Rocky Road Brownies

When you talk to children in pediatric psychiatry, a good way to assess what’s going on in their life is asking, “If you had 3 wishes, what would they be?”

It can be pretty revealing. A child with terrible depression told me “health, happiness, and a better family.” Another boy said, “I wish for a million bucks because I hate being poor all the time.”

And if the kid says, “I want a unicorn!” …. well, unicorns are a popular wish, by the way.

I think the best reply I heard had to be “I want it to snow marshmallows!” I mean, you can’t beat marshmallows falling from the sky right?

On that note, I made these rocky road brownies for B when he visited. There are fudgy brownies (dense and chocolatey like truffles), cakey brownies (moist and fluffy), and chewy brownies (in between). Adapted from Joy of Baking, these are definitely the fudgy kind. 

Rich chocolate brownies topped with nuts, chocolate chips, and, of course, marshmallows. Yum. 

B couldn’t wait to kill these. But I made him wait a whole day and night so I could photograph it in daylight.

He said that took the most willpower he’d ever mustered as he studied at home, eyeing it on the counter. I’m glad he passed the famous Marshmallow Test done at Cornell 40 years ago. He doesn’t have ADHD.

Rocky Road Brownies

Ingredients
Brownies:
4 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces (can replace 1/4 butter with 1/4 cup Greek yogurt)
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup chopped almonds

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F and place rack in center of oven. Butter, or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, an 8 inch square baking pan.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a large stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. Next, whisk in the vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Finally, stir in the flour and salt. If substituting 1/2 the butter, add the Greek yogurt now.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Remove from oven, and immediately sprinkle the brownies with the chocolate chips, miniature marshmallows and chopped nuts. Return the brownies to the oven and bake for about 2-3 minutes, or just until the marshmallows start to melt (broil if you want the marshmallows browned). Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.