Tis the season for turkey, cranberry sauce and Gilmore Girls. I couldn’t be any more excited! Thanksgiving week is less than two weeks away which means it is time to start clearing your schedule for UPtv’s GilMORE the Merrier. Again this year, Scott Patterson, who plays Luke Danes, will host UPtv’s 8-day binge-a-thon of EVERY Gilmore Girls episode EVER (that’s 153 episodes!) and to make it ever better I have perfected a recipe for Sookie Approved Rocky Road Cookies.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by UPtv, the network that viewers trust to bring them uplifting shows they can watch together to be uplifted by every day.
These Rocky Road Cookies are so good, y’all. They rank right up there with Snicker Cupcakes and Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake Mix Cookie Bars. All so decadent!
I’ll be tweeting with you again this year during the binge-a-thon, and I’ve also got you covered for snacks with my version of Sookie’s Rocky Road Cookies. These Gilmore Girls inspired Rocky Road Cookies are sweet and gooey and crunchy – everything you want in a cookie recipe. Get the recipe at the bottom of this post.
I’m not really a geek about much, but I really do love Gilmore Girls. More than ever after I introduced my daughter to Rory and Lorelai during last year’s UPtv’s GilMORE the Merrier binge-a-thon. We were recently eating dinner at Panera and acting a little silly when she said it felt like we were Rory and Lorelai. I must confess that totally made my day. Rory and Lorelai come up in a lot of our conversations these days.
We love watching Gilmore Girls together.
In preparation of this year’s GilMORE the Merrier, I’ve stocked up on coffee and Pop Tarts, and created my own version of Sookie’s Rocky Road Cookies. Other fans of the Gilmore Girls will remember these as the cookies that Dean was really into. They are featured in the episode “Love and War and Snow” from season one. Sookie makes the cookies so that Rory can give them to Dean.
You might remember it took Rory a little while to get over her awkward phase, before she became completely smitten with him and could share her emotions. I think giving these cookies to Dean was a gesture to show her love. I have had some version of these cookies in my head since that scene.
Didn’t we all love Dean? He is the perfect first boyfriend. He is tall, handsome, and loves Rory for being Rory with all her quirks.
Thinking about Gilmore Girls and the upcoming GilMORE the Merrier binge-a-thon these last couple of weeks has me thinking about rocky road cookies, so I am sharing my Rocky Road Cookies recipe with you. What can I say? My thoughts often stray to food. And, you’re welcome!
I have yet to meet someone that doesn’t like Gilmore Girls and I think I’ll be saying the same about this Rocky Road Cookie recipe – you’re gonna love it! I love show’s snappy dialogue, and the relationship that Rory and Lorelai have. I love the town of Stars Hollow and all its quirky characters. As for these cookies, they are chocolaty, nutty, marshmallow-ey, oh-so decadent and super simple to make.
What is a Rocky Road Cookie?
Traditionally, Rocky Road is known as a chocolate flavored ice cream that contains nuts and marshmallows. It wasn’t too hard to transform the ice cream into a cookie. I knew they needed to be very chocolaty, so I used both cocoa and chocolate morsels. You can use any kind of nut you fancy in this recipe. I used chopped walnuts, but pecans, peanuts, or almonds would all be great too.
When making these cookies, I use some extra chocolate morsels and walnut pieces to press into the dough balls, along with the marshmallows. This extra step is purely for aesthetics, but I promise it is worth it. Your cookies will be so pretty.
Tip: This dough is very sticky, so be sure to line your baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking pad. When the cookies are done baking they are still very fragile, so you don’t want them to stick. Let them cool for about five minutes, before carefully moving them to a cooling rack.
Ingredients needed to make Rocky Road Cookies:
Much like rocky road ice cream, these rocky road cookies cookies are made with chocolate, nuts, and marshmallows. They are simple to make, and come together in 30-minutes. These Gilmore Girls-inspired Rocky Road Cookies are sweet and gooey and crunchy – everything you want in a cookie recipe. I know you’re going to love them!
For your convenience, a printable recipe card is at the bottom of this post with all ingredient measurements and step-by-step instructions.
butter
brown sugar
eggs
vanilla extract
all purpose flour
cocoa powder
baking soda
salt
chopped walnuts
semi-sweet chocolate chips
mini marshmallows
To top the cookies: additional chopped walnuts and chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350º F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking liner.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla extract, beat just until combined.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, using mixer or wooden spoon, being careful to not over-mix.
By hand, carefully stir in the walnuts and chocolate morsels into the dough. The batter will be thick.
Use a cookie scoop to drop dough balls onto lined baking sheet. Press 3-4 mini marshmallows into each cookie. If desired, press additional walnut pieces and chocolate chips into the outside of the dough balls.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Allow the cookies to cool to the touch on the baking sheet (about 5 minutes), before moving them to a cooling rack.
You can make these rocky road cookies up to a few days before the start of GilMORE the Merrier. Just keep them stored in a sealed container. I recommend enjoying these cookies with a cup of Scotty’s P’s Big Mug Coffee from Luke Danes himself, Scott Patterson.
Also, keep these in mind when making your Christmas cookies. Rocky Road Cookies are perfect for holiday gift giving!
Rocky Road Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 stick 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup mini marshmallows
- To top the cookies: additional chopped walnuts and chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking liner.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and brown sugar with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Add the egg and vanilla extract, beat just until combined.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, using mixer or wooden spoon, being careful to not over-mix.
- By hand, carefully stir in the walnuts and chocolate morsels into the dough. The batter will be thick.
- Use a cookie scoop to drop dough balls onto lined baking sheet. Press 3-4 mini marshmallows into each cookie. If desired, press additional walnut pieces and chocolate chips into the outside of the dough balls.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool to the touch on the baking sheet (about 5 minutes), before moving them to a cooling rack.
Notes
You might also enjoy:
Rudolph Nutty Bars
Christmas Monster Cookies
Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies