Rocky Road Cookie Fudge Bars are decadent, rich cookie bars topped with chocolate-covered marshmallows and walnuts.
I love combining two classic desserts into one — strawberry shortcake cheesecake, chocolate chip cookie brownie bites, carrot cake cinnamon rolls — and I’m always excited to try mash-up recipes. That’s why I picked up Dessert Mash-Ups by Dorothy Kern (Crazy For Crust) and dove into the book. Dorothy’s collection focuses on creative two-in-one desserts that satisfy any big sweet tooth. For this review I made the Rocky Road Cookie Fudge Bars, a hybrid that marries fudgy rocky road topping with a chocolate cookie base. Rocky road fudge has special meaning for me because it was my mom’s favorite, and anything with marshmallows and chocolate is an instant win in my book.
(Keep reading for a chance to enter the cookbook giveaway listed below.)
My first reaction to the cookbook was simple: calories clearly don’t count. The recipes are rich — lots of butter, sugar, eggs — which is exactly how I like to bake. Pages full of tempting recipes made it hard to choose: cheesecake chocolate chip cookie dough truffles, cake batter blondie bars, oatmeal cookie cheesecake bars, and more. In the end I stuck with the rocky road bars and I’m glad I did.
These Rocky Road Cookie Fudge Bars are intensely fudgy and deeply chocolatey. The texture is rich and slightly messy in the best way — be prepared for melted chocolate on your hands and countertops. I ate more than I should have and ended up donating most of the batch to a library bake sale, where they disappeared within hours.
No cookbook is perfect, and I do have two small critiques of this recipe. First, the cookie dough is sticky; Dorothy suggests spraying your hands with cooking spray to press the dough into the pan. I prefer not to spray my hands, so I used a parchment sling and a spatula to press and it worked fine. Second, the recipe calls for an 11.5-ounce bag of chocolate chips. I often store chocolate chips in jars, not bags, and the unopened bag I found was 12 ounces. I prefer measuring chips by cups rather than relying on bag weights, but the extra half-ounce simply made the topping a touch more chocolatey and didn’t hurt the final result.
If you love baking, have a healthy sweet tooth, and don’t mind indulgent recipes, I recommend Dessert Mash-Ups. Most recipes are approachable for beginner bakers and are made from scratch — some even include yeast dough for treats like monkey bread and cinnamon rolls. If you prefer lighter baking or boxed mixes, this book might be less appealing, but for mash-up lovers it’s a trove of inspiration.
Rocky Road Cookie Fudge Bars
Yield:
25 bars
25 bars
Decadent, fudgy cookie bars topped with chocolate-covered marshmallows and walnuts.
4.4 Stars (10 Reviews)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9-inch pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until creamy, about 2–3 minutes.
- Beat in the vanilla and egg until well combined.
- Stir in the cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and flour until blended into a sticky dough.
- Press the dough into the prepared pan (note: the batter is sticky; if needed, spray hands lightly or use a spatula and parchment). Bake 15–18 minutes, or until the top loses its sheen.
- While the bars are still hot, melt the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl set over simmering water (do not let the bowl touch the water). Remove from heat and let sit 2 minutes.
- Stir in the walnuts and marshmallows, then spread the mixture over the hot cookie bars. Let stand until the chocolate sets. Refrigerate to speed setting if desired, then allow bars to sit at room temperature 30 minutes before slicing to avoid cracking. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.
Source: Dessert Mash-Ups (book)
More Mash-Up Recipe Ideas
Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownie Bites
S’mores Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups
Chocolate-Covered Cherry Brownie Cups
Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Brownies
Kit Kat Cheesecake Brownies
Strawberry Shortcake Truffles
Cookbook Giveaway
Want to add Dessert Mash-Ups to your cookbook shelf? A giveaway was hosted to share a copy of the book. Terms and eligibility for past giveaways were specified at the time of the promotion. Please check current sources for any active promotions or reprints.
Disclosure: I received a copy of Dessert Mash-Ups to review and one copy to give away. No additional compensation was provided. This post previously included affiliate links to support hosting and blogging expenses.