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.
Did you enjoy the recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. 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”
I made these for a wedding shower a few months ago and ever since then I’ve made them probably 6 more times. They are SO good. Love this recipe.
That’s wonderful Eliana, happy to hear that!
Hi!! The cookies look amazing.. But me and my family.. We dont use egg.. Is there an eggless version of this recipe?..
And.. Please dont suggest egg replacers because we dont get them here in india..
Still no reply 🙁
Hello there. I was wandering, would it be o.k to substitute powdered sugar with brown sugar?
Thank you in advance!:)
Hello! Unfortunately that substitution wouldn’t work since they are very different. Hope you can find some confectioner’s sugar to try these.
Wow.Let me tell ya: the name “Ooey Gooey” is an UNDERSTATEMENT mine did not come off like the picture, and they are….wow really really ooey gooey…oh and it literally tastes like melted chocolate…super yum! but i feel super unhealthy eating them…
Hi Joanne… This recipe looks absolutely delicious!! I do have one question, and would love to know your feedback…
I want to make these for my niece birthday which is this on coming Sunday… but I have soo many things to do and also work to do, so I was thinking on making the cookies tonight (wednesday night)… Do you think the making them four day in advance will make the cookie texture not be as good? Like would they go bad? Or do they have to be done on the same day?
Thanks so Much!! Awesome webpage by the way!
Hi Maria, I think the furthest in advance I’d make these is two days ahead, as they will tend to lose moisture easily. Hope you are able to try them sometime and enjoy them!
Hi just wondering is powdered sugar icing sugar ?
Hi Justine, yes they’re the same thing.
i was making these earlier and noticed that my batter didn’t look quite like the pictures. It is a lot thicker and darker, yet I didn’t change the recipe or substitute anything. Should I still put the batter in the freezer? Also, I don’t have chocolate chips or marshmallows, but do you think I could use Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate squares and just chop them up instead? Thank you!
What size eggs did you use? Another reader noted above that the difference between large and extra large eggs is very noticeable for this recipe, so be sure to use the right size. Darkness may depend on the cocoa you’re using as well. The freezer time just helps the cookies to not spread too thinly in the oven. Regarding the chocolate, chocolate chips don’t melt and lose their shape when baked, while chopped chocolate will, so it’s not the same effect. You may still find them tasty. Enjoy!
These look delicious! I think they would be great fresh out of the oven, but what about after they have cooled off? Are they still just as gooey after a few days?
Hi Jenn, if you’re going to eat them a few days after baking and would like them to be gooey, I recommend reheating in the oven or the microwave. Enjoy!
I was wondering if I have to put them in the freezer? I live with roommates and they have completely hogged the freezer so there would be no room for a cookie sheet in it 🙁
Hi Sara, you can put them directly in the oven, though they might spread out and be a little thinner. They will taste the same though!
Pretty disappointed, my cookies didn’t turn out at all. Kind of confused why they didnt turn out, I did everything the same. 🙁
Hi Savanna, I’m sorry to hear the cookies didn’t turn out for you. If you would like to provide some more details and I can try to troubleshoot and figure out what went wrong.
I tied to figure it out but I couldn’t. I literally did exactly what it said. I dont think their was enough liquid because when I went to mix it up after I put everything together it was super super dry. but I used the same meausurements as the recipe called for so I don’t know why it was so dry.
Savanna, are you using large eggs instead of extra large? I only had large eggs so I used three egg whites and my batter was extremely dry also. I then added about half another egg white and it smoothed out beautifully.
These look yummy. I have a child with a nut allergy, do you have any recommendations for a substitute for the the almonds? Thank you
Hi Tina, if you’d like you can just leave them out entirely. Or you could add white chocolate chips like someone else said they loved doing!
Hi would they still work out if I did not add the almonds? These look so amazing and delisicious but I’m just not a big almond fan. Thanks and can’t wait to make these!
Hi Abby, others who have made this without almonds have reported good results, though I’ve never tried it myself. I say go for it!
Great thanks so much! These just look soooo good can’t wait to make ’em!
These are amazing! Made them for a quick treat tonight. I omitted the almonds and used white choc chips and still amazing! Most definitely going in the regular fam treat file! Be so great to have for unexpected guests too!
So glad to hear it Jennifer! Love your tweaks.
Made these a few hours ago. This recipe is a keeper! Was cleaning out my cake decorating cabinet & found some chocolate chips and half a bag of marshmallows. My marshmallows were large so my dear hubby cut them up. I also had milk chocolate chips but I used them. Omitted the almonds.The cookies are very gooey & sweet. Next time I will try the semi sweet chips. Thanks for posting. Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes.
That sounds great! Thanks for sharing your rendition and glad you enjoyed the cookies.
Greetings from the UK, and a gluten free baker. I’ve made these a number of times now and just wanted to say thank you for the recipe, they are truly delicious. I’ve written about baking these and the raptuous reception that they receive, and pointed my readers in the direction of your recipe.
Thank you for sharing!
Halo
x
YAY!!! I’m so glad that you enjoyed them. I took a look at your post, and your version looks great! I wasn’t able to leave a comment because of the comment settings on your blog but I really appreciate the response!
Thank you so much for the recipe! I haven’t made them yet, but I can’t wait to try!
Hope you enjoy them, Kristen!