Dear friends, consider this your official notice. White Christmas Rocky Road is my go-to food gift this year! Festive sweet-meets-nutty-chocolatey bliss that delivers maximum “homemade magic” vibes with minimal effort. Really, I just melted some chocolate!
After regular chocolate rocky road? Find it here!
White Christmas Rocky Road
I’ve tinkered with a Christmassy-looking White Rocky Road for years but was never quite happy. The colours weren’t festive enough, the add-ins combo could’ve been better, and one year I even skipped the marshmallows (pink didn’t feel “festive”!) and overloaded it with nuts and fruit. It ended up tasting like a white chocolate Christmas cake. Not my finest moment!
I also learned you can have too much chocolate in rocky road. If there isn’t enough “stuff”, you basically end up biting into thick slabs of white chocolate. It’s very…sweet. And full on!
Who knew there was such an art to rocky road? We all think it’s just “melt chocolate, throw in things!”, but it turns out there’s a bit more to it.
My one trick – a smidge of oil in the melted chocolate so it slices without cracking. It also loosens the melted chocolate so it coats everything nicely so the surface sets smoothly. 🙂
Ingredients in White Christmas Rocky Road
Here’s what I put into my White Christmas Rocky Road. My goal – festive colours! Red cherries, green pistachios, white chocolate, marshmallows and coconut (don’t skip this!). Feel free to switch it with what you like / have – you need 4 1/2 cups in total.
White chocolate – I just use melts (discs) for ease, but you could totally upgrade to block. If Lindt white chocolate is on sale, that’s what I reach for.
Note: melts are designed for easy melting but chips melt fine too. If using a block, chop it finely. Just don’t use eating chocolate from the confectionary aisle as it doesn’t melt smoothly (they are designed to not melt in the glove box of your car on hot summer days!). The on exception is Lindt white chocolate (it’s tempered and as brilliant for cooking as it is for eating).
Glacé cherries – My festive pops of red! More red than dried cranberries which I’ve also used. I also like the texture which is soft rather than chewy like dried fruit, and it goes so well with the coconut! I really like it.
Pistachios – My nut of choice for the little green colour, but also, everybody knows pistachios are fancier than other nuts. 😉 Christmas worthy!
Bonus: no need to chop them, they are small enough. But I do insist on roasting. It brings out the flavour soooo much, especially if yours are not nut-farm-fresh (mine are not! #PistachioTreeGoals).
Marshmallows – As noted above, I made the mistake of skipping this and I regretted it. They add bulk without weighing the rocky road down. You need the soft-fluffiness to break up the formidable amount of chocolate in rocky road!
Size – I use regular size ones from regular grocery stores, ~3cm / 1.2″ wide, then I cut most in half and keep some whole (I am very particular about this, don’t question me! 🤣). If using larger ones, cut into appropriate sizes. If using minis, you probably don’t need to cut.
Desiccated coconut – You can’t see it but everybody loves that it’s in there!! Coconut adds distinct “rocky road flavour” and I can’t believe I tried leaving it out once. It’s just not the same!
Well, that was a little more writing than expected. I supposed it shouldn’t shock anyone I had plenty to say even about something as simple as rocky road! 😃
More rocky road add-in options
Here are ideas for other things you can use for Rocky Road add-ins, including some excellent suggestions from readers!
Honeycomb, caramel popcorn – candy cane??! Would you??
Dried fruit – apricots, mangoes, cranberries, peaches, sultanas, raisins
Any nut of choice – roughly chop large ones, and don’t forget to toast them to bring out the flavour!
Turkish delight – great colour!
Raspberries – like used in classic rocky road
Biscuits – break into bite size pieces and mix in! Biscoff, shortbread, gingerbread come to mind.
M&M’s! Fun if you can get Christmas red-and-green ones. 🙂
How to make White Christmas Rocky Road
Melt chocolate, dump everything in, set in fridge!
Cut most of the marshmallows in half (~ 2/3). I use a knife as I do multiple in one go, but I know most people instinctively reach for scissors.
Melt the chocolate with the oil in the microwave in bursts, stirring in between. For this volume of chocolate, I do 2 x 30 seconds to get it going, then 3 – 4 x 20 seconds, at the default microwave high power (ie I don’t reduce the power).
PS Have I mentioned before I stir with a chopstick? Moves the chocolate around easily with less surface area for chocolate to stick to!
PPS You can also melt chocolate using a double-boiler (set the bowl over simmering water).
Everything in – Once the chocolate is smooth, put all the add-ins in and mix until well coated.
Pan – Pour into a paper lined 20cm/8″ pan. Coax into the corners with a spatular then bang on the counter firmly to make everything settle and even the surface.
TOPPINGS – Oh! I forgot to mention, I reserve some cherries and pistachios to decorate the top of the rocky road. Just because, well, you know. Christmas. Special! I don’t do this for regular Rocky Road. 😁
Set in the fridge for 3 hours. Don’t cover it with cling wrap – the warm chocolate will cause condensation and water will drip onto your rocky road. Nobody wants a watery rocky road!
Cut into desired pieces. My default is to cut into 5 strips, then into sizes appropriate for intended purposes – either squares (for piling onto a plate to share, small gifts), small logs (each strip in half or thirds) or large “nougat-size” bars for gifting with impact (and I’ll choose the prettiest bars with the cherries in the perfect position!).
Cut and gift with pride – or keep for yourself! Lasts for weeks and weeks.
Oh, also, when you cut, you will be happy we added that little smidge of oil in! Without, the chocolate is rock hard so you’d need a big sharp knife and a little *grunt* to cut through it (literally, not just figuratively speaking). Rocky Road is formidable, it is not a dainty one-bite handmade artisan chocolate truffle. It has heft, it’s colourful and loud and opinionated and slightly unhinged and gloriously over the top.
And we love it, just as it is! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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White Christmas Rocky Road
Ingredients
- 500g/ 1 lb white chocolate melts/discs (I use this), chips or block chopped (Note 1)
- 2 tbsp grapeseed oil or other neutral flavoured oil (Note 2)
Add-ins
- 2 1/2 cups (tightly packed) marshmallows (regular size), most cut in half
- 1 cup pistachios , unsalted ,toasted (Note 3)
- 1 cup glacé cherries
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut , unsweetened (or finely shredded, not flakes)
Instructions
- Pan – Lightly grease a 20cm/8" square pan with butter then line with baking paper (parchment paper) with overhang (to make it easier to lift out later).
- Reserve toppings – Set aside 8 or so of the nicest glacé cherries. Finely chop 1 tablespoon of the pistachios.
- Melt chocolate – Place chocolate and oil in a heatproof bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring in between, until melted and smooth.
- Add-ins – Stir the Add-ins into the chocolate. Pour into pan, spreading out evenly – I also like to bang and shake the pan assertively (also very satisfying!).
- Top with reserved glace cherries and sprinkle with chopped pistachios.
- Refrigerate for 3 hours or until firm. Lift out of the pan using the paper overhang, then cut! I cut into 5 lines, then into chunks for eating or larger pieces for gifting!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
Festive season means parties and events!! Here is the order of events when I get home:
Kick heels off.
Go straight into Dozer-smother-mode.
He’d like everyone to know he endures these Christmas cuddle-attacks purely for the snacks afterwards!
I’m not a huge fan of white chocolate but this totally changed my mind and the toasted pistachios were soooo good. I will be making this again! Thankyou Nagi & Dozer!!
These are incredible. Super easy to make and absolutely delicious. I used Lindt white chocolate and almonds. We’ve had so many pistachio recalls here in Canada (salmonella) I just didn’t want to run the risk. I made this for Christmas events but fully expect I might need to make another batch. One batch wont last very long!
I made this but accidentally forgot the coconut and ½ the (mini) marshmallows even though they were both on the bench. It looked great but probably a bit too much chocolate… Will definitely make it again, using all the ingredients!
This Rocky Road is so easy and delicious to make. I’m not a huge fan of glacé cherries so I used dried cranberries and it was so yummy! Bonus points too for ease of cutting up straight out of the fridge. I’ll be making this again for sure. Thanks, Nagi !! 😊
Oh I love this puppy love pic 😍🐶 Dozer looks happy as do you!! I saw this recipe the other day and really wanna make it one of these days for Christmas time 🎄😘Thank you for the yum😋
Hi Nagi! I’m loving these festive recipes at the moment. Can o sub the glacé cherries with maraschinos?
