These soft and chewy rocky road cookies are packed with marshmallow, chocolate, and nuts, just like your favorite rocky road ice cream. The cookies have chewy edges, a gooey, and stay soft for days. The toasted marshmallow instantly transports you to campfires with friends.
These Rocky Road cookies are to die for. Rocky road is a mixture of marshmallows, chocolate, and crunchy nuts like almonds or peanuts. You’ve probably had rocky road ice cream or rocky road fudge. But the combination is so delicious you can put it in any dessert, like these delicious cookies.
The ultra soft chocolate chip cookie base is made from my famous pudding cookies and then mixed with toasted almonds and stuffed with marshmallow fluff.
The marshmallow seeps out of the cracks of the cookies as they bake and then you toast it gently when they come out of the oven. Add some mini marshmallows and extra chocolate chips for the most delicious rocky road cookies you will ever have.
And if you want a fudgy chocolate base, follow the same instructions but use my chocolate pudding cookies.
Need another cookie recipe? You’ll love chocolate chip pudding cookies, Triple chocolate cookies, or pistachio pudding cookies.
Ingredients You Need
Here are the ingredients to make this rocky road cookie recipe. Skip to the recipe card for exact measurements.
- Flour: all purpose or 1:1 gluten-free baking flour work.
- Baking soda, vanilla, and salt: for flavor and to help them rice.
- Unsalted butter: leave it out for 1-2 hours for perfect room temperature butter (it should still feel cool and slightly firm to the touch)
- Sugar: you need both light brown sugar and granulated sugar.
- Instant pudding mix: use the mix packet only.
- Chocolate chips: you can use semi sweet or milk chocolate.
- Toasted almonds: buy them pre-toasted and sliced to save time.
- Marshmallow fluff: this is the best option to stuff inside cookies!
- Mini marshmallows: for topping and toasting after they bake.
How to Make Rocky Road Cookies
Here are the steps, with photos, to make these rocky road cookies. Skip to the recipe card for the printable version.
- Mix dry ingredients: add the dry ingredients to a large bowl.
- Wet ingredients: beat the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until light it’s light, 2-3 full minutes. Do not skip this step.beat the eggs, vanilla pudding mix, and vanilla extract for another 2-3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Finish the dough: add the dry ingredients and mix on low then turn the speed up to medium-high to full combined. Stir in the almonds and chocolate chips.
- Stuff with marshmallow: scoop the cookie dough into 2 Tablespoon balls, making sure you have an even number at the end (to combine two together. Press an indent into half of the dough balls and fill with 1 tsp of marshmallow fluff.
- Shape cookie dough: Place another piece of cookie dough on top of the dough with marshmallow and pinch the seams to seal and roll it into a large ball.
- Bake: Place the dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and pan for 9-11 minutes, until the edges are set but the tops still look just underdone. Add extra chocolate chips and mini marshmallows to the top right out of the oven while they cool.
- Toast the marshmallow: Let the cookies cool for 10 minutes on the baking pan then transfer to a cooling rack. Use a kitchen torch to toast the mini marshmallows and marshmallow fluff seeping from the inside of the cookie.
Tips for the Best Cookies
- Let the butter sit at room temperature for only 1-2 hours. Room temperature does not mean really soft. It should still feel cool to the touch (about 60°F) and leave a small indent when you press into it.
- Use room temperature eggs for best mixing.
- Measure your flour correctly by spooning it into the cup and scraping it off. Better yet, measure it with a kitchen scale.
- Beat the butter and sugar for the full 2-3 minutes and then the instant pudding and eggs for another 2-3 minutes. It introduces air into the dough and makes them thick and tall.
- Don’t overbake them. In fact, underbaking them slightly is better. They’ll continue to cook a bit on the sheet pan.
- Reshape the baked cookies if the marshmallow seeps out the sides when baking. Place a large rimmed glass around the cookie and swirl it around gently to reshape the sides.
- Add extra chocolate chips and marshmallows to the tops right out of the oven. More flavor and they look so pretty!
Do I have to Use a Kitchen Torch?
It’s best to toast the marshmallows at the end, but you can leave them as is (without adding mini marshmallows). You can also broil the cookies in the oven for 2 ish minutes.
What If I Don’t Have Pudding Mix?
It can be hard to find Instant pudding mix outside the US. Try mixing 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch and 3 Tablespoons of sugar, and an extra teaspoon of vanilla to the dough with the eggs.
How to Store
Leftover rocky road cookies will stay soft at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can store them in the fridge for up to a week.
You can freeze baked cookies for up to 3 months, but it may impact the texture of the mini marshmallows. To freeze the dough, follow instruction to make the dough balls. Flash freeze on a baking sheet and transfer to a freezer bag. Bake directly from frozen and add 1-3 minutes of bake time.
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Rocky Road Cookies
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Ingredients
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3.4 ounces vanilla instant pudding mix
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips plus more for topping
- ½ cup chopped roasted almonds plus extra for topping
- 1/2 cup marshmallow fluff (creme)
- Mini marshmallows for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.2¼ cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter for 2-3 minutes. Do not skip this step.1 cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar
- Add the eggs, vanilla pudding mix, and vanilla extract. Beat again for 1-2 minutes, until it’s light and fluffy. Stop to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.3.4 ounces vanilla instant pudding mix, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix the cookie dough on medium-low speed until combined, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped nuts using a rubber spatula.1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, ½ cup chopped roasted almonds
- Use a heaping medium cookie scoop (2 Tablespoons) to scoop out the dough and place them on the parchment lined baking sheet. You should have about 32 pieces of cookie dough. You’ll press them together so you need to end up with an even amount of cookie dough balls.
- Press a small indent into the center of half of the cookies using the back of a spoon or teaspoon. Fill them with a heaping teaspoon of marshmallow creme. Run the spoon under hot or spray with nonstick spray to help the marshmallow easily come off the spoon.1/2 cup marshmallow fluff (creme)
- Place the other half of the cookie dough on top of the marshmallow and press down, pinching the seems. Roll the cookie dough into large balls. I like to have some of the marshmallow seeping out of the top of the cookie dough because it gives you the lines of marshmallow cream on the top of the baked cookies.
- Arrange 4-6 cookie dough balls on the second baking sheet, 2-3 inches apart. Bake for 9-11 minutes, until the edges and tops of just set. If some of the edges of the cookies spread due to the marshmallow, swirl a wide-mouth cup or large cookie/biscuit cutter around the cookie to re-shape it when it’s hot.
- Immediately press extra chocolate chips, nuts, and mini marshmallows into the tops of the cookies. To toast the tops, use a kitchen torch on the lowest setting to to toast the marshmallows.
- Allow them to cool on the cookie sheet for 2-3 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Enjoy warm or allow the cookies and chocolate chips to set before stacking and storing.
Recipe by: Molly Thompson of What Molly Made | Photography by: Kate Poskochil
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These were awesome in taste. Mine turned out huge and slightly under done. I also didn’t read all of step 10, to reshape the spread. Next I will do a better job with the sizing. Maybe use a 1.5″ scoop.
I am also going to use the base recipe and use half flour and half crushed graham cracker, no nuts for a s’mores version. Thanks for another winner Molly!
Key Kate! Thanks for the feedback. If yours spread slightly also take a look at your butter temp. It should only sit out for 1-2 hours and still feel cool to the touch. Butter that is slightly too warm makes for bigger cookies. If you reduce the size of the cookie just double check the bake time and keep a close eye on them. Thanks!
Can this be refrigerated to cook later?
Yes, up to 3 days!
Does this recipe call for peanut butter? You say cream the sugars , butter and PEANUT BUTTER, but the recipe didn’t call for peanut butter!
That’s a typo!!
Turned out awesome. I didn’t do the sandwich method or use marshmallow fluff. I just made a crater in each cookie and filled it with marshmallows.
Wow, these look really tasty. Thanks for sharing!
You’re so welcome, Matt!