This Rocky Road and Cherry Fudge is incredibly rich, especially when you use high quality dark chocolate. My favorite brand of chocolate chips is Guittard but Ghirardelli works well too. Their packaging looks very similar so watch carefully at the store. Guittard is slightly darker gold versus Ghirardelli’s bright yellow bags.
While the chocolate is creamy and so satisfying, the cherries and pecans make the fudge delicious and complex. They are in nearly every bite and help cut the richness of the chocolate. I love cherries and pecans but you can use your favorites or something entirely different. Dried sweetened cranberries would be wonderful too and are easier to find in stores. I found my cherries at Safeway here in Northern California.
Top: Freshly mixed fudge in the pan; Bottom: Chilled and set fudge ready for slicing
Tomorrow would have been my mother’s 99th birthday. We lost her when she was 70 – oh how I hate cancer! In her honor I am sharing this Rocky Road and Cherry Fudge which would have thrilled her. It was her favorite type of candy and ice cream!
When she was a child, my mom’s favorite event all week was going to the movies on Saturdays and buying a Hershey’s chocolate bar and a coke. The Rocky Road Candy Bar wasn’t invented until 1950 in San Francisco so Hershey’s was as close as she could get.
Freshly sliced fudge squares on parchment paper
Her father was the small town pharmacist in Indiana with his office in the local shop that also had an ice cream counter. Mom worked as a soda jerk, scooping the rock hard ice cream during the summers. She enjoyed seeing all her friends as they bought their ice cream cones, sundaes, and sodas.
If they had this Rocky Road and Cherry Fudge in their store, I’m sure it would have been a huge hit!
I love how simple this candy is to make! You just melt the chocolate in the sweetened condensed milk, add the other ingredients, stirring until smooth. Scoop into a parchment-lined pan and let it set in the refrigerator for an hour or two. It doesn’t get any easier than this!
Lining the pan with parchment with two ends hanging over the edges to create a sling allows you to easily remove the fudge from the pan.. Then you can set on a cutting board, slice into squares, and put the whole thing back in the same pan for storage if you want.
I buy my parchment from King Arthur Baking in packs of 50 or 100 sheets. They are pre-cut to fit a standard half baking sheet pan making it so easy for baking and clean-up! I store my sheets between two of my baking sheets, pulling out just what I need for that day’s baking.
This Rocky Road and Cherry Fudge would have thrilled my mom and I am sharing it today in honor of her birthday tomorrow. She would be swooning over it and you guys will be too. This candy is a dream come true – pure chocolate heaven!
Enjoy this simple candy that will be a hit with all your family and friends. And keep this recipe handy for the holiday season, I promise it will become a family favorite!
See you back here on Friday for another savory recipe you will love! Have a wonderful week!
If you try this recipe, let me know! Please leave a star rating in the recipe card, comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it @theheritagecook on Instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day and I love hearing from you!
Ingredients needed for Rocky Road and Cherry Fudge:
- Dark chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, salt, mini marshmallows, dried cherries, toasted pecans or almonds
PRO Tip:
Creating a sling with parchment helps you lift the bar of fudge out of the pan and onto a cutting board. You can also use it to put the cut fudge back into the pan for storage if you prefer.
PRO Tip:
Be sure to use semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips for this recipe. This will offset the sweetness of the sweetened condensed milk. If you use milk chocolate or white chocolate, the fudge will be too sweet.
How to make Rocky Road and Cherry Fudge:
- Set out an 8×8-inch (20x20cm) baking dish and line the pan with parchment leaving two ends hanging over opposite sides to create a sling.
- Place the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in a heatproof bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water without letting the bowl touch the water. Melt the chocolate, stirring often until fully melted and smooth.
- Remove from the heat, wipe the bottom of the bowl dry, and stir in the vanilla and salt. Add the marshmallows, cherries, and nuts or other additions.
- Transfer to the prepared pan and press with a spatula until you have an even, dense, and fudgy layer. Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours until completely set. Lift the fudge out of the pan using the parchment sling and slice into squares.
