Happy Monday Friends!
I can’t thing of a better way to start your week than with these super easy and delicious brownies.
What is Rocky Road?
Rocky Road is a dessert made with chocolate, marshmallows, and nuts, typically a walnut or an almond, but pecans are my favorite so that is what I used.
The Best Brownie Base
I am a big fan of boxed brownies. Don’t judge me. I grew up on them! But with that said, I have always wanted to create my own basic brownie recipe that I could call “the best brownie” and I finally feel like I have done it! So what makes this brownie so delicious? Well, to start with, I use melted butter and a high quality cocoa powder. A high quality cocoa powder gives you a perfect balance between sweet chocolate and bitter chocolate. And the melted butter? What does it do? Well, first of all, it’s delicious and secondly it helps keep the brownie moist.
Ingredients you’ll need
- unsalted butter
- light brown sugar
- large eggs
- dark cocoa powder
- vanilla extract
- chopped nuts of your choice (I used pecans, but any nut will work)
- all-purpose flour
- mini marshmallows
- melted chocolate, for the drizzle
- caramel (I have a recipe for a homemade one, but you can totally buy caramel at the store)
Best Caramel Sauce
I have made a lot of claims like best brownie and best caramel, but the truth is, I just want to give you the best of the best. Caramel can be intimidating, but don’t let it be! Here are some key points that will help you with your caramel!
- You’ll start by combining the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a medium sized pan over the stove on medium heat.
- Stir the mixture with a whisk until the sugar dissolves and then don’t touch the mixture.
- Allow the mixture to boil and cook. If you start stirring it now, it will crystalize.
- You will notice that bubbles will start off small and fast. By the end, the bubbles should start becoming a little bigger and a little slower.
- It will take a few minutes for the mixture to change color, but once it does, stay close by. You want an amber color. Refer to the picture below.
- Warm your cream in the microwave to help prevent the sugar mixture from hardening when added to the caramel.
- Once you’ve reached the right color (you can always use a candy thermometer-it should be about 380 degrees F.) you’re ready to start SLOWLY adding the warm heavy whipping cream.
- Once you’ve added the cream, transfer your caramel to a different bowl. then you can add in the vanilla, butter, and salt. I let my butter sit for a few minutes to let it melt a little and I then stir it.
Recipe
Rocky Road Brownies
Fudgy and chewy brownie base with a mini marshmallows and chopped nuts.
Ingredients
For the brownies
- 1 ¼ cups unsalted butter
- 2 ½ cups light brown sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ cups dark cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup mini marshmallows plus a handful for garnish
- For the caramel
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup water
- 3 Tablespoons light corn syrup
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Note: if you don’t want to make your own caramel you can totally use store bought, my favorite brand is Ghirardelli
Garnish:
- Caramel sauce
- Chopped pecans
- Melted dark chocolate
Instructions
For the brownies
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a 9”x9” pan with parchment and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a medium sized microwave safe bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Melt the butter and sugar in 30 second increments, it took me about 2 minutes. Combine until the sugar is mostly dissolved and the butter is completely melted.
- Allow the mixture to slightly cool, then whisk in eggs one at a time, whisking in between each egg addition. The mixture should lighten in color.
- With a rubber spatula, fold in the cocoa powder, all-purpose flour, salt, chopped pecans, mini marshmallows, vanilla extract.
- Pour mixture into the prepared pan and then sprinkle a small handful of marshmallows and chopped pecans on top and bake for roughly 45 minutes, testing for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the brownies beginning at 40 minutes. It might take up to 50 minutes for them to cook through, depending on your oven.
- Let them slightly cool in the pan before assembly.
For the caramel
- In a medium sized sauce pan, stir together the water, sugar, and the corn syrup.
- On medium heat, bring the sugar to a boil. Do not stir. The bubbles will start off fast and small, but once it starts caramelizing, the bubbles will slow down and become a little bigger. Do not touch or stir the mixture. That will cause crystallization.
- Let it boil until the mixture becomes caramelized and looks golden brown, or the temperature is 380 degrees. This does take a few minutes, but once it starts turning brown, it’s easy for it to burn so keep an eye on it.
- Put the cream in the microwave for 1 minute.
- Once the caramel is ready for the cream, turn off the heat on the sugar mixture and carefully add the warm cream. Mix the caramel mixture until evenly combined.
- Pour the mixture into a bowl. Add the vanilla, salt, and butter and let it sit until the butter melts. Stir once the butter is melted.
- Let it cool down to room temp before drizzling onto the brownies.
For the assembly
- Once the brownies have cooled, drizzle the melted chocolate and caramel and then sprinkle a few more pecans and marshmallows on top. Cut and enjoy!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!