Rocky Road Chocolate Cookie Bars

These rocky road chocolate cookie bars are loaded with chocolate chips and nuts and stippled with marshmallows. They are decadent and delicious!

You won’t even believe how delicious they are if they’re stored in the refrigerator and eaten chilled. YUM!

One-Bowl Chocolate Cookie Dough

The classic Rocky Road flavor lineup consists of: chocolate + nuts + marshmallows. And while we usually see these flavors appear in ice cream (hello, delicious), the flavors translate wonderfully well to these cookie bars, also.

The beauty of these delightful rocky road chocolate cookie bars is that the cookie dough is a one-bowl recipe and can be mixed together by hand. Say it with me: HALLELUJAH.

Marshmallow Stippling: It’s a Thing

Now, here’s the fun part.

After the chocolate cookie dough is spread evenly in a 9X13-inch pan, the mini marshmallows are sprinkled evenly on top.

Instead of baking like this, you’re going to take your cute little fingers and lightly press the marshmallows into the cookie dough. Kind of like how you might stipple the top of focaccia bread to make little indentations.

Why are we doing this? Stippling the marshmallows into the cookie dough allows them to form gooey pockets throughout the cookie dough as well as on top. Otherwise, the marshmallows form a heavy marshmallow crust on top while baking making the bars hard and messy to cut and eliminating the tasty marshmallow effect throughout the cookie dough.

Alternately, stirring the marshmallows into the actual cookie dough batter is difficult and ends up overworking the cookie dough, which makes the baked bars less soft and chewy. TRUST ME, I TESTED THESE BARS ALL.THE.WAYS. Stippling the marshmallows is the way to go. And it’s fun. 🤓

Optimal Cutting Tips For These Gooey Bars

It can be hard to judge the doneness of chocolate cookie bars/dark-colored cookie batters, but for this recipe, err on the side of under baking just slightly, otherwise the bars may be dry.

A few clues to know if the bars are done or not:

• the marshmallows should just be starting to turn golden
• the edges will be lightly puffed and set, but the middle, when pressed with a finger, should have a little bit of “give” and softness

For optimal cutting and serving, I highly recommend letting the bars cool completely and then chilling the bars for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting. This will help the knife slice more cleanly through the marshmallows.

If you want to try them warm, just pop in the microwave for 5 to 10 seconds OR abandon all worries about how the bars look and dive into them while they are still warm from the oven.

A Really Delicious Cookie Bar

And despite all that talk of serving them warm and gooey, my favorite way to eat these rocky road chocolate cookie bars is cold straight from the fridge.

The marshmallows stay soft and chewy and the rich chocolate of the bars is intensified. They are amazing! Like: obsessively opening the fridge 50 times a day to break off another corner of a bar stuffed in a ziploc bag until you realize you’ve almost eaten the whole bag kind of amazing. Consider yourself warned. 😉

So, yeah, serve them warm with or without ice cream, room temperature on a pretty serving tray, or chilled and hidden for your taste buds only. Any way you eat these delightful bars is the right way!

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Rocky Road Chocolate Cookie Bars

Yield: 15 servings (9X13-inch pan)

Prep Time: 25 minutes mins

Cook Time: 22 minutes mins

Total Time: 47 minutes mins

• 10 tablespoons (141 g) salted butter, cut into pieces
• 2 cups (340 g) semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• ¾ cup (159 g) packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
• 2 large (100 g out of shell) eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 ¾ cups (249 g) all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons (12 g) cocoa powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¾ cup (84 g) chopped pecans or walnuts
• 2 ½ cups (142 g) mini marshmallows (half of a 10-ounce bag)

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch pan with parchment paper. Lightly grease with cooking spray. Set aside.

• In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter and 1 1/4 cups (213 g/7.5 oz) of the chocolate chips. Microwave for 45-second intervals, stirring in between, until melted and smooth (don’t over heat).

• Add the brown sugar, white sugar, eggs and vanilla and whisk to combine well.

• Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir until just combined and no dry streaks remain.

• Add the pecans and remaining 3/4 cup chocolate chips (128 g/4.5 oz). Stir until evenly combined.

• Press the mixture into the prepared pan and immediately (while the dough is soft) sprinkle the marshmallows over the top. Push the marshmallows lightly into the dough with your fingers (kind of like stippling the top of focaccia bread).

• Bake for 22 to 24 minutes until the marshmallows are lightly golden, the edges are set and the middle is puffed (don’t over bake – if you aren’t sure if the bars are done, err on the side of under baking slightly).

• Let the bars cool in the pan. Cut into squares and serve. These are delicious at room temperature, slightly warm, or chilled.

Author: Mel

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Method: Bake, Oven

Serving: 1 bar, Calories: 354kcal, Carbohydrates: 45g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Cholesterol: 45mg, Sodium: 240mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 31g

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe