This easy Gingerbread Rocky Road is a fun and festive no bake Christmas treat. Made with warming gingerbread cookies it's sure to be a hit this Christmas!
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What's the best part about Christmas? The presents? No, it's the food of course! But between one thing and another it can be a hectic time of year. Sometimes you need something quick, easy and delicious! Enter my festive Christmas rocky road.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Easy no bake Christmas dessert.
- Makes gorgeous homemade Christmas gifts.
- Make it an advance to free up time on Christmas Day
- Transports well to a Christmas party or get-together.
- Make it with store-bought gingerbread cookies for an easy treat, or homemade gingerbread cookies for something extra special.
Looking for more festive Christmas dessert recipes? Why not try making my traditional gingerbread men, White Christmas or Christmas pudding ice cream. Merry Christmas!
Ingredients
Milk chocolate: some good quality milk chocolate works well in this recipe. It doesn't need to be top-shelf but a good mid-range chocolate works fine. This would also work well with dark chocolate if that's your thing.
Gingerbread cookies: add a wonderful festive flavor to this festive rocky road. You can make your own homemade gingerbread cookies or use storebought for a quick and easy option.
Candied ginger: a little candied ginger enhances the flavor and provides some balance to the sweetness of the chocolate. Uncrystallized is best. It goes without saying but this is strong stuff, so cut it up into smaller pieces or it can overwhelm your tastebuds!
Red and Green chocolate candy: red and green chocolate candy adds a lovely festive feel to this rocky road. I used red and green M&Ms but you can use whatever festive colored candy you like.
Marshmallows: an essential ingredient in any rocky road. I like medium-sized marshmallows, as opposed to jumbo ones or mini ones, as I find you get a good chocolate to marshmallow ratio. White marshmallows give the cleanest look but feel free to mix things up with other colors if you like.
Roasted almonds: add crunch and flavor to this festive rocky road. You can also replace the almonds with any other nuts you like. Some yummy options include peanuts, pecans, or macadamias.
Salted pretzels: might sound like a strange addition to the rocky road but trust me on this one. The salted pretzels provide a crunchy, salty element and help cut through the sweetness of the rest of the ingredients.
How to make Gingerbread Rocky Road
See the full recipe card at the end of the post for ingredient amounts and instructions.
Line a baking tray with foil. Roughly break up the gingerbread cookies into pieces. Chop the candied ginger into small pieces. Roughly break up the pretzels. Add the marshmallows, gingerbread cookies, ginger, pretzels and roasted almonds to a bowl and mix.
Chop up the milk chocolate and put it into a microwave-proof bowl and melt in the microwave in thirty seconds to one-minute bursts until smooth and fully melted, stirring between each burst.
Working quickly pour the melted chocolate over the dry ingredients and mix well to combine. Pour onto the lined tray and flatten out. Sprinkle on the red and green chocolate candy. Leave to cool and set completely, preferably at room temperature.
Hot tip: chocolate candy such as M&Ms are notorious for color fading if left in the fridge for too long (ask me how I know :D).
You can help prevent this by letting your rocky road set at room temperature. If you are short on time or its to hot only leave it in the fridge for the absoule minimum time needed to set. I reccomend no more than one hour and less is better.
Wait until the chocolate is completely cool and set then use a large sharp knife to cut the rocky road into pieces.
How to serve
To serve pop the gingerbread flavored rocky road onto a plate and enjoy! Or eat it straight from the container if you can't wait that long 😀 You can also make it up into wonderful homemade Christmas gifts by putting some into pretty clear festive bags and tying them with ribbon.
How to store
This festive rocky road will store well in an airtight container for up to a month, but the gingerbread may start to go a little soft over time, but I very much doubt it will last that long!
Tips for success and frequently asked questions
Can I use store-bought gingerbread cookies instead of homemade ones?
You sure can, if you are short on time simply replace the homemade gingerbread cookies with store-bought instead.
I don't like gingerbread, what can I use instead?
If you otherwise adore this recipe but need a gingerbread substitute this recipe should work with any other uniced festive cookie such as snickerdoodles or chocolate, but I have not tested the recipe with these variants.
I left my rocky road to set in the fridge for too long and now the chocolate candies had faded, help!
If you have the time and ingredients you can remake it. Try setting it at room temperature next time to prevent the chocolate candy color fade.
If you don't have the time or ingredients to remake it you can try carefully repainting the chocolate candies with food color and a clean, fine-tipped paintbrush. It takes a while but it does mostly work to make the colors pop again. This is not a permanent solution and the colors will fade again after a few days, but it will get you out of a tight spot for Christmas Day or a festive party.
More yummy festive Christmas desserts
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📋 Recipe
Gingerbread Rocky Road
Ingredients
- 1 packet (200gms) gingerbread cookies, homemade or store bought
- 2 cups (60gms) salted pretzels
- ½ cup (100gms) uncrystalised ginger
- â…” cup (90gms) roasted almonds
- 1 packet (210gms) marshmallows
- 2 & ¾ block (500gms) milk chocolate
- ½ packet (100gms) red and green candy such as M&Ms
Instructions
- Line a heat proof baking tin or tray with foil.
- Break up the gingerbread cookies and pretzels.
- Chop up the uncrystalized ginger.
- Add the cookie pieces, pretzels, marshmellows and almonds to a large bowl and mix well.
- Chop up the chocolate and put it into a microwave-proof bowl.
- Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 second to one minute bursts, checking and stiring after each time.
- Working quickly add the melted chocolate to the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour the mix onto the prepared tray and smooth down.
- Sprinkle over the chocolate candy.
- Leave to in a cool place to set completely.
- Once set cut into pieces and store in an airtight container, or wrap up in pretty cellophane bags tied with ribbon for gifting. Merry Christmas!
Notes
- Chocolate candy such as M&Ms and Smarties can color fade if you leave them in the fridge for too long! If it's too hot to set on the bench only put it in the fridge for one hour, then remove it.
- If worst comes to worst and your candy does fade, I have successfully repainted the color with food coloring and a clean, fine paintbrush.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate based on an online database. The nutritional content of ingredients may vary by brand. If you require accurate nutritional information, you should calculate this based on the specific brands and products you are using.
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