Easy Rocky Road Brownies Recipe

Quick, name three occasions when it's a great idea to serve easy rocky road brownies. If you said birthdays, holiday gatherings, and family picnics, you're absolutely right. And if you said school bake sales, open house parties, or when your friend just went through a rough breakup, you are right again. See, it's actually a trick question because there is never a bad time for a batch of easy rocky road brownies. Therefore, it's always a good time for these treats!

Chef and recipe developer Catherine Brookes of Blue Sky Eating calls these brownies fudgy and rich. Other words that will surely come to mind could be "decadent," "superlative," and "refreshingly easy to make," though granted that last one is a phrase, not a word. Once you have your ingredients gathered and measured, the hands-on work here will only take you about 20 minutes, while the brownies bake in less than half an hour. So if your sweet tooth is acting up now, you could be sinking it into one of these marshmallow, candied cherry, and nut-topped treats in less than an hour. And then sinking it a second and probably a third, too. And no special occasion is needed, of course!

This recipe calls for melted butter, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, heavy cream, mini marshmallows, candied cherries, and almonds or other nuts of your choice. There is a little room for substations here, but Brookes recommends you stay close to the recipe.

"I think you could reduce the sugar a little, but by no more than a quarter cup, as you do need a fair bit of sweetness to balance out the cocoa powder," she says. As for swapping out the eggs or butter to make these treats vegan? Unfortunately, Brookes says that a move like that "doesn't always give the best results," so you're better off following the recipe as-if for best results.

Start off by greasing and then lining a 10-inch by 6-inch baking pan and preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Next, in a large mixing bowl, whisk the melted butter, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar. Stir it all until everything is well-incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Now add the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk to combine those into the other ingredients.

Now use a sifter or strainer to sieve in the flour and cocoa powder and then fold everything together with a wooden spoon. Finally, for this step, fold in one cup of chocolate chips.

Now it's time to transfer the brownie mixture to your lined pan. Just pour it in and smooth out the mixture until it fills the pan evenly. Now pop the brownie mix into the preheated oven and bake it for 25 to 30 minutes, until a fork or skewer can stab in and come out clean.

When the baking is done, leave the brownie in the pan for five to 10 minutes before carefully transferring it to a wire rack to cool. Let it cool for at least one hour before adding the toppings in the next step. And while the brownies cool, you can take the time to make the chocolate ganache.

To make the ganache, first add the remaining cup of chocolate chips to a mixing bowl. Now add the heavy cream to a saucepan and heat until it begins to boil, stirring frequently. Let it bubble for another minute or so, then remove the pan from the heat and immediately pour the hot cream over the chocolate chips.

Leave the cream to sit for two or three minutes so the chocolate chips can soften, then whisk the cream and chocolate chips together until you have a smooth and shiny ganache. Pour about half of the ganache over the brownie, spreading it out so it's completely covering the top. Next, add the mini marshmallows, almonds (or other nuts that you've selected) and glacé cherries all over the top of the brownie. The layer of ganache should help them to stay stuck in place.

Now drizzle the other half of the ganache over the toppings and let it sit for a few minutes to harden. Then slice the brownies into squares and enjoy!