Neapolitan Rocky Road Bars Recipe

Neapolitan Rocky Road Bars Recipe

Ingredients

• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (about 2 cups chopped)
• 1/2 cup miniature white marshmallows
• 1/2 cup chocolate marshmallows
• 1/2 cup strawberry marshmallows
• 1/2 cup roasted almonds
• Chocolate or instant-read thermometer (optional, needed only if tempering the chocolate)

Directions

1. Start by making sure your marshmallows are all the same small size. These steps might vary depending on what is available to you, but the basic idea is that you want them all to approximate the size of the miniature marshmallows. The chocolate marshmallows I found were about twice the size of miniature marshmallows, so I cut the chocolate ones in half.
2. The strawberry marshmallows I found were pretty gigantic, so they were cut in 6-8 pieces each, until they were about the size of a dime.
3. Next, coarsely chop the roasted almonds. Make sure you leave them in good-sized chunks to add some much-needed texture. They do put the rock in rocky road, after all.
4. Finally, chop the chocolate. If you will NOT be tempering it, chop all of the chocolate into small pieces, and place it in a large microwave-safe bowl.
5. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30-second increments so it won’t get overheated. Stir until the chocolate is melted and smooth, then skip down a few steps to where we add the mix-ins.
6. If you WILL be tempering the chocolate, chop about three-quarters of it into small pieces. Leave one big chunk whole. It should be about a quarter of the total chocolate, but don’t worry about being too precise.
7. Melt the chopped chocolate in the microwave. When it’s completely melted, add the big chunk of chocolate and insert the chocolate thermometer or instant-read thermometer. Stir the chocolate frequently, and try to scrape the big bar of chocolate with your spatula, to encourage it to melt into the melted chocolate. Keep stirring the chocolate around until it dips below 90 degrees Fahrenheit on the thermometer.
8. Once it’s under 90 F, do a quick test by spreading some of the chocolate on a sheet of parchment. If it’s properly tempered, it should quickly begin to set, and within 3-5 minutes it should be hard and shiny and room temperature. If it doesn’t set, keep stirring and let the temperature dip lower, then try again.
9. The last step is to remove the rest of the unmelted block of chocolate. Take it out of the bowl, and set it aside to use for your next cooking project!
10. Now it’s time to add the mix-ins. Dump all of the chocolate marshmallows, strawberry marshmallows, and miniature marshmallows into the chocolate. Add most of the chopped nuts, but reserve a few spoonfuls of nuts to scatter on top of the rocky road.
11. Stir everything together until all of the nuts and marshmallows are completely coated with chocolate.
12. Scrape the candy out onto a baking sheet covered with parchment or waxed paper, and spread it into a thin, even layer.
13. Sprinkle the remaining chopped nuts all over the top of the chocolate, and press down gently to get them to stick. If you’ve tempered the chocolate, you can let it set at room temperature, but if you’ve just melted it, you’ll want to put it in the refrigerator to firm up, for about 20 minutes.
14. When it’s completely set, cut the Neapolitan rocky road candy into small squares. You could also break it into pieces, but because the marshmallows are so chewy, it’s easier and neater just to cut it.