Ok….so these brownies are ugly.
Like really ugly.
But I don’t judge you when you’re having a bad hair day?
Or when you only have two finger nails still painted pink because you were too lazy to scrub off the rest..
Or when you wore that awful sparkly headband last weekend.
Ok okkkkkk so maybe that was me last week. But whatever, stop staring…. ! We all have those days. Some more than others….
So these are not the Heidi Klum of brownies, but what they lack in looks they make up for in irresistibly rich, gooey, chocolatey, flavor.
[hr]
These are soooo good right out of the oven. They have this intensely rich cakey chocolate chip brownie bottom sprinkled in even more chocolate chips, buttery pecans, and warm gooey marshmallows. I just took a fork to the pan after I took these out. Are you wondering why there’s only two brownies in my pictures today?? Umm… that’s why. I scraped the top off of half the pan.. oops.
I also love that these are dairy-free. I’m going to try and work more vegan recipes into my blog. I don’t tolerate dairy very well so I usually play this game where I eat mainly dairy-free for my meals and save myself for splurges on all my baked goods (Yes.. that’s how big of a sweet tooth I have!). But the more practice I’ve had cooking dairy-free the more I’ve found out that I don’t have to cook these recipes just because they don’t have dairy, but because they’re actually really good.
So these lovely little rocky road bars aren’t just for those of us who can’t have a lot of dairy, they’re for anyone craving a gooey chocolate marshmallow treat. And who doesn’t'??
Also, when looking around for dairy-free chocolate chips, keep your eyes out for “Chocolate Dream” baking chips. These are my favorite! I usually just eat them straight out of the bag. They’re from the same company that makes Soy Dream and Rice Dream (realllyyy yummy dairy-free ice-cream).
Enjoy!
[typography font="Cantarell" size="18" size_format="px"]Rocky Road Bars (dairy-free)[/typography]
Ingredients:
- 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup lus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons natural (nonalkalized) cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cold water
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon distilled vinegar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 6 ounces vegan semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup vegan mini marshmallows
- Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil.

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the lower third of the oven.
- Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a large bowl and mix with a whisk or fork.
- In a small bowl, combine water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Pour liquid over flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until just smooth (if you over-mix these will be tough).
- Add half the chocolate chips and stir to incorporate.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth evenly. Sprinkle marshmallows over top and gently poke them into batter, leaving tips exposed. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips and walnuts over marshmallows.

- Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until it no longer jiggles when you nudge the sides of the pan. Cool on a rack. Lift edges of foil to transfer brownies to a cutting board.Cut into 16 squares and serve warm or at room temperature.
Adapted from Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunch Melt-in-your-mouth Cookies by Alice Medrich




















While we all would love a stunning picture as well as a great recipe, some of the tastiest ones will not lend themselves being picturesque! This is one such item. Great flavors in this one, I would definitely enjoy a few-yum! Have a wonderful weekend!
Thanks Tina! Have a great weekend too!
With those ingredients you cannot go wrong even if they aren’t the best photos. Its the taste that matters most.
No brownie is too ugly in my book. Just the thought of a brownie starts my mouth watering. Those delicious little treats look like they are just aching to be eaten. :) Thanks for sharing.
haha so true!Just give me anything chocolate :)
These look far from ugly!! They sound scrumptious and I love they are dairy free! Happy Friday!
They were delicious! Forget their ugliness… :) Have a good weekend too!
I don’t think these are ugly at all (although the nail polish comment made me laugh). Of course, I love rocky road brownies!
haha thanks!The nail polish thing is one of my worst habits… :)
Ooooo do these look delicious! :) Yumm!
I love that this is a dairy free dessert as I generally avoid dairy products. What made me click over were the words “Rocky Road” too, because that’s always been my fav ice cream, cookies, etc. This is one recipe for my file! Thanks.
Ooo ya! I love rocky road ice-cream! Glad you checked out my post :)
Oh do these look good! And I love that they are vegan. :)
Don’t make fun of sparkles headbands. Blair Waldorf wears sparkly headbands.
Ya well Serena wouldn’t and she’d totally eat these brownies…
looks yummy!!
Who cares what they look like – they sound delicious! I don’t usually do much to doctor up brownies but this looks perfect.
haha thanks Stephanie! There wasn’t too much doctoring to be done to these :)
My brownie and marshmallow loving family would love these decadent gems! So yummy!
These don’t look ugly to me! I love the toasted marshmallow on top. I think I’d plow through this pan in 5 seconds. :)
haha I almost did… :) Thanks Laura!
HECK yeah! These just came out of the oven……we cannot wait to taste them!
aw yay!! Let me know how you liked them!
I doubt you could leave a pan of these beauties lying around unguarded – they are too decadent :D
Great recipe!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Latest: Enhanced Fruity Microwave Syrup Cake
hahaha thanks! I can’t leave anything chocolate unguarded at my house :)
oh my these look so good!! I love those toasted marshmallows!
I saw the picture on facebook and I thought delicious!!! I like that you went the dairy-free way. I love experimenting with dairy-free baking.
Me too! I’m going to start messing around with dairy-free a lot more now!
They look anything but ugly! I love that you tried a dairy free version.
haha thanks! They’re maybe just a little ugly… :) but at least they taste good!
I don’t think they’re ugly at all. In fact, I think they’re gorgeous and I may just head straight to the kitchen right now to whip some up. They sound amazing! Thanks for sharing! :-)
haha thanks! Let me now if you try these! Just make sure you put your oven rack on the lowest rack or they won’t cook right :)
Do you ever include nutrition facts? Where do I find them?
The members at my club would like to have that information for their diets thanks
Hi Rachel, I’m more than happy to include the nutrition facts, I’ll start posting them regularly for you all. Per brownie (16 servings, each a pretty generous 2 1/4 inch brownie) yields about 220 calories and 9 grams of fat. If you’re counting calories and want to cut those numbers down, substitute 1/2 cup applesauce for the 1/2 cup oil. Don’t be too scared off but these counts! This is not one of my lower calorie treats, just a dairy-free option :) I’ll update the rest of my posts with the calorie counts today for you guys!
Aaaand I love these.
ummm…… love u too thanksssss