Chewy Rocky Road cookies are a chocolate lover’s dream that will always disappear in a flash! These chocolate cookies are loaded with gooey marshmallows, melty chocolate, and lots of almonds for an addictive crunch. If you love Rocky Road ice cream, these easy cookies are a must-try.
Since you don’t need to chill the cookie dough before baking, the cookies come together in a snap! Plus, the dough is freezer-friendly and lasts up to 3 days in the fridge, so you can prepare it well in advance of when you plan to bake. For more chocolate cookie recipes, try my chocolate crinkle cookies, hot chocolate cookies, and brownie cookies.
Ingredients
Flour — you just need regular all-purpose flour.
Cocoa powder — I used Dutched cocoa powder for these rocky road cookies to give them a deeper chocolate flavor. Unsweetened natural cocoa powder will work as well!
Baking soda — baking soda is a must for perfect chewy cookies.
Salt — salt balances the flavors in these sweet cookies.
Butter — use unsalted butter so the cookies do not turn out salty.
Sugar — you need granulated sugar and light brown sugar to sweeten the cookies. Brown sugar also adds subtle molasses notes and moisture.
Egg — be sure to bring the egg to room temperature.
Vanilla — vanilla extract adds depth and an addictive aroma.
Marshmallows — mini marshmallows easily stir into the cookie dough and bake up into gooey pockets inside each cookie.
Chocolate — I use semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you can use milk chocolate or dark chocolate, depending on your preference.
Nuts — chop up roasted almonds for a delicious crunch in every bite.
How To Make Rocky Road Cookies
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set the flour mixture aside.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl, using an electric mixer), cream the butter, light brown sugar, and white sugar on medium speed until lightened in color and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix just until combined.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in three parts, mixing on low speed just until combined between each addition.
4. Use a spatula to fold in ¾ cup of the marshmallows, the chocolate chips, and chopped almonds.
5. Using a triggered cookie scoop or two spoons, scoop 1½-tablespoon-sized cookies onto parchment paper-lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie.
6. Gently press 2 to 3 of the remaining mini marshmallows into the top of the cookies. Bake at 350°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are set and the tops appear dry. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
For Fudgy Cookies, Underbake Them Slightly
The secret to fudgy rocky road cookies is to slightly underbake them. The tops of the cookies should appear dry, but if you press the center, it should not feel firm. While the cookies cool, they continue to bake a little from the heat of the pan. So, slightly underbaking them will make them just right when they are done cooling.
My Trick For Perfectly Round Cookies
Because these cookies have such a variety of mix-ins in them, they can spread in an organic shape and not in nice circles. If the cookies lose their round shape after baking, use a large, circular cookie cutter or bowl (at least 3 inches in diameter or larger than the baked cookies) to reshape them.
Place the cookie cutter over the cookie, surrounding all sides. Move the cutter in a circular motion on the pan, tapping against the sides of the cookies to bring them back toward the center. (You don’t actually cut the cookies; you’re using the cutter to gently push the sides back in.) You can also use a spatula to push the sides of the cookies that spread back to the center.
How To Store
Once the rocky road cookies have cooled completely, transfer them to an airtight container. They will keep at room temperature for 4 to 5 days.
To freeze unbaked cookies: If you’d like to freeze the cookie dough to bake later, scoop the dough balls and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Do not press the additional marshmallows on yet. Flash freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer-safe container with parchment paper between any layers. When you’re ready to bake, arrange the frozen dough balls on a lined baking sheet and let them thaw for 1 hour at room temperature. Press the marshmallows on top and then bake as directed.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Weigh the flour: To avoid using too much flour, weigh it using a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, avoid overpacking your measuring cup by fluffing the flour in its container, spooning it into your measuring cup, and using a knife to level off the top.
- Use room temperature ingredients: Set the egg and butter out in advance so they are not too cold when you start working on the cookies. Learn how to soften butter quickly with my easy tutorial if you forget. And you can soak the whole egg in warm tap water for 5 minutes to warm it up fast.
- Best nuts to use: You can use any type of almonds: sliced, roasted and salted, slivered, etc. You can also use roasted and salted peanuts, cashews, pecans, or walnuts in place of the almonds.
- Don’t over-mix the cookie dough, as it will over-develop the gluten and make the cookies tough.
- Add flaky sea salt: I love to top each chewy chocolate cookie with flaky sea salt right after baking. It brings out the flavors so well!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can make the cookie dough up to 3 days in advance. Scoop it and store it in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to bake, set the cookie dough balls out at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or else they may not spread properly. Bake the Rocky Road cookies as directed.
You can increase the dough ball size up to 1/4 cup, but I’d skip adding the marshmallows on top before baking. If you want to add them later, you can press them in after 8 minutes of baking. The bake time for jumbo cookies will increase by several minutes, depending on how big you make the cookies.
Yes, you can use large marshmallows in Rocky Road cookies. You’ll need to cut them into 4 pieces before stirring them into the dough. However, I do recommend using mini marshmallows if possible, as the cut pieces easily stick together and are harder to stir into the dough.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this rocky road cookie recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Rocky Road Cookies Recipe
Equipment
- Stand mixer or handheld electric mixer
Ingredients
- 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour (200g)
- ½ cup cocoa powder (50g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened (168g)
- ¾ cup light brown sugar (165g)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (66g)
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup mini marshmallows divided (56g)
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (135g)
- ½ cup almonds chopped (75g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk to combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer), cream the butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugars on medium speed for about 3 minutes until lightened in color and fluffy.
- Add the egg and vanilla and mix for 30 seconds, just until combined.
- Add the flour mixture in three parts, mixing on low speed just until combined between each addition. WIth a spatula, fold in ¾ cup of the marshmallows (40g), the chocolate chips and almonds.
- Scoop 1½ tablespoon-sized cookies (about 32g each) with a triggered cookie scoop or two spoons, onto parchment lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie. Gently press 2 to 3 of the remaining ¼ cup of marshmallows (16g) into the top of each cookie.
- Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are set and the tops appear dry. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Weigh the flour: To avoid using too much flour, weigh it using a kitchen scale. If you don’t have one, avoid overpacking your measuring cup by fluffing the flour in its container, spooning it into your measuring cup, and using a knife to level off the top.
- Use room temperature ingredients: Set the egg and butter out in advance so they are not too cold when you start working on the cookies. Learn how to soften butter quickly with my easy tutorial if you forget. And you can soak the whole egg in warm tap water for 5 minutes to warm it up fast.
- Best nuts to use: You can use any type of almonds: sliced, roasted and salted, slivered, etc. You can also use roasted and salted peanuts, cashews, pecans, or walnuts in place of the almonds.
- Don’t over-mix the cookie dough, as it will over-develop the gluten and make the cookies tough.
- Add flaky sea salt: I love to top each chewy chocolate cookie with flaky sea salt right after baking. It brings out the flavors so well!
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