This recipe for Rocky Road Candy Bars is not only scrumptious, but it’s super easy and fun to make!
I just can’t resist anything with chocolate and marshmallows! My all-time favorite store-bought cookies have that very combination. I started making these when I lived in England and was craving the taste of home.
Why This Recipe Works
- Using dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate gives the bars a rich deep flavor and keeps the sweetness to a minimum.
- Using crushed store-bought cookies makes them super easy to make.
- The butter adds flavor and keeps the bars from setting too hard keeping them soft enough to bite into.
These rocky road candy bars are made up of just a handful of ingredients – broken up, chocolate chip cookies mini marshmallows, dark chocolate, a little syrup, and butter. That’s it! They take minutes to make and the kids will love helping!
Which Chocolate Is Best
I recommend Dark Chocolate which has around 54.5% Cacao as it melts easily and tastes great without being overly sweet
That said, you can use semi-sweet, bitter-sweet, dark, or milk chocolate too. Just keep in mind that milk chocolate will make a much sweeter bar.
This recipe calls for 32oz of chocolate. Now I know that’s a lot of chocolate, but it fills a 9-inch pan and if you want them nice and thick, you have to use a lot of chocolate!
The Right Tools For The Job
I recommend a silicone pan for this recipe because I find it’s the easiest way to remove it from the pan. You just pop it out in one piece and there’s no sticking or breaking.
You can get one like mine from Amazon – here. (#paidlink).
Just keep in mind, if you use a silicone pan that isn’t fitted with any sort of frame (which will be floppy when you hold it), make sure to put it on top of a cookie sheet before filling it to keep it stable when moving it before the chocolate sets.
How To Make Rocky Road Candy Bars
Start with melting the chocolate with the butter and syrup until smooth and fluid (for more information on how to properly melt chocolate, see my guide on How to Melt Chocolate).
Scoop out about 1?4 of the melted mixture and spread it into the bottom of a 9-inch square silicone cake pan.
Put the cookies into a zip lock bag and then break them into chunks with a rolling pin.
Fold the cookie pieces into the remaining melted chocolate mixture in the mixing bowl, and then add the marshmallows.
Pour evenly into the pan and leave to set completely.
Once set, cut, serve and enjoy every last bite!
Variations
- Add dried fruit such as raisins, apricots, or cranberries.
- Add mixed nuts like peanuts, walnuts, and macadamia nuts.
- Add cherries and coconut for an Australian version of rocky road.
- Melt a cup of peanut butter with 20 oz of chocolate and cut out the butter and syrup for an American twist.
Did you make this?
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Let’s Make Rocky Road Candy Bars
Ingredients
- 9 tablespoons butter salted or unsalted
- 32 ounces semisweet chocolate or dark chocolate, chopped
- 3 tablespoons golden syrup or light corn syrup
- 8 ounces chocolate chip cookies crunchy style not soft
- 1½ cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Put the chocolate in a heat-safe mixing bowl.
- Melt the butter, and golden syrup or light corn syrup in a saucepan.
- Once the butter melts, add it to the chopped chocolate and leave to sit a few minutes to melt the chocolate. Once the chocolate is soft enough, whisk the chocolate and butter mixture until smooth and glossy.
- Scoop out about 1⁄4 of the melted mixture and spread it into the bottom of a 9-inch square silicone cake pan.
- Put the cookies into a zip lock bag and then break them into chunks a rolling pin.
- Fold the cookie pieces into the remaining melted chocolate mixture in the mixing bowl, and then add the marshmallows.
- Add the mixture to the pan and spread it with a rubber scraper.
- Top with chopped nuts (if you are using them)
- Refrigerate for 2 – 4 hours (or until firm) to set and cut into squares to serve.
Nutrition Information:
Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in 2014, but was re-published with new information and photos in 2020.
Katie Bremer says
I make this every year, I had to give this recipe 5 stars. It’s so simple and everyone loves it so much. I now have people asking me to make them pans of it.
Erren Hart says
So happy to hear it! Thanks for stopping by and sharing!
Ginger C. says
This is my son’s favorite dessert! He loves making it with me! The cookies make it!
Erren Hart says
Thanks for stopping by and letting me know! 🙂
Elaine F says
This recipe is so easy and so delicious. I’ve done this with both cookies and pecans and both versions were incredible!
Erren Hart says
Yay! Love to hear that 🙂
christina says
How did you go about melting the chocolate?
Erren's Kitchen says
Hi Christina, If you read until to the end, under the ingredients, there is a step by step instructions of how to make. It explains it in there!