Rocky Road Brownies
So… you know that part in Scent of a Woman… yes, hello, 1992…. when blind Al Pacino sniffs out pretty ladies… literally… and somehow worms his way into their good graces? Have you seen Scent of a Woman staring Al Pacino and Chris O’Donnell? Of course you have.
If blind Al Pacino were to sniff me out, I’m pretty sure I’d smell like these brownies. This fact is both troubling and awesome. Now I kinda want to reinact the tango scene.
To quell your puzzled looks, let me answer a few questions. Yes… I just watched Scent of a Woman. Yes… it was amazing. Yes… I questioned my sanity.
I’m going to keep this short. I have to go watch Curly Sue and learn a few card tricks.
These brownies seem like the exact right thing to be doing this time of year.
Super fudgy chocolate with nuts and campfire style toasted marshmallows. Pretty perfect to bring to a summer party. These brownies are an instant friend maker.
I do have a few pro-tips when it comes to this recipe. Can I share them with you?
- So you’ve baked the brownies, loaded the warm brownies up with marshmallows, turned on your broiler and you’re ready to toast your marshmallows? Put them in the oven and stand there. Do. Not. Walk. Away. Your brownies will set on fire before you know it. It’s scary when you have to pull a pan that’s on fire out of the oven. It’s really scary.
- You’re going to need a sharp knife and hot running water to cut through these brownies. The marshmallows might have a tendency to stick to the knife. Run the blade under hot water until it’s clean after every slice you make. That’ll ensure that your marshmallows stay where they belong.
Pro-tips. I got em.
I’ve made a lot of brownie items around here over the last few years.
These be them:
Peanut Butter Blondies with Milk Chocolate Frosting
aaaand.
Now…
Rocky Road Brownies
adapted from Toll House
makes 12 to 16 brownies
1 2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup butter
2 Tablespoons strong coffee or water
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups miniature marshmallows
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips (optional but yumtown)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 or 10-inch square baking pan. Set aside
Combine butter and cocoa powder in a small bowl, and place over a pot of simmering water. Make sure that the simmering water down not touch the bottom of the bowl. Add the coffee or water and stir to melt the ingredients.
In a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs and the sugar. Add the vanilla extract. When the butter and chocolate have melted and come together, slowly stir the chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine. Fold in the nuts.
Pour the batter in the pan, sprinkle with chocolate chips or chocolate chunks. Bake for 18-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and set the oven to broiler. Sprinkle the top of the hot brownies with miniature marshmallows. Once the broiler is heated, place the brownies on an upper shelf close to the broiler heat. Stand there. Don’t move. The marshmallows will brown within 1 to 2 minutes. I mean quick. Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature before cutting.
Use hot running water to clean the knife blade after each slice into the cooled brownie. This should help the marshmallow not stick to the knife blade.
99 Comments Add A Comment
Oh yum!
These would be perfect for my friend whose birthday is coming up soon ..ESPECIALLY since she gave up sweets for 100 days before her birthday!! What a perfect way to welcome sugar back into her diet!
Love, Love, Love
I’m making my husband portuguese custard tarts tomorrow, but I’m thinking these brownies would be better. If only he ate more chocolate :( Well, if I’m making something for him, then I should make something for me!! :)
I’m new to your blog, and it’s just awesome. Thanks for the inspiration!!
you sure love your chocolate and brownies huh. me too! it is definitely worth the hot running water and knife step to pop those brownies in my mouth. :)
Those look awesome. And tasty. Really really really tasty. (And: Is your header new or didn’t I notice until now?) But where are the wedding cake steps between the batter bowl and the decorating? Did I miss something?
This is such a rustic road brownie! Looks unique with toppings! Nice!
This looks real yummy!
I love your site Joy! I check it everyday to be surprised yet again!
You truly are an amazing and wonderful person Joy! Don’t stop! :)
must have tasted good,..:-)
lol omg! you crack me up =)
I loved Scent of a Woman. And I think I’d love these brownies!
oh wow. these look so good. i’m in a bit of a brownie frenzy at the moment. i’ve just posted some on my blog but i have one more recipe i’ve made still to post. and maybe even this. goddamn you brownies!
I have no idea how you do it.
The shift from Wedding Cake to Campfire Rocky Road Brownies is dizzying me yet you seem like Cool as a Cucumber Joy.
But yes I love me some Al Pacino/Chris O’Donnell action as well as some Jim Belushi/Curly-hair-smart-talkin’-little-girl action. More than that though, I love chocolate and marshmallows and toasted nuts and maybe even turning this into a kinda pie and adding a graham cracker crust? Would that be hazardous with the broiler?
Sorry to reinvent something that need not be reinvented but, when I see chocolate and ‘mallows my brain immediately adds graham crackers, it must be the ex-brownie cadet in me :)
Joy? These look amazing, but … are you just toying with us about the upcoming wedding cake posts? :)
I can second the fact that it’s SCARY to pull a flaming pan out of an oven! We once lit a huge pan of bread pudding on fire–of course it had alcohol in it–and those were some BIG flames!
