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These Levain Bakery Rocky Road Cookies are rich, thick, soft, chewy chocolate cookies with semi-sweet chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, and cashews. The best Levain Bakery Copycat Rocky Road Cookie Recipe!
If you have followed Modern Honey for a while now, you know that the very first recipe I shared in 2015 was my Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie Recipe. It was one that I perfected and recipe tested for months and months to get it just right.
Years ago, I was in New York City to film a show in Food Network Studios after I won the Perfect Cookie Contest. As I was getting my makeup done, I was asking all of the producers and makeup and hair people, where the best places were to eat in New York City.
They told me hands down the best place to buy a chocolate chip cookie in the city is Levain Bakery. They told me how unique this chocolate chip cookie was and I literally couldn’t wait to try it! The next morning, we made the trek to the Upper East Side and found chocolate chip cookie heaven.
Of course, being a cookie connoisseur and a self-proclaimed baking nerd, I set out to figure out how they make their cookies. I am a researcher by nature and I went to my kitchen and went to work! I tweaked it again and again and even played with the oven heat by a couple of degrees. You wouldn’t believe how many cookies I baked in a quest to perfect them at home.
I was so excited to create my knock-off version of the OG Levain Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. I am grateful that it has always been in the TOP 10 of my Most Popular Recipes on Modern Honey. The next time I was in New York City in 2013 for a baking competition, I tried all of their cookies and decided to replicate all of them. You can find all of my Levain Bakery copycat recipes below.
I received word that Levain Bakery has come out with a brand new cookie — the ROCKY ROAD COOKIE. You better believe I was going to try it and create a recipe for all of you! It is straight up cookie perfection and after I had a bunch of recipe testers over to try the cookies, my son-in-law, Conner, declared it the best cookie he has ever tried in his entire life. It is now my husband’s number one most requested and most loved cookie recipe.
These are THE BEST ROCKY ROAD CHOCOLATE CHIP MARSHMALLOW COOKIES!
Everyone went crazy for these Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies and I literally couldn’t wait to share the recipe with you! So…what ingredients are in these Rocky Road Cookies?
Rocky Road Cookie Ingredients:
- Butter
- Brown Sugar
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Cake Flour
- All-Purpose Flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- Marshmallows
- Cashews (or Almonds)
Most Rocky Road recipes call for chocolate, marshmallows, and almonds. I love that Levain Bakery made these Rocky Road Cookies with Cashews instead.
Tips for making Levain Bakery Rocky Road Cookies:
- Start with Cold Butter, cut into small cubes. This may sound counterintuitive to what we have been taught about cookie baking. The key is to warm the butter just enough by mixing it for 4 minutes with the brown sugar and sugar. This will allow the butter and sugar to become creamy which creates a smooth texture. The cold butter helps the cookie to keep its shape while baking.
- Use High-Quality Cocoa Powder. This is the star ingredient so use a good quality unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Use a mix of Cake Flour and All-Purpose Flour. When I first set out to create a Levain Bakery Copycat Cookie Recipe, I wanted to get their cookie texture just right. The cake flour has a lower gluten content which helps to create a more tender, softer texture. If you don’t have cake flour, you can substitute all-purpose flour.
- Use Mini Marshmallows. One tip is that the marshmallows have a tendency to melt if the marshmallows are on the edge of the cookie dough. When you remove the Rocky Road Chocolate Marshmallow Cookies from the oven, you will need to take a small brownie spatula to press the edges towards the center of the cookie. This just shapes the rocky road cookie as it cools.
- Use Cashews or Almonds. At Levain Bakery in New York City, they use cashews in their Rocky Road Cookies so we wanted to do the same. I love how the cashews don’t overwhelm the cookie but give it a nice salty crunch to offset the sweetness of the marshmallows. Since Rocky Road is usually made with almonds, feel free to substitute almonds in the cookies.
- To make your cookies look extra GOURMET, roll them into balls and then place a few additional chocolate chips and marshmallows on the top of the cookies. Just gently press the chocolate and marshmallows into the top of the cookie so that when you remove the chocolate marshmallow cookies from the oven, you can see the chocolate and marshmallows.
- Bake at a High Heat. This is the signature of my Levain Bakery Cookie Recipes and is an important step. You want to crank up the heat which allows the cookies to basically keep from spreading. It holds them into place and allows the cookies to get a nice, crispy edge and a gooey center.
- Let your Chocolate Rocky Road Cookies REST. These cookies need time to set up. Allow at least 10-15 minutes to set up on the cookie sheet before removing them.
Popular Levain Bakery Cookie Recipes:
LEVAIN BAKERY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
LEVAIN BAKERY DARK CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
LEVAIN BAKERY CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CHIP COOKIES
LEVAIN BAKERY OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIES
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Levain Bakery Rocky Road Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cold Butter (cut into cubes)
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 2 large Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 1 cup Cake Flour *
- 1 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- 3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 3/4 cups Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 2 cups Mini Marshmallows
- 3/4 cup Cashews (roughly chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 410 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, brown sugar, and sugar and mix for at least 4 minutes, or until light and creamy.
- Add eggs and vanilla and mix for 1 minute longer.
- Fold in cocoa powder, cake flour, all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt. Add chocolate chips, marshmallows, and cashews.
- Roll into 5 to 6-ounce large balls. Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. I suggest using a light-colored baking sheet.
- To make them look extra gourmet...place a few chocolate chips and marshmallows on the tops of the cookies and lightly press into the top.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes. When you remove the cookies from the oven, one tip is that the marshmallows have a tendency to melt if the marshmallows are on the edge of the cookie dough. When you remove the cookies from the oven, you will need to take a small brownie spatula to press the edges towards the center of the cookie. This helps to shape the rocky road cookie as it cools.
- Let the cookies rest for 15 minutes to allow them time to set-up before removing from the baking sheet.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These are the best cookies ever! I’ve made them so many times and they always turn out amazing. I gave them as party favors once and everybody asked if they were really homemade. So so glad to have found this recipe.
I have made them many times and was curious to see if I could substitute regular cocoa with Dutch cocoa to get a richer flavor. Do you think it would make them any better? I also found out you’re not supposed to use baking soda with Dutch cocoa, in that case, would I substitute baking soda with twice the amount of baking powder or thrice?
Also, as curious I am to try this variation, I am also very nervous. Will this ruin the cookies?
I just popped my fist batch in the oven. My dough is super sticky and a mess all over my hands. Is that normal? Did I do something wrong? I used cold butter as directed.
I used 1:1 GF Bob’s Red Mill flour.
Also, 5-6 ounce balls of dough—thosr are HUGE unless I’m doing something wrong with my kitchen scale. I left them around 4 ounces and still they are gigantic . 5-6 ounces seemed too big. Help if you can—:)… Thanks!
Hi Jenilee! Did you