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!
Hi Nagi and Dozer! Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe, looking forward to trying it 🙂 Wishing you a Merry Christmas xoxo
Hope you get a chance to try it Sandra! Merry Christmas to you too! – N x
Could you put these in mini cupcake tins or liners for individual servings?
What a brilliant idea!! If you see me share that you’ll know where the idea came from…😉 I’ll call them Luanne’s Rocky Road!! N x
Love this! I don’t have an 8″ pan. Can I use my 9.5″ (24cm) upside-down pan (results too thin?), or maybe a loaf pan, slicing across for thick logs?
Hi Kathy! I’d use the 24cm pan, it won’t be too thin! With a 20cm pan it is HEFTY – about 3.5cm high. 24cm will be a respectable thickness, probably more sensible for eating actually 🤣
This is the best form of RR. We have been making very similar for years with Macadamias for nuts plus traditional Turkish delight or Aldi has a great alternative Pomegranate Turkish Delight.
TURKISH DELIGHT! How did I not think of that. I’ll pop a list of suggestions in! N xx
Hi Nagi. Love your website and cook at least one of your recipes rack week for dinner.
Regarding your Christmas Rocky Road, what brand of Cherries do you use? The cherries I have looked at never appear to look the same.
Many thanks for your great recipes.
looks wonderful! thank you for the tip re adding oil
can I use this recipe to put into a bundt /ring tin to make aRocky Road wreath with my grand daughter? She has her heart set on making one
That’s genius!!! I have to try it too! – N xx
She wants marshmallows, raspberry lollies, pretzels and Turkish delight
Pretzels?? Do you think that works in rocky road??
We have made this mix before for the last few years using a mix of dark and milk chocolate recipe I found for a Bundt tin, and everyone loves the mix , but we have found it a little hard to cut as I think it has too much choc for the filling . My grand daughter drizzles the top with a little white chocolate and tops with red m and ms and mint leaves
I have just looked at your other rocky road recipe to compare with our one, and adjusted the filling to match your ratios
I have made it in a silicone Bundt time which collapsed, but my husband, my friend Anna and l still enjoyed it. For Christmas, l’ll hire a Bundt tin from the Library. They have a whole range of baking tins for hire here in WA.
Love your recipes, Nagi, and Love Dozer.
Merry Christmas to you both
Looks wonderful. Thanks for the tip re adding oil. Can I use this recipe for make the rocky road in a bundt/ring tin please? (a Rocky Road Wreath)
I have made it in a silicone Bundt tin, which collapsed. It was shapeless, but my husband, my friend Anna and l still enjoyed it. For Christmas, l’ll hire a Bundt tin from the Library. They have a whole range of baking tins for hire here in WA.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Hi Nagi,
thank you for sharing your White Christmas Rocky Road recipe. It looks amazing and reminds me of Italian Nougat or Torrone. I’m not a fan of White Christmas made with Copha because I find the taste quite sickly.
Dozer’s reaction to your Christmas cuddle attacks is similar to how my beautiful cat, Aramis reacts when the cuddles go for too long or are too numerous. These poor pets that we love so much don’t understand just how irresistible they are to us.
I hope you and Dozer are enjoying your stunning new home that was recently featured on Better Homes & Gardens.
Love to you & Dozer,
Maria xx.
Nagi, You hit the nail on the head with my mistake. I made your dark Rocky Road last week but had sampled too many marshmallows. Yes!!!like biting into a chunk of chocolate. Not to worry, will just have to take note and make more this week with no sampling beforehand. Merry Christmas to you and Dozer. Hugs Gail.
Hello Dozer – you don’t eat much sweets like this either, do you? BUT, don’t Mommy’s Christmas sweets look just absolutely fabulous and, hmm, I bet they are super-delicious also! I do like the cherries and pistachios and the chocolate (I like black, but white looks SO nice) – don’t know much about marshmallows but they kinda belong, don’t they? Tell Mommy these are super-duper and give her a big lick on the cheek for me and tell her I just have to repost these tomorrow . . . pat, pat, pat . . .
Eha, your posts always bring a smile to my face! ❤️ from Seattle! (And of course ❤️ to Nagi and Dozer).
Annette – I am delighted if just very occasionally I make some other person than Nagi smile! Hadn’t thought of anyone else reading 🙂 ! Dozer and I have ‘known’ one another ‘forever’ and have both reached ‘that’ age where one either accepts matters and amicably ‘woofs’ together or has a thoroughly miserable time!!! Have been to Portland, Ore but not to Seattle . . . do hope you have a good winter . . .
I’ve added lightly crushed salt & vinegar chips at times & it’s very good.
You just know it’s Christmas when Rocky Road is in sight…will definitely make and give away
How would it be to make these like peanut clusters rather than cutting them into bars? Thank you for your recipes.
Yuuummm Nagi going to make this with the white buttons I have that have been languishing in the cupboard for a day or two lol. Aw you just love your boy so much and understandably so, what a gorgeous floof he is
Woohoo! I’m dreaming a White (rocky road) Christmas. My beloved will love this. Thank you. And merry Christmas 🎄