135gms) unsalted, roasted peanuts or cashews
• ½ cup (75gms) raisins (otpional, but nice)
• ¼ cup (60gms) butter
• ½ cup (130gms) smooth peanut butter or cashew butter
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 cups (340gms) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Prepare a 9"x 9" baking pan by lining it with two parchment paper or tinfoil slings that stick up a bit on each side. (Lay one strip of parchment paper  or foil that is about 8¾ inches wide and about 15 inches long into the pan, then lay another similar strip over it crosswise so it comes up the other sides of the pan. You can fasten the paper to the pan with bulldog clips if you wish.)

In a large bowl, combine the marshmallows, cookie chunks, nuts, and raisins. Set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter with the peanut butter, salt, and cinnamon, stirring until combined. Turn the heat off, and add the chocolate chips. Stir just until the chocolate chops are melted.

Pour the melted chocolate over the marshmallow mixture, scraping all the chocolate into the bowl with a spatula. Stir to coat all the pieces with the chocolate. Scrape the rocky road mixture into the prepared pan, pushing it into the corners and making the top as even as possible (though don't fuss - it is a rocky road, after all).

Add candy-coated chocolate disks (like Smarties) or eggs to the top if you wish, for decoration.

Refrigerate until hardened, several hours.

Remove the block of rocky road squares to a cutting board by lifting the paper sling. Cut into sixteen squares.

Makes 16 bars.

Guten Appetit!

 

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