Sponsored by: The makers of PLANTERS® nuts. All opinions and ideas are 100% honest and my own. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been a rocky road ice cream girl. There’s just something about the combination of the creamy chocolate, mini marshmallows, and nuts together that’s just perfection. So it’s probably no surprise that when I’m at a theme park or bakery buying fudge, I always look for rocky road fudge. Every single time. Most of the time I can’t find what I’m looking for or it’s just not what I want it to be – full of crunchy nuts and creamy marshmallow flavor. So I decided I’d make my own easy homemade rocky road fudge recipe so that I can have that delicious rocky road flavor whenever I want. It’s similar to these rocky road bites I shared previously but more creamy. Plus, I’ve found that other people love this smooth chocolate fudge just as much as me, so it makes a great gift or addition to any Christmas party. Lots of other rocky road ice cream lovers out there apparently! These would also make a great treat to go along with my candied nuts if you wanted to have a nutcracker games like I did!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Simple ingredients – everything for this recipe can be found right in your grocery store (or even your own pantry). I grabbed everything at Walmart but other grocery stores have all of these things as well. Creamy chocolate fudge – I’ve mentioned this a couple of times before but this is a super creamy fudge recipe with the combination of the melted chocolate chips, butter, sweetened condensed milk, and marshmallow creme. While you could make it without the marshmallow creme, I love the swirls of marshmallow mixed in. Easy recipe – it doesn’t get much easier than this fudge recipe. As long as you watch the items on the stove and don’t let the chocolate burn, this is pretty simple to make. It’s just heating things on the stove, mixing, and chilling!
Ingredients
This recipe uses the same rich chocolate fudge recipe that most classic fudge recipes start with – sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, and butter. Then I add in the rocky road recipe part with marshmallow creme, mini marshmallows, and cashews.
Ingredient Notes
Butter – either salted or unsalted butter works just fine in this recipe. I know some people are very particular about using salted or unsalted in desserts, but there’s not much difference in the final fudge taste that I’ve found. Use what you have or if you’re buying butter, buy unsalted. Marshmallow creme – marshmallow creme or marshmallow fluff works great. Sweetened condensed milk – you’ll need one can for this rich fudge. Make sure to use the spatula to get it all out of the can because it tends to get stuck. Mini marshmallows – make sure to use miniature marshmallows and not regular size ones in this unless you cut them down into small bite-sized pieces. The marshmallows get stirred in at the end rather than being melted into the fudge, so you want them to be small. Chocolate chips – I used semi-sweet chocolate chips because I like the in between dark chocolate and milk chocolate flavor, but you could easily use one of those two as well. I’ve just found that using milk chocolate makes this a little sweeter than my personal preference. Cashews – I love using PLANTERS® Deluxe Salted Cashews in this because they just have the perfect nutty flavor with an added hint of salt. It combines so well with the creamy and sweet chocolate and marshmallow flavor, really balancing it out nicely.
Why’d I pick cashews instead of other types of nuts you might see in different types of fudge you might ask? Because there’s a candy bar I love that uses the combination of chocolate, fluffy marshmallows, and cashews together. It’s delicious, so I figured using cashews would be a great addition to this fudge. And leftover cashews make a great holiday snack! Or make one of the other delicious recipes you can find on this To All a Good Nut site! There are tons of great nutty party ideas and recipes. You can also enter to win a special visit from the NUTMOBILE™ and MR. PEANUT® to make this year’s holiday party one that your guests will never forget! Enter to win here!
How to make rocky road fudge
This homemade fudge recipe is seriously so simple. It takes a little bit of time to allow the fudge to chill and completely set, but the wait is worth it. Trust me!
1 – Prep the recipe
Start by lining a 9×9 square baking dish with a piece of parchment paper that’s long enough that the ends stick out over the sides. This will help not only keep the fudge from sticking to the pan, but it’ll make it easier to cut the fudge once chilled. You can also use a 8×8 square pan, but you’ll end up with less pieces of a thicker fudge. You could also use wax paper in the baking dish if you’d like, I’ve just found it’s not quite as flexible as the parchment. Once your dish is ready to go, chop up the cashews. I prefer to do this by hand with a knife compared to a food processor so you can keep larger chunks and not just cashew crumbs.
2 – Make the Fudge Mixture
Next, you’re going to make the actual fudge mixture. Heat a medium saucepan on the stove over low heat and add the chocolate chips, butter, and sweetened condensed milk into the pan, making sure to stir regularly so the chocolate on the bottom doesn’t burn. Allow the mixture to heat up and melt together until everything is combined into one creamy mixture. Once that’s done, add the vanilla extract into the mixture and stir until smooth and creamy. This really helps finish off the rich chocolate flavor. Finish off the chocolate mixture by adding in the 1/4 cup of marshmallow creme and folding it in. You want it to combine into the chocolate mixture but not get lost completely so you end up with nice marshmallow swirls throughout the fudge. Once the marshmallow creme is mixed in, remove the large saucepan from the heat and add one cup mini marshmallows and 3/4 cup of the chopped cashews. Fold them in gently so that they are completely mixed into the fudge.
3 – Pour Fudge Into Prepared Pan
Transfer the fudge from the saucepan to the prepared baking dish with the parchment paper. Use a silicone spatula to spread the fudge around so it’s all the way to the corners of the dish, trying your best to spread it out into one even layer.
Sprinkle the remaining cashews and mini marshmallows on top of the fudge and press them in gently with the spatula or clean hands.
4 – Chill and Cut Rocky Road Fudge
Place the fudge in the fridge to chill for 4-6 hours or until completely set. If you press down on the fudge when it’s done, it’ll still be a bit soft because of the marshmallows and creamy fudgy texture, but it shouldn’t still feel sticky or wet. Once the fudge is completely set, remove from the fridge and lift fudge out of the pan using the sides of the parchment paper. Cut squares of fudge using a sharp knife and serve immediately. This rocky road fudge is great served either chilled straight from the fridge or you can leave the fudge out at room temperature if you prefer warm fudge (or at least not chilled).
Expert Tips and Storage Info
Make sure to stir the fudge mixture regularly and cook it at a low temperature. Since you’re not using a double boiler for this recipe, the chocolate can burn quickly if you heat it too hot or you don’t stir. It only takes a minute or two for the chocolate mixture to melt so just watch it carefully. Store fudge in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. Storing in an airtight container will help the fudge from drying out. Place fudge squares in a treat bag with a holiday ribbon and one of these Christmas gift tags for the most perfect holiday treats! Wrap fudge in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to six months. To thaw, just remove however many small squares of fudge you’d like and let them sit out until they come to room temperature. The texture won’t be quite the same as the fresh fudge, but they’ll still be delicious.
More Sweet Treats
If you like this chocolate marshmallow fudge recipe, make sure to check out these other delicious nutty treats!
Homemade nutter butters – this homemade version of the popular cookie is easy to make and absolutely delicious!Chocolate brownie cake – cake like brownies topped with a fudgy chocolate frosting and nuts! Chocolate chip cheese ball – a creamy and chocolately cheese ball covered with chopped nuts!7 layer bar recipe – seven layers of creamy, nutty, and chocolate combine in these old fashioned bars!Kentucky butter cake cookies – soft and buttery cookies topped with crunchy nuts!