PRO Tip:
If you can’t find mini marshmallows, you can use scissors to cut large marshmallows into smaller pieces. They are not as good as the minis, but will do in a pinch.
PRO Tip:
If your family is allergic to pecans or you don’t have any in the pantry, you can use almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, or any other nut you love. If you can’t have any nuts, just leave them out. To offset, you can increase the cherries or marshmallows if you want or add another of the optional possible additions.
Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):
- Kitchen scale
- 8×8-inch (20x20cm) baking dish
- Parchment paper sheets
- Mixing bowls
- Saucepan
- Offset spatula or silicone spatula
Gluten-Free Tips:
* My preferred brand of kosher salt is from Diamond Crystal. If you use Morton’s, another kosher brand, or table salt, you will not need as much because they are saltier.
Make certain you double check all the ingredients to be certain they are safe for those with gluten intolerance or Celiac disease. Guittard semisweet chocolate chips are gluten free!
You will get the best and most consistent results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking. Use grams, they are much more accurate than pounds and ounces.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Rocky Road and Cherry Fudge (GF)
This Rocky Road and Cherry Fudge would have thrilled my mom, in honor of her birthday tomorrow. Rocky Road was her favorite candy and ice cream! She would be swooning with every bite and you guys will be too. This candy is a dream come true – pure chocolate heaven!
Ingredients
- 1 can (14 oz; 396g) sweetened condensed milk
- 1 package (12 oz; 343g) dark chocolate chips, such as Guittard
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp kosher salt *
- 2 cups (86g) mini marshmallows
- 1 cup (142g) dried cherries or dried sweetened cranberries
- 1-1/2 cups (166g) pecan halves or whole almonds, toasted ** see note below
Instructions
1. Set out an 8x8-inch (20x20cm) pan and line the pan with parchment or waxed paper for easy release and help lifting the fudge out of the pan. Leave two ends hanging over the sides to create a sling.
2. In a large heatproof mixing bowl, stir the sweetened condensed milk and chocolate together over a saucepan of simmering water until fully melted and smooth. Be sure to keep the chocolate moving and scrape the bottom of the pan often so it doesn’t scorch! If you put the milk in first and then add the chocolate, you’ll get less sticking!
3. Remove from the heat, set the bowl on a towel, and dry the bottom – do not let any water hit the chocolate or it will seize! Stir in the vanilla and kosher salt* until smooth. Stir/fold in the marshmallows, cherries, and nuts or your preferred additions.**
4. Transfer into the lined baking pan and use an offset or silicone spatula to smooth it into an even layer and press firmly so you get nice, dense, and fudgy pieces.
5. Cover and refrigerate about 1 to 2 hours to set completely. It will change from shiny to matte on the surface and be solid all the way through. Remove from the refrigerator, lift out of the pan using the parchment, and cut into squares. If it is too hard to cut easily, leave it to warm up at room temperature for a while. After cutting you can use the parchment to lift the fudge back into the pan for storage. Store, covered, in the refrigerator to keep it firm if your kitchen is warm.
Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com
Notes
* My preferred brand of kosher salt is from Diamond Crystal. If you use Morton’s, another kosher brand, or table salt, you will not need as much because they are saltier.
** Possible Additions: In place of the pecans or almonds, you can add toasted walnuts, peanuts or other fun stuff such as graham or other crackers, chocolate pieces, broken Oreo cookies, brownie bits, cereal, snack mix, trail mix, whole coffee beans, or anything you have in your pantry up to 1-1/2 cups (355ml).
You will get the best and most consistent results by using a digital kitchen scale and weighing your ingredients, especially when you are baking. Use grams, they are much more accurate than pounds and ounces.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Original recipe is from Christina Tosi of Milk Bar
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 118Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 114mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 0gSugar: 21gProtein: 1g
The nutritional information for recipes on this site is calculated by online tools and is merely an estimate. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.
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