Rocky Road Brownies

I’ve never in my life had Rocky Road ice cream (for those of you who don’t know what this is: it is chocolate ice cream with nuts and marshmallows).  For some reason, I never thought it sounded good or I always thought there were better ice cream flavors (coffee, peppermint, mint chocolate chip…, I’m getting hungry for ice cream now).  I found this recipe for Rocky Road Brownies, and these caught my fancy.  I think it was the lightly roasted/browned marshmallows on top that appealed to me.  As I was whipping up this recipe, I looked up some more about the history of the rocky road.

First, William Dreyer, one of the founder’s of Edy’s Ice Cream, cut up walnuts and marshmallows with his wife’s SEWING SCISSORS (crazy?) and added them to this chocolate ice cream in 1929.   It’s been said that he used his wife’s sewing scissors because at that time, only large marshmallows were being produced.  I couldn’t prove that, but it sounds plausible. He based this mixture on a similar candy bar his partner, Joseph Edy, had created.

The name was created to give people a laugh and a smile amidst the Great Depression.  It’s amazing the complex history of a popular ice cream flavor.

For the brownies, they mimicked the main flavors of chocolate, marshmallow, and nuts.  Real Rocky Road ice cream is made with almonds, but I made them with walnuts because that is what I prefer.  Do what you want.

Begin by preheating your oven to 350 ˚F.  Next, spray an 8 x 8 in. square pan with cooking spray. Chop up your pecans or almonds (whichever you prefer). 

Put chopped nuts, marshmallows, and chocolate chips in a small bowl and mix together.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine melted butter, sugar, and vanilla until blended.

Lots of sugar.

Add one egg at a time mixing well after each addition.

Add cocoa, flour, and salt and stir the batter until everything is fully incorporated. (Cocoa=pure joy)

You notice the beater.  That is from my KitchenAid mixer.  It was so nice to come home and use it.

Spread the brownie batter into the prepared pan trying to spread the batter as evenly as possible. 

Sprinkle the almond/marshmallow/chocolate mixture over the top of the batter.  Again, try to spread the mixture evenly.  Using the back of a spoon or your fingers (why bother getting a spoon dirty when you have 2 beautiful hands), gently press the topping mixture into the batter.  This will ensure that the topping backs into the brownie and won’t fall off the top once baked.

Bake for 30 minutes or until done.  The marshmallows will be slightly crisp and golden.

Enjoy!

Recipe from: Savory Sweet Life

Recipe:Rocky Road Brownies