Oh I can so relate to that returning home from party routine, except for me it’s my three cats. They’re like “we missed you Mummy, can we have treats now?”
Enjoy receiving your emails and I love watching and reading about what Dozer is up to.
What flavour are the pink marshmallows you use? I find in Canada, as soon as marshmallows are coloured they are also flavoured differently. Pink can be some kind of berry, or “tutti fruity”.
Nagi, it pays to listen and learn. I have now made your white chocolate Rocky Road, and I didn’t taste even ONE of the marshmallows (unlike last time) and it has turned out perfectly. Many thanks, Gail.
Hmmm, I am going to do this with dark choclate, I bet it will be delicious! (not a fan of white choclate!).
You looked gorgeous 😊a White Christmas that’s not my mums sick white Rice Bubble vomit 🤮😂😂😂😂
This looks yum, cannot wait to try! Are the pistachios salted or unsalted?
Unsalted! Thanks for the question, will pop that info in 🙂 – N x
What brand white chocolate do you use
I use Nestle or Cadbury white chocolate melts, or chips (They go on sale fairly regularly and I stock up!!), and if I’m really aiming to impress, I will use Lindt 🙂 – N x
Perfect gift for a very old friend who will be spending Christmas in rehab. Thank you Nagi.
I’m sorry to hear about that Diane 🥲 I hope you get to spend time with them over the holidays – N x
I know you’ll all boo me with this question, but can this be made without the marshmallows? I don’t like them at all, but the rest looks great. Should I add extra of something to replace them? thanks in advance.
Try something like biscuits/cookies or brownie pieces.
That’s a terrific idea Spella!! – N x
I never boo at questions these days. She who hates bananas is not allowed to boo at food preferences or dietary requirements! 😂 I would use something hefty with volume like Turkish delight and if that got expensive or too hard to find, I would use large pieces of dried fruit like apricots as they will add lovely colour here too. Hope that helps Brenda! – N x
Hey,
There are a few other suggestions in the post and explanation part. I’m thinking caramel popcorn (which is on Nagi’s website here and I make it every year for Christmas) probably a close texture to marshmallows. Also biscuits maybe something a little less sweet like Digestives to balance out the sweetness of other ingredients. Maybe even pieces of plain Sponge Cake or Vanilla Cupcakes; they might have a similar texture to marshmallows and lots of recipes here for cake and cupcakes . Hope that helps.😊
PS Now I’m really thinking about adding pieces of cake now and making it Alice and Wonderland themed.
From Sophie
Use things like lollies or chocolates like Maltezers (which i have tried and works really well) or Turkish delight.
Recipe looks great , but you need to use home made marshmallows , you will never use store bought ones ever again.happy to give you my recipe . ,enjoy your cooking nagi
I never thought to make my own….holiday project!! Thank you for the idea Annmarie! – N x
Can’t wait to try this as is!
Hope you get a chance to!! – N xx
Thank you, Nagi. Have sent this
recipe to son and daughter-in-law in San Jose USA. You may soon have a few new subscribers!
Anyone knows why it is called rocky road?
In the Depression era in the US William Deyer, who owned an ice cream shop, came up with the combination of chocolate ice cream that he added marshmallows and almonds to. The bumpy uneven texture was reminiscent of a rocky road or the rocky road ahead during the economic crash of the time (stories vary).
Wasn’t expecting a reply but loved it! Thanks for taking the trouble.
Presumably because all the lumps and bumps from the marshmallows make it look like a bumpy road?? Also because the classic one is brown??! 🙂 – N xx
Hello Nagi 😊!
These White Chocolate beauties look awesome! Love at first sight 😍!!!
I am on holiday in New Zealand (old dream come true!) but I straight away transfer your recipe to my daughter in law in Switzerland (chocolate country 😉👍). I know two young kids there who will love them ! Thank you as always Nagi & please say hello to Monsieur Dozer !
New Zealand! One of my favourite holiday memories 🙂 I hope you have a wonderful time! N xx