This Gluten Free Rocky Road is packed with marshmallows, chocolate, and cranberries. It makes the perfect dessert or afternoon snack and is a great one to make with the kids!
These gluten free rocky roads, just like my chocolate & coconut energy balls & dairy-free rice krispie treats are ideal for those days when you want to bake, but just can’t quite be bothered! ( If you can be bothered to bake, be sure to check out my eggless vanilla cupcakes & eggless pancakes)
They are super simple to whip up with no baking required! The kids will love helping to crush the biscuits and mix them all together with the melted chocolate, soft marshmallows and dried fruit.
You will all be fighting over who gets to lick the bowl!
Once they have chilled in a baking tin in the fridge for a few hours, they are ready to devour.
Be careful though, once you have one, you can’t stop!
I have added Cadbury Mini Eggs into the rocky roads for an Easter twist, but they can be made any time of the year, as the beauty of this recipe is you can throw in whatever you have in the cupboard.
They are one of my favourite gluten-free sweet treats, alongside these Gluten Free Apple Turnovers, I hope you like them!
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🤔 What Is Rocky Road?
Rocky road is a type of dessert that typically consists of a mixture of chocolate, crushed biscuits, marshmallows, and nuts or dried fruit.
The ingredients are usually melted together and then poured into a pan or onto a tray to cool and set. The end result is a sweet and indulgent treat that has a soft and chewy texture with bits of crunchy nuts mixed in.
While the traditional recipe includes gluten and nuts, I have adapted this recipe easily to be both gluten and nut free, making it perfect for people with food allergies.
🥘 Ingredients & Substitutions
✋ Be sure to double check all packaging for allergens. ✋
- Chocolate - I have used cooking chocolate. This tends to have less sugar than normal chocolate and a higher percentage of cocoa solids, so is good for sweet recipes where extra sugar is going to be added as the end result won’t be too sweet. If you can’t find cooking chocolate, normal chocolate is fine too. ( Too much sweetness is never a bad thing, hey!). See below for dairy free options.
- Butter - Unsalted block butter works best for this recipe. Scroll to the variations section below for dairy free options.
- Biscuits - You can use any type of (GF) biscuits you like. I have used plain digestives but oat or ginger biscuits or even custard creams, bourbons or chocolate chip cookies would be delicious. Most supermarkets have a large range of gluten free biscuits to choose from.
- Mini Marshmallows - It’s easier to buy the mini marshmallows rather than trying to cut up bigger ones into smaller pieces, but if you only have the bigger ones (& lots of patience) you can do this.
- Golden Syrup - This is melted alongside the chocolate and the butter and helps to bind everything together into that glorious sticky mixture.
- Mini Eggs - Surprisingly, Cadburys Mini Eggs are gluten free! If you are making these at a different time of year and are struggling to get hold of mini eggs, M&M’s are a great replacement. Most M&M’s are gluten free (except the crispy variety)
- Fruit - I have added dried cranberries, which add a slightly sour but sweet taste. Raisins or sultanas are also great options.
⚡ Variations
To Make It Dairy Free
Swap the butter for a vegan butter like Flora Plant Butter and the chocolate for a dairy free version. I love Nomo chocolate. If you want to use Mini Eggs, Doisy & Dam do a fab vegan version. They are made with dark chocolate but its still a pretty close match. They are also gluten free.
To Make It Vegan
Follow the dairy free steps above and use vegan marshmallows instead, as normal marshmallows are not vegan.
✏️ How to Make Gluten Free Rocky Roads
⬇️ Here you will find an overview of how to make the recipe. For full information on ingredients and quantities please see the recipe card at the bottom of the page ⬇️
First, line an 8-inch square baking tin with parchment paper. This will help prevent sticking and make it easier to remove the rocky road later on.
Next, it's time to crush the biscuits and mini eggs. Simply pop them into separate zip lock bags and use a rolling pin to crush them up. You'll want to save a few mini eggs to decorate the top, so be sure to set those aside.
In a medium saucepan, melt 200g of chocolate, 80g of butter, and the golden syrup over a very low heat, stirring constantly. You want to be careful not to overheat the chocolate, as this can cause it to seize up and become grainy.
While the chocolate is melting, add the mini marshmallows (save a handful to decorate the top), crushed biscuits, cranberries, and mini eggs (apart from the handful put aside) to a mixing bowl.
Once the chocolate mixture is melted, pour it over the dry ingredients and mix everything together until it's well combined.
Pour the gooey mixture into the lined baking tin and spread it out evenly.
In the same saucepan, melt another 100g of chocolate and 40g of butter over a low heat, stirring constantly. Once melted, pour the chocolate over the top of the rocky road mixture, then decorate with the leftover marshmallows and mini eggs.
Now it's time to refrigerate the mixture for at least 2 hours, or until it's set. Once set, remove the rocky road from the pan and cut it into 12 squares. Enjoy!
💡 Tips & Tricks
- If you are using daily free chocolate, be aware that it sets in a quicker time than normal chocolate, so you may need to work faster when stirring the mixture and transferring it to the baking tin.
- If you are feeling lazy you can skip the melted chocolate on top. Just mix in all of the melted chocolate & butter with the dry ingredients and press down into the tin for a more rustic look.
- When crushing the biscuits, feel free to leave some bigger than others. Crush some into crumbs and make some in differing sizes up to a 10p piece. This will give your rocky road a nice variety of textures.
- The easiest way to crush the mini eggs is to put them in a sealed ziplock bag and give them a good bash with a rolling pin, like you did the biscuits.
🔪 Equipment Used
🥡 How To Store
If you do have any leftovers, just pop them in the fridge in an airtight container, where they will keep for up to 1 week.
💬 FAQ
Yes, rocky road can be frozen for later enjoyment. Simply wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or foil and place it in an airtight container. Thaw at room temperature before serving
The exact origins of rocky road are unclear, but it's believed to have originated in the United States during the Great Depression as a way to use up leftover ingredients.
📖 More Sweet Treats
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
📖 Recipe
Gluten Free Rocky Road
Ingredients
- 300 g chocolate can be substituted for dairy free
- 120 g butter can be substituted for dairy free
- 140 g gluten free biscuits
- 100 g mini marshmallows
- 80 g Cadbury mini eggs can be substituted for M&M's
- 100 g dried cranberries
- 3 tablespoon golden syrup
Instructions
- Line an 8-inch square baking tin with parchment paper.
- Crush the biscuits in a sealed zip lock bag with a rolling pin.
- In a separate zip lock bag, do the same with the mini eggs. Put a few aside to decorate the top.
- In a medium saucepan, melt 200g chocolate, 80g butter & the golden syrup over a very low heat, stirring constantly.
- Add the mini marshmallows (save a handful to decorate the top), crushed biscuits, cranberries and mini eggs (apart from the handful put aside) to a mixing bowl.
- Pour over the melted chocolate and mix well until everything is combined.
- Pour the mixture into the lined baking tin and spread it evenly.
- In the same saucepan, melt 100g chocolate and 40g butter over a low heat, stirring constantly.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the top of the rocky road mixture, then decorate with the leftover marshmallows and mini eggs.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until the mixture is set.
- Once set, remove from the pan and cut into 12 squares.
Notes
- If you are using daily free chocolate, be aware that it sets in a quicker time than normal chocolate, so you may need to work faster when stirring the mixture and transferring it to the baking tin.
- If you are feeling lazy you can skip the melted chocolate on top. Just mix in all of the melted chocolate & butter with the dry ingredients and press down into the tin for a more rustic look.
- When crushing the biscuits, feel free to leave some bigger than others. Crush some into crumbs and make some in differing sizes up to a 10p piece. This will give your rocky road a nice variety of textures.
- The easiest way to crush the mini eggs is to put them in a sealed ziplock bag and give them a good bash with a rolling pin, like you did the biscuits.
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