I have never met a cookie I didn’t like. There are so many delicious ones. Chocolate chip, Nutella, oreo marshmallow, peanut butter, white chocolate macadamia, snickers, salted caramel, chocolate cookie sandwich, fortune cookies and s’mores to name quite a few.

And now, I have a new favourite cookie… a Fudgy Rocky Road Cookie! Thanks to Amelia Ferrier of Melie’s Kitchen, an 18 year old Aucklander who makes beautiful cakes (you can order them from her website here). Last year, she held a demonstration and cookbook launch at Collected, where we watched her decorate one of her amazing cakes and there were samplings afterwards. Of course, I couldn’t leave without buying her cookbook, entitled ‘Melie’s Kitchen‘ which is filled with recipes for her wonderful cake creations, cookies, slices and pastries.

I love all the recipes in her cookbook, in particular the Fudgy Rocky Road Cookies. The mix of dark chocolate, almonds and marshmallows sounded delicious. Melie says in her book that you will love these cookies because of their fudgy and chewy texture, and the marshmallows toast beautifully on top, while the almonds give it that rocky road crunch.

FUDGY ROCKY ROAD COOKIES
By Melie’s Kitchen

(Slight changes have been made to the original method, as seen in my italic comments below).

This recipe makes approximately 20 cookies.

INGREDIENTS
175 g dark chocolate, chopped (I like using Whittaker’s Dark Ghana or Lindt 70% dark chocolate)
3 egg whites
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract – I love Heilala)
1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cocoa powder
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon cornflour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup roughly chopped almonds
1/2 cup mini marshmallows
sea salt for sprinkling

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (or 160-165 degrees Celsius if you are using fan bake). Line two baking trays with baking paper.

2. Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water. Heat, stirring every so often, until fully melted. Remove from the heat and set aside. OR put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and melt in the microwave for about 1 to 1 and a half minutes. Set aside.

3. In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (I love the KitchenAid Stand Mixer), beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the caster sugar and beat for 3 minutes, until well combined.

4. In a small bowl, combine the vanilla, brown sugar, cocoa powder, cornflour and salt. Add this mixture to the egg white mixture all at once and use electric beaters on a medium speed to beat until combined. Add all the melted chocolate and whisk until well combined and the mixture is thick and glossy. Stir in the almonds.

5. Working quickly, scoop tablespoonfuls* of the mixture onto the prepared trays, allowing room to spread, and arrange four mini marshmallows on top of each cookie. Sprinkle with a little bit of sea salt.

6. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until cracked on top and the marshmallows are golden. Cool on the trays for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Store these beauties in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week (or in my case, for three weeks – the last batch I made, the cookies lasted for ages!).

Enjoy! x

* I love using a stainless steel cookie scoop. I bought mine at The Homestore.