Triple-Threat Rocky Road Cookies

Chocolate, Cookie, Desserts / Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011

Ever wondered how Rocky Road got its name?

William Dreyer, the founder of Dreyer’s Ice Cream, had created a new ice cream flavor – one with chocolate, nuts and marshmallows – just before the stock market crash of 1929. He named it “Rocky Road” in the hope that it would make people smile during the “rocky road” ahead.

Smart man.

These Triple-Threat Rocky Road Cookies look like your basic chocolate-chocolate chip, but they are so much more. So full of chocolate, pecans, walnuts and marshmallows that they barely hold together. Outside, they have a crisp, thin layer that fools you into thinking they might be dry. But then you take a bite, and – holy goodness – these cookies are melt-in-your-mouth moist inside. Ready to fall apart.

Crunchy, chewy, sticky, gooey – all four food groups are represented.

And when you get a bite full of chocolate chips? It will take you into the next dimension.

They rendered my sister speechless, and she’s an actress, so that’s MAJOR.

If you know someone who could use a pick-me-up, make them a batch of these cookies ASAP. They’re so good, you’ll feel like a rock star.

No leather pants required.

Triple-Threat Rocky Road Cookies

Slightly adapted from Rebecca Rather’s “The Pastry Queen”

Makes about 4 dozen

  • 2 cups chopped pecans, walnuts or a mix of both
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 8 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips
  • 3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
  • 1 cup mini marshmallows, halved (Totally optional. These will basically melt into the cookies.)
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. To Toast the Nuts: Place the pecans on a baking sheet, and toast for 7 minutes. Let them cool completely.
  3. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat®, AND grease generously with cooking spray. (Seriously, do both.)
  4. Place the butter, bittersweet chocolate and unsweetened chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat the butter and chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and repeat until chocolate is melted. Set aside.
  5. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a small bowl. Set aside.
  6. Using a mixer, beat the eggs and sugar on medium speed for about 3 minutes.
  7. Add vanilla and melted chocolate, and beat for another 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.
  8. Add flour mixture, mixing just until incorporated.
  9. Stir in the pecans, chocolate chips and marshmallows (if using).
  10. Use a 1 3/4-inch-diameter ice cream scoop to drop spoonfuls of the dough onto the baking sheets, spacing them at least 1 1/2 inches apart.
  11. Wet your fingertips lightly with water, and gently flatten the cookie dough mounds.
  12. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until the tops crack and look shiny. Cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the baking sheets.

STORAGE: The cookies will keep in an airtight container for about three days at room temperature. When frozen (wrapped in plastic wrap and aluminum foil), they’ll keep for about three weeks.

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