Rocky Road Cookies
These flourless chocolate cookies are chewy and ooey gooey delicious, and studded with all the components of Rocky Road: toasted almonds, gooey marshmallows, and chocolate chips!
Ever since the idea of rocky road cookies popped into my head a month ago, I have been tweaking recipe after recipe so I could come up with a cookie delicious enough to be posted here.
These chewy rocky road cookies are complete fudgy chocolate goodness (I mean, flourless chocolate goods usually are). The crunchy nuts contrast nicely with the melty semi-sweet chocolate chips, and the marshmallows on top are crispy and golden brown on the edges and gooey in the middle.
Just like if you roasted them on a fire!
This is also one of those quick and easy recipes with zero chilling time required. If you want a deeply fudgy chocolate cookie, this is it.
Don’t Mix the Marshmallows In
In a large bowl, sift together powdered sugar (aka confectioner’s sugar) with cocoa powder. These are your dry ingredients.
Then whisk in salt, egg whites, and vanilla extract, then finally, chocolate chips and almonds.
You might be wondering why we don’t just mix the mini marshmallows into the batter, and the reason is that they sort of melt and disappear that way.
The golden brown crispy shelled marshmallows on top make this cookie truly incredible and rocky road-esque. So they must be placed on top of the cookies, in order to become browned but gooey melted marshmallows.
Take your time here to whisk thoroughly each step of the way, but especially when whisking in the egg whites. You want to break up the egg whites and distribute everything evenly.
I don’t mind doing this with just a whisk and a mixing bowl, but you can also use an electric hand mixer or stand mixer over medium-high speed to ensure it’s well mixed. Because there is no flour here, there’s no risk of developing gluten and making the cookies tough.
When the batter is ready, know that it will be relatively loose because there is no flour. It will look almost like a melted chocolate mixture.
I recommend using a medium cookie scoop for portioning out the batter in dollops. If you want perfectly round cookies, or another shape, you can also portion the batter into a cookie form or metal rings.
Place 4 to 5 marshmallows on the tops of each cookie. And if you think this is stingy, then by all means, feel free to add extra marshmallows.
Also, while you can get away with baking right on an uncoated cookie sheet, I now recommend you line baking sheets with parchment paper, to ensure the cookies don’t stick (this is updated in the recipe card below). Others have reported that a silicone mat does not work well.
Bake in a 350 degrees F oven for 12 minutes, until the marshmallows are brown and a crispy edge has developed all around.
Be careful not to overbake here, as these can go from chewy cookie to hard cookie if all the moisture is baked out.
Let the cookies cool for a couple minutes to set, right on the silicone mat or layer of parchment paper. If you try to move them to a wire rack or cooling rack immediately after baking, they may fall apart.
For more favorite cookie recipes, try No Chill Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate Crinkle Cookies, Peanut Butter Cookies, or Shortbread Cookies.
For the chocolate lover, I also recommend Chocolate Muffins, Homemade Hot Chocolate, and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips and FAQ
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Note that if you live in a humid climate, these will turn into soft chocolate cookies in a day or two after baking.
Try to use a good quality one, and avoid the standard Hershey’s cocoa. Guittard is my favorite brand, but Callebaut, Vahlrona, Scharrfen Berger, and Ghirardelli are all great too.
Absolutely. Substitute an equal amount for the semisweet chocolate chips. You may also use any kind of dark chocolate you like.
Tried this recipe? Leave a rating and comment below — I’d love to hear how it turned out! Or, follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest!
Rocky Road Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 extra large egg whites
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 2.5 oz sliced almonds toasted
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Whisk in the salt. Add the egg whites and vanilla and whisk until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and almonds.
- Use a disher to portion out small mounds on to the parchment paper, then top each cookie with 4-5 marshmallows. Pop into the freezer for 5 minutes to chill slightly (this prevents them from spreading too much in the oven).
- Bake for 12-13 minutes until the marshmallows are golden brown. Let the cookies sit on the paper for a few minutes to set, before moving them to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy!!!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
189 Comments on “Rocky Road Cookies”
These look divine! I will most definitely be trying them!
Just pulled these out of the oven and yes they are ooey gooey goodness. I don’t know how someone said they turned out bitter because they are almost too sweet (I say almost because I don’t know if it’s possible to make something too sweet!!) I followed the recipe too (left out the nuts) and even with the parchment paper on the first batch, they did leave gooey-ness behind so I can see where people are saying it stuck to the paper. Also, my mallows flattened and created craters in the cookies – they looked horrible! I put the rest of the batter in the fridge for 15 minutes and that time they didn’t spread as much and I also put the mallows on at 10 minutes for the second batch and this time they didn’t flatten as bad and they didn’t stick to the paper this time either. I think the key is making sure to let them chill long enough before cooking the first batch and putting the mallows in at least half way after baking them.
Chelsea, this was such an awesome comment! Thanks so much for your details about your experience baking these, and I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Unbelievably beautiful photographs..and food! I’ve just looked @ several of your posts, and while they all look extra yummy, these cookies stopped me dead in my tracks! Lol..I love my chocolate. My new favorite blog!
Thanks so much Karen! haha, yes, chocolate is magical sometimes =)
We made these tonight and they were awesome!!!! We didn’t have any almonds but they were amazing – thanks for the kickass recipe!!!
Fantastic, Amy! I’m so glad. Happy baking!
Hi! These cookies look AMAZING! I can only hope that mine will come out as beautiful! I’m looking for a new idea for our yearly holiday cookie party, and this just may be it! However, I don’t prefer nuts. In reading the comments, you indicated they can be omitted, but does the overall texture of the cookie change negatively? Do you think add Toffee Health Bar bits instead of nuts would work?
Hi Anne, I think without the nuts the cookies still have texture because the outside is pretty crisp. My opinion is that the heath bar bits would have too much crunch for these, but who knows, you might love it! So I would say whatever sounds delicious to you, you should give it a try.
Wow. Saw your pretty cookies on Pinterest. I just finished making these and followed the directions exactly. They are super easy and INSANELY good!! I can’t wait to check out the rest of your blog!
That’s awesome!!! I’m so glad you liked them so much. I agree, totally easy! Have fun looking around Fifteen Spatulas =)
Can these be baked then put in the freezer
I haven’t tried it with these cookies but I wouldn’t think these cookies are well suited for that. They’re a bit unconventional since there’s no flour and they’ve got the marshmallows on top. These other cookies I have freeze very well: https://www.fifteenspatulas.com/gingercookies/
I made these today and they are wonderful – but I did make a few changes. Evidently my XL eggs were not quite XL enough because I had to add an additional one to have even close to enough liquid. I also ended up adding a Tbs. of water. I used pecans rather than almonds just because that is what I had on hand and prefer them to almonds. I made the first cookies with marshmallows but mine were not as pretty as yours. The rest of the cookies I left the marshmallows off and sprinkled more chopped pecans on top. YUM!! The texture is great and my gluten free friends will love them.
Hi Jenn, I loved hearing about your changes. I bet the pecans would be divine in here, I will try that next time!
Mine turned out flat and stuck really bad to the pan which was really disappointing because these look so good! I did everything it said! wahhh haha 🙁
LIz, you said they stuck to the pan? Did you not use parchment paper?
These are deeelicious. I made half a batch using two large egg whites. Mine really stuck to the parchment. I had to let them cool completely to get them off in decent shape. Yummy!
YAY! That’s great Carla. Interesting about the parchment, I wonder if it varies by brand.
These are the by far the best tasting cookies I’ve ever made. They even looked exactly like the picture! The only question I have: my cookie dough didn’t seem to be nearly as runny as yours is, it was very stiff. Any ideas about what I may have done wrong? Also, if I double the recipe, should I do anything different? Thanks!
Thanks so much Kelly! Hm, I’m not sure why it might’ve been less runny. Is your kitchen very cold? At the time of posting I made them in an 80 degree kitchen, and now that I cook in a 60 degree kitchen, it makes an amazing difference how cold or warm the kitchen is. That’s my only idea. I don’t think any changes are needed to double this recipe, hope they turn out well!
Thank you for sharing the best rocky road cookie ever!!! I just made them. The recipe was simple to follow and they came out great. I used a silpat baking mat instead of parchment paper and it worked out just fine.
YAY! I’m so glad Christina. Maybe I need to ask for one of those silpats for Christmas this year…I go through so much parchment.
Hello Joanne,
Lovely recipe! I’m already setting a date to make these! I saw your reply about silpats. I wanted to let you know that I just recently bought mine at Costco. It was a set of three of only 19.99. Best purchase ever! Happy baking! ^_^
What a steal! That’s awesome. Thanks for sharing the info.
I was wondering if I could use dark chocolate cocoa powder instead of unsweetened… It sounds stupid but I couldn’t find the unsweetened powder for the life of me at our commissary!
Hi Dylan, interesting, I have never seen dark chocolate cocoa powder before. What does it say the ingredients are? I imagine it’s cocoa powder with powdered sugar maybe. Anyway, it should work okay I would think, it might be a bit sweeter than normal but that depends on how much sugar might be in there.
I found that these look great, but are not very sweet…maybe if you want a sweeter treat to try milk chocolate chips. Me and my boyfriend thought these were very bitter.
Hm, I don’t find these to be bitter in the slightest, so I’m wondering what kind of cocoa powder you were using. Hershey’s? Nestle?
These are wonderful and I’m baking them again as we speak for my bake sale! Joanne, I have a question: how do you keep your toasted marshmallows fluffy? I’m not sure if it’s just a mallow brand thing or what. After taking my cookies out of the oven, my marshmallows deflate to look like little mushroom heads. It doesn’t affect the taste, but the appearance is not as “Cook’s Illustrated” as I’d like, and it doesn’t look like your photo. Tips on beautiful as well as delicious cookies?
Hi Beth, they will definitely deflate a bit after they come out of they oven (because in the oven they heat up like crazy and get puffed and huge), but I’m curious what brand you are using for the marshmallow? Another thing you could try is to put the marshmallows on about halfway through baking instead of at the beginning. That might help them from melting down too much. Let me know if that helps! Happy baking!
Hi Joanne,
Wow, you’re fast on the replies! Thank you! Right now, I’ve been using Jet Puffed, and putting them on about 5 minutes in (and then baking for another 8 or so) already increased the post-oven puffiness. Next time, I’m going to try putting them on even later. Happy baking to you as well! Thank you for all the recipes!
Haha, well I try! I am currently moving from Georgia to Connecticut (just loaded up the truck earlier today) so I’m a bit behind in my emails, but I wanted to get to yours ASAP. Hope you’re having a great week!
If I used milk chocolate morsels, would it still taste pretty much the same? Used all the semi-sweet morsels on the peanut butter cups. Which were a hit with my kids!
Hi Teresa, You know, I’m not completely sure without trying it. The milk chocolate has a higher cacao butter content so it might make it turn out differently? On the other hand i could see it turning out similarly. If you try please let us all know how it turns out =) Glad you and the kids enjoyed the peanut butter cups!!!