Skip to main content

Light Rocky Roads

 


Light Rocky Roads  (Source: Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 134.

A very easy and very quick recipe. I doubled it and made them in a 13" x 9" pan. I thought the crust should have been thicker (she says it makes a thin crust and it certainly does). I wanted to use pecans instead of walnuts but I didn't have enough on hand. I simply like pecans much better than walnuts.  Either is fine. 

I would advise you to line the pan with baking paper. The recipe does not specify this but I suspected that it would be hard to remove them neatly from the pan otherwise.

There is also a "Dark Rocky Roads" with a chocolate layer and glaze but I have not tried that one yet.

(Makes 18 bars)

1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup dark or light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, finely cut



Preheat the oven to 350. Use the lower third rack. Butter or spray an 8-inch pan and line with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and set aside. In another bowl, combine the egg, sugar, vanilla and butter. Add the flour mixture. Stir in the nuts. Spread the mixture into the pan and smooth out evenly.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust springs back when lightly pressed.

Topping

I cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


Have the topping ingredients ready so that they can be applied to the crust as soon as it comes out of the oven. Immediately cover the crust with a layer of marshmallows, then the nuts and the chocolate chips.

Place the pan back in the oven on the top rack and bake for only 2 or 3 minutes just until the chocolate is softened. Use the back of the spoon to spread the chocolate over the marshmallows.


Let it sit until it has reached room temperature. Chill in the refrigerator to set the chocolate.

Cut into squares with a sharp knife. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar if desired.
Labels:

Comments

sygeller said…
Hey Philip,
Really enjoying this blog. I did a Bibliography of Maida Heatter's books, as I found none in the course of my extensive research. I am also a big fan of Maida's and discovered her when I was 21 from my first roomate when I moved from Ohio to Brooklyn in the early 80s. Her books were being used as text books and were assigned in the culinary school school he was attending! I had been baking since I was 8 years old (with help from my cook-extradinaire mom, of course). Together with my roommate we made together a Sacher Torte completely by hand without the use of an electric mixer, as they were taught in culinary school. I think my arm is still hurting from all the beating. Lol.
If you want to publish Maida's bibliograpy on your blogsite in the Maida's Books section, that would be great. Just write me at: sygeller@hotmail.com
Best regards!,
Stephen
April 17, 2022 at 7:08 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Palm Beach Brownies with Chocolate Covered Mints

Palm Beach Brownies with Chocolate Covered Mints Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.) , pg. viii. I made these brownies again a few days ago and they were just as good as ever. This time I made half with York Peppermint Patties and the other half with Andes mints. There wasn't a noticeable difference in taste. The ones with the Andes mints were pretty with the mint green color but the ones with Yorks are equally pretty. When Maida Heatter's first book (the above-mentioned title) won the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame Award in 1998, she accepted her award on stage and began to toss out these brownies to the audience. Everybody clamored for one and went wild. The original recipe came from a local deli in her area and did not include the mints (that recipe is available in the first edition of this book). She tinkered with the recipe and added the mints which do not melt during baking. I've been itching to ...
9 comments
Read more

Mulattoes

Mulattoes Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.) , pg. 199. Of the hundreds of Maida Heatter cookie recipes, this may be the most famous. These are chunky but soft, extremely chocolaty,  full of nuts and chocolate chips. Sinfully delicious! They are easy to make. The trickiest part may be the baking time. After making them numerous times, I have learned to only bake them 10 or 11 minutes at the most, then remove them and allow them to sit on the hot baking pan for about 5 minutes. They will be extremely soft to the touch but eventually they firm up nicely.  I just use my hand mixer for these. Although the recipe states that it makes 18 large cookies, I find that the yield is slightly higher, even when making them fairly large. I use a tablespoon scoop to form the cookies. 2 oz. unsweetened chocolate 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate 3 oz. (3/4 stick) butter 1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour 1 tsp. baking pow...
12 comments
Read more

Frozen Chocolate Mousse

Source:  Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.) , pg. 228. Here is a dessert sure to make any chocoholic swoon. Silky and decadent, this frozen mousse is like a rich chocolate ice cream. It is really easy to make - all the folding required will give you a workout but it is worth it! The crust can be made with crushed wafer cookies or you could even buy a ready-made crust. If doing your own, the instructions say to apply the crumbs around the sides of the pan (use a springform pan) but I did not do this - I just made a bottom layer. You will have to run a sharp knife around the pan before releasing the catch on the pan. The mousse is soft (even after freezing) and it will need to be put back in the freezer as soon as possible after serving. Maida Heatter recommends covering the mousse with either whipped cream, strawberries or chocolate leaves. I did not do either, it looks lovely without a topping. Crust 8 oz. choc...
5 comments
Read more