This is a lovely no bake treat
you can make with your kids in no time.
It’s great for the holidays
and the kids ask to make them for parties, especially.
And the best part is… you can
choose which ingredients suit your taste and diet preference.
We opted for blueberries over
those awfully sweet, and artificially red, glazed cherries usually found in traditional
Rocky Road. Blueberries, are softly sweet and slightly sour.
These mini marshmallows are not sugar-free but I allow them in small quantities. You can omit them
(or even make your own sugar free marshmallows?) but I find their soft texture
adds a lovely chewiness to the bite.
My four year old complained,
saying the nuts were a bit too hard for him to chew, so together, we made a separate
batch with just blueberries and marshmallows, and these were still lovely, but
trust me, if your dentures can handle the crunch, the salted nuts and sesame
seeds help cut through the sweetness and enhance the chocolatey flavour to the
max!
I keep a stash of various bars
and slabs of chocolate (secretly hidden from younger eyes of course), some of
which are sweetened with honey, or stevia, or maltitol (a sugar alcohol not
processed by our bodies). However, I often find these chocolates lacking in the
potent chocolate flavour I crave, just not dark enough for my taste, so I also
keep 85% and 90% cocoa solid slabs which I chop up and mix in a few blocks
whilst melting the sugar free versions. This then gives me the perfect blend of
rich dark chocolatey flavour, without the bitterness, and some added sweetness for the kids' palates.
EQUIPMENT
A double boiler / or a microwave
A heat proof bowl for melting
A heat proof, nonstick, baking,
silicone mat on a baking tray
Frying pan
INGREDIENTS
½ cup blueberries, fresh
½ cup raw nuts of your choice
(I use a mixture of whatever’s on hand, usually almond and macadamia, cashews will work too if allowed) roughly
chopped.
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
½ cup mini marshmallows (if
allowed)
110g of chocolate of your
choice (I used a combination of about four blocks of 90% Lindt chocolate mixed
with a sugar free, stevia sweetened chocolate), melted
1 tsp sugar
replacer (I use Xylitol) – this is optional if you choose to not caramelise
your nuts/seeds. You could also use honey or agave etc
Pinch Himalayan salt
METHOD
Dry fry/roast your chopped nuts for about 2 minutes, then add the sesame seeds. Don’t walk away
from your pan, they can burn really quickly. Add salt.
To caramelise them, sprinkle
with sugar/honey until sugar melts and bubbles a little. Quickly remove from
the heat and pour your salty caramel nuts onto a non-stick silicone mat (don’t be
tempted to touch or taste yet, that caramel is blisteringly hot) and allow to
cool.
Chop roughly.
Add blueberries and marshmallows
(if using) on the silicone mat and evenly spread ingredients, ready for your
melted chocolate.
Pour your melted chocolate
over your ingredients making sure it covers everything.
Using a spoon, roll everything
together quickly and shape mixture into rough square shape.
Allow to cool and set.
Chop your Rocky Road into bite
size blocks and store in the fridge.
Much love and gratitude and happy nibbling
xOx
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