This Christmas Rocky Road is packed with chocolate, glace cherries, dried cranberries, marshmallows and crushed Amaretti biscuits for a delicious festive treat! A perfect festive sweet treat for parties or gift-giving!
Hello! The big day is almost here….are you ready? I still have a few last minute bits to do today…then I can finally relax!!
I’m just popping in to squeeze in a couple more Christmas recipes before the big day….I meant to post them last week, but life got a bit crazy, as it always does around this time of year!
This Christmas Rocky Road recipe is based on a recipe from one of my all time favourite cookbooks, Nigella Christmas. I now make it every single year – it’s become a tradition.
I make a big batch and give it away as gifts along with my peanut butter rice krispie treats, chocolate mint cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies, Linzer cookies, candy cane hot chocolate Mix, stilton and walnut Biscuits, chocolate truffles and these Gingerbread Biscuits.
Yes, I do practically spend all my free time in my kitchen throughout December (but I do have a very large family to feed!)
ingredient notes for Christmas rocky road
Ingredient amounts and detailed instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post
- Chocolate. I use a mixture of dark and milk chocolate – personally I find the rocky road to be a little too sweet with 100% milk chocolate, but if you’re making this for children they might love it!
- Golden syrup binds the mixture together. If you can’t find any, corn syrup will work (but doesn’t taste as nice. Honey or maple syrup are also good substitutes.
- Butter.
- Crushed Amaretti Biscuits. You can use digestives, rich teas or gingernuts if you prefer, but I love the flavour of Amaretti. I know they’re more expensive, but they do give the rocky road an extra festive flavour. You’ll need the crunchy Amaretti, not the soft type. If you like the flavour of Amaretti, you’ll love this plum Amaretti crumble cake.
- Glace cherries – would it be Christmas rocky road without them?
- Dried cranberries. You can use raisins. sultanas or soft dried apricots instead, but I love the tartness of the cranberries against all that sweetness.
- Mini Marshmallows – you need them in rocky road!
- Christmas Sprinkles of your choice or icing sugar, to decorate
step-by-step instructions
scroll to the bottom of the post for a printable recipe card with ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
1.Melt the butter, golden syrup and chocolate together in a large saucepan over a low heat.
2.When the chocolate mixture has melted and smooth, tip in the crushed amaretti biscuits, dried cranberries, halved glace cherries and mini marshmallows.
Give the mixture a good stir to coat everything in the melted chocolate.
3. Tip the mixture into a greased and lined 9×12 inch baking tin. I’ve also made this in a 22cm square tin – it makes very thick bars, but still works well.
4. Lightly grease all around the outside of the jar with butter, then start spooning the rocky road mixture into the tin. It’s important to press it down well to make it nice and compact.
5. Smooth the top as best as you can (but don’t worry, a few lumps and bumps here and there are nothing to stress about, it’s rocky road after all) and place it in the fridge while you get on with the topping.
6. Melt the chocolate for the topping over a pan of simmering water and once the chocolate is smooth, pour over the top of the rocky road and decorate with Christmas sprinkles, if using.
7. Place the rocky road in the fridge once again for 2- 3 hours to set before removing from the tin, dusting with icing sugar and cutting in squares.
recipe notes and commonly asked questions
When I first published this recipe in December 2019, I made the rocky road in the shape of a Christmas wreath. I’m not sure what came over me at the time – I had obviously completely lost it!
But if you quite fancy the idea of making a rocky road wreath, I’ve left the instructions on how to do so in the recipe card! I also have a recipe for a Pavlova Wreath which looks absolutely stunning and can also be made ahead of time.
how long does homemade rocky road last?
Rocky road will keep very well in an airtight tin for ages – up to two weeks or possibly longer, but it’s never lasted that long in my experience!
It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight – if you defrost at room temperature, the sudden temperature change may cause the chocolate to “bloom”. Please make sure the rocky road has defrosted properly before eating – or you may break a tooth!
why is my rocky road not setting?
If you let the chocolate and butter become too hot while melting, it could take a long time to set. Try not to let the chocolate get too hot – keep the heat as low as possible and as soon as it has melted, remove the bowl from the heat.
I find it’s best to leave the rocky road in the fridge for a good few hours before cutting – I often leave it overnight if time allows.
want to see more christmas recipes?
more easy no bake recipes that would make a perfect last minute christmas dessert or gift!
Christmas Rocky Road
This Christmas Rocky Road would make a gorgeous centrepiece for a Christmas dessert table! It's packed full of festive treats such as Amaretti biscuits, glace cherries, dried cranberries and mini marshmallows.
Ingredients
- 350g Chocolate (I use half and half milk and dark chocolate), broken into squares
- 175g Butter
- 50G Golden Syrup (or corn syrup, honey or maple syrup)
- 225g Crushed Amaretti Biscuits (or other biscuits of your choice)
- 160g Halved Glace Cherries
- 100g Dried Cranberries
- 150g Mini Marshmallows
- 200g Milk Chocolate for the topping
- Christmas Sprinkles or icing sugar to decorate
Instructions
- Grease a line a 9 x 12 inch baking tin with baking parchment.
- Melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup together in a large saucepan over a low heat until melted and smooth.
- Remove from the heat and tip in the crushed biscuits, cherries, cranberries and marshmallows. Stir well to mix until everything is coated in chocolate. Tip the mixture into the lined baking tin and smooth the top as best as you can. Pop in the fridge for at least 2-3 hours, or until set.
- To make the topping, melt the 200g chocolate over a pan of simmering water, then pour all over the top of the rocky road, tilting the pan to get an even, thin coverage. Decorate with Christmas sprinkles if using. Leave the rocky road to set for about an hour or so before dusting with icing sugar and cutting into squares.
Notes
If you're making the rocky road Christmas wreath, generously grease a large bundt tin with butter. Spoon the rocky road mixture into the tin, pressing it down with the spoon as you go. Place in the fridge for 2-3 hours to set firm. At this stage, you can leave the rocky road in the fridge for up to a day or two. Once set, run around the side of the rocky road with a palette knife to loosen it from the tin (but to be honest, giving the tin a whack sometimes works just as well) then invert the whole thing onto a serving plate.
Release the rocky road from the bundt tin. Drizzle or pour over the melted chocolate and decorate with sprinkles, if desired.
Rocky road will keep in an airtight tin for up to two weeks (it will never last that long in reality!)
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 28 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 164Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 63mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 1gSugar: 17gProtein: 2g
Calories and nutritional information are provided by a third party application and should be viewed as indicative figures only.
This looks so good and such a quick and easy treat to make when time is short.
Thanks Janice, we really enjoyed it last year – there was plenty of leftovers to enjoy all through Christmas too! 😊