Love the brownies but please please please pretty please can I see the wedding cake just finished?
I know I’m curious, but I so wanted to see it in all its glory!
Oh Curly Sue!! What a great movie!
These brownies make that workout I just sweated through all worth it!
these look heavenly!!!
WOW! They look so crazy good…this is breakfast food right? no?
Gooey and messy and sticky and rich and sweet. These look amazing! I kind of want to curl up on he couch with the whole pan and watch Curly Sue! And the best part of just grabbing a big spoon and digging in? No need for all of that careful knife washing stuff!
HOO-AH!
awesomeness!
Hi Joy,
These look great. Rocky Road ice-cream was my dad’s favorite so I will make these brownies in his memory. Question about sugar types used in brownies. How much does using light or dark brown sugar change the taste? Thanks.
aside from the brownies, which of course look ahhmaaazing, i have to join in the love of Scent of a Woman…one of my faves and i just put it on my instant Netflix queue b/c the hubs has never seen it. shame on him. :)
Generally I don’t like marshmallows, but because those are basically roasted, they look divine. I really like the idea of placing it under a broiler.
Do you think you could use a blowtorch too? Kinda like creme brulee?
Tell me, what is the secret to getting brownies to cook evenly. I’ve tried everything but always end up with overdone edges and underdone middles. Suggestions? I’ve tried different pans – le’crueset type, plain old non-stick metal type. Is there a secret? Please share.
These look so good! I always love the look of toasted, melty marshmallows. So delicious :D I’m actually not a fan of nuts in brownies, though. I like my unaltered pure chocolatey deliciousness on its own ;) But s’mores brownies are good :)
Wei-Wei
more wedding cake details and photos, please!!
i’m in charge here.
hahahhaaa!!
These look SO yummy! I love the combo of chocolate & marshmallows- this recipe is definitely a “keeper” :)
hollie @ Blog-o-holl*ic
Do you ever write your own recipes or do you just use pre-published ones all the time?
i write my own recipes too. now you know.
Didn’t we always know?? http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2010/06/joy-the-bakers-cutting-room-floor-2/
Those brownies look amazing. . . where’s the rest of the wedding cake?
i’ll get to that. patience.
Joy,
I only have salted butter. Actually I have 1/4 cup unsalted and the rest is salted. Would I be a complete rebel if I used 1/2 salted and 1/4 unsalted butter to bake these?
These look yummy. I’m going to add mini-rolos to the topping whattttttt
salted and unsalted is juuuuust fine.
pro-tips. you do got ‘em.
Now you have me thinking about what I would smell like if I got sniffed out. Hmmmm, PORK!
I would love to eat this Right Now!!!
The more brownie recipes the better, Joy! I love these – those marshmallows look delicious!
One question: I want to make these for my kiddos, but does the marshmellow harden and not taste as good later or is it wonderful cold too/
Thanks!!!
the marshmallows stay soft even at room temperature.
smores brownies are to summer like peppermint ones are to winter. ;)
Oooh-ah! Love Scent of a Woman..I had a massive Chris O’Donnell crush when I was younger!
oh gosh. i don’t remember that movie but clearly need to watch again.
the brownies? yummers!
Oh My goodness gracious! I need not say any further ‘cos all others have said enough but oh my my! pictures are unbelievable.
I bet all brownies wish they were these brownies. I bet there are some jealousy issues out there with other brownies. Just sayin’.
I also think think that I would like to be a part of all recipes that have marshmallows gettin’ toasty with it. And I just wish I lived in LA so we could bake together! It’s true.
Great scene and life lesson…if you make a mistake and get all tangled up, you just tango on:)
oh and the brownies look great too of course!
I WANT these. BAAAAAD. But I can’t have them. Unless the calorie count is under 1,000? :D But I really, REALLY WANT them. Nope, have to lose 60 lbs 1st. Then REWARD!
*love*
You just hit on two things I love: Curly Sue and Rocky Road anything!! These brownies look glorious, I cannot wait to make them!
Marshmallows+chocolate = all sorts of sexiness
The brownies look great!!! what type of cocoa powder did you use (dutch processed, Hershey’s dark chocolate cocoa)?
I used Valrhona unsweetened cocoa powder. Not dutch processed. Good question.
Mmmmm!! The toasted marshmallow on top of these brownies looks so perfect. I can’t wait to try these out!
oooh yummmm… i make rocky road cookies on the weekend and have leftover marshmallows!!so making these!! AWESOME!!!!
I’m having a black and white party in a couple of weeks and I have a new treat for the table! Perfecto
Looks great! YUMMY!
OMG, they look amazing! I think that’s what I’ll be doing on the weekend. Joy the baker thanks for all the baking inspiration, i have loved every recipe I have made from website. thanks again
WOW. These look amazing – you need to make a movie called “Scent of a Brownie.”