I’m a sucker for anything rocky road. It’s my go-to ice cream choice, my go-to brownie choice, and pretty much if there’s anything that’s rocky road flavored, I’m in. There’s just something about the combination of chocolate, marshmallow, and nuts that gets me every time. It’s kind of like s’mores. If there’s something s’mores (like these s’mores cookies), I’m also in. So that’s what you need to know about me – s’more and rocky road treats are the way to my heart. A couple of years back I made these rocky road protein balls that I still love to this day. But I thought it was about time to make some other rocky road treats for people who weren’t looking for protein balls. These no-bake rocky road bites are a great way to satisfy a sweet tooth or bring a dessert to a party without spending hours in the kitchen! The recipe is super simple with just a few ingredients and they’re perfect to make ahead of time then store until you’re ready to enjoy!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
5-ingredients – with just five ingredients you can easily find at your local grocery store, you know these will be quick and easy to make!Great texture – just like with anything rocky road, the combo of the creamy chocolate, crunchy nut, and gooey marshmallow are great together.Bite-size – when you want something sweet but don’t want to eat a huge dessert (like these hot chocolate cupcakes), these are the perfect bite-sized treat. They’re also great to make for a crowd!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Peanut butter – creamy peanut butter is best in this recipe but you could also try it with different spreads like a biscoff butter, cookie butter, or even an almond butter if you want to stick with the nutty theme! I do NOT recommend natural peanut butter for this recipe or if you do want to use it, make sure the oil is all mixed in. Chocolate chips – I like making these with milk chocolate but you can also do dark, semi-sweet, or even white if you really want. Or maybe if you like white chocolate, try these peanut butter snowballs instead. Pretzel sticks – I used pretzel sticks in these but you could totally use just regular pretzels broken up as well. Chopped nuts – I like chopped almonds in these just because chopped almonds are delicious, but you could really use any of your favorite nut – chopped pecans, chopped walnuts, you name it.
How to Make Rocky Road Bites
You probably noticed that the ingredients for this recipe are pretty flexible so really what matters is the process for making these! And luckily for you, it’s pretty simple. Start by lining 2-3 mini cupcake pans with mini cupcake or candy liners. You could also make these into larger rocky road bites, but I like the mini version for all the reasons I wrote above. Heat the chocolate chips in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments, stirring in between increments, until the chocolate is smooth. This typically takes about two minutes but will depend on the heat of your microwave. You could also do this on the stovetop using a double boiler, just make sure to let the chocolate get nice and melted and smooth. Once that’s done, mix the peanut butter into the chocolate, stirring it in well. You’ll want to make sure your peanut butter is at room temperature before trying to do this so it’ll mix in well. Add half of the marshmallows, nuts, and pretzels to the mixture and stir until incorporated. Spoon the mixture evenly into the lined cupcake liners, trying your best to keep the chocolate mixture in the liners and not on the outside of the cupcake pans. I know it’s tough. Then finish these off by sprinkling the tops of each of the rocky road bites with the remaining marshmallows, pretzels, and nuts. Let them set at room temperature for about twenty minutes until the chocolate is completely hardened. Or you can also put them in the fridge or freezer to speed up the process but I prefer to just let them harden at room temp.
Expert Tips
Store rocky road bites in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. If you need them longer, store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Double or half this recipe easily by just doubling or halving the ingredients. This makes it simple to make a small batch or a large batch if you’re serving them at a party or to a crowd. Change things up by substituting any of the ingredients other than the chocolate and marshmallows. These would be great with cookie butter, biscoff butter, pecans, walnuts. All sorts of great combinations! Make these gluten free by skipping the pretzels or using gluten-free pretzels!
More Easy Chocolate Recipes
If you like these rocky road bites, you’ll love these yummy chocolate recipes!
Old fashioned cake brownies – this chocolate brownie cake tastes just like the brownies grandma used to make!Dr Pepper cake – this cake tastes just like a fudgy chocolate cake that’s kept moist with the addition of Dr. Pepper soda. Chocolate whoopie pies – fluffy chocolate cookies are filled with a creamy frosting for a chocolate sandwich cookie that’s to die for! Snickers poke cake – this chocolate cake gets an upgrade with the addition of caramel, nuts, and Snickers bars! Brownie balls – these triple chocolate brownie balls are a chocolate lovers’ dream and so easy to make!
