Rocky Road Cookies
Inspired by Gilmore Girls, these rocky road cookies are dairy free, stuffed with walnuts and chocolate chips, then topped with marshmallows and chocolate.
Inspired by Gilmore Girls, these rocky road cookies are dairy free, stuffed with walnuts and chocolate chips, then topped with marshmallows and chocolate.

Why you’ll love this rocky road cookie recipe
As I sit here, drinking my first cup of coffee for the day, I know there are NEW episodes of Gilmore girls waiting for me on Netflix. It’s a really weird feeling. Part of me wants to drop what I’m doing and binge watch all day, but that’s obviously unrealistic, mostly because I don’t think my two year old would appreciate the show at all. She’s a little partial to Daniel Tiger right now, but I’m actually waiting for my husband to watch it. He says he doesn’t care about it, but I’ve forced him to watch the original series so many times that it just doesn’t feel right to watch it without him.
This week’s Friday Night Dinner recipe is rocky road cookies. From one of the very first episodes of Gilmore girls, Love, War and Snow, and Rory brings Dean a big batch of rocky road cookies – because she doesn’t like them – before leaving for Hartford and getting stranded in the snow. Leaving Lane to fend for herself during the hair touching debacle and letting Lorelai have her very first date with Max. One of my favorite episodes, mostly because of the snow.
I think I’ll start streaming this afternoon, and make us a big batch of Patty’s Founder’s Day Punch tonight to finish off the series. I’m also debating cheeseburgers for dinner. A Gilmore classic, that should probably be followed by massive amounts of Red Vines and popcorn while we watch. What do you think?



How to make these rocky road cookies
Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Beat the wet ingredients. Cream shortening and sugars until light and fluffy – about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until combined.
Combine everything. Slowly add flour mixture until everything is well combined. Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
Scoop the dough.
Add marshmallows. Remove cookies from the oven and top cookies with marshmallow halves. Return to oven to finish baking for another 2-3 minutes.
Repeat. Continue baking in batches until all dough is baked.
Drizzle chocolate over cooled cookies and top with walnut pieces.

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Rocky Road Cookies
Inspired by Gilmore Girls, these rocky road cookies are dairy free, stuffed with walnuts and chocolate chips, then topped with marshmallows and chocolate.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 60 minutes
- Yield: about 4 dozen 1x
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter-flavored shortening
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, dairy free
- 1 cup walnut pieces + extra for topping
- 24 large marshmallows, cut in half
For the chocolate drizzle:
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, dairy free
- 1 – 2 teaspoons shortening
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat shortening and sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy – about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until combined. Add flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until incorporated, scrapping sides as needed.
- Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
- Using a medium cookie scoop, drop 2 tablespoon balls of dough onto cookie sheet. Bake for 9 minutes.
- Remove from oven and top cookies with marshmallow halves. Return to oven for 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from oven and allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Repeat steps 6 – 7 to bake remaining cookies.
For the chocolate drizzle:
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate chips in 30 second intervals. Stir in shortening to smooth out the melted chocolate and allow for easier drizzling.
- Drizzle chocolate over cooled cookies and top with walnut pieces.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 157
- Sugar: 11.5 g
- Sodium: 78.4 mg
- Fat: 9.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.9 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 7.8 mg
Keywords: recipe for rocky road cookies, rocky road cookies recipe, rocky road cookie
Recipe adapted from In Katrina’s Kitchen.
Published: November 25, 2016. Updated: August 11, 2022.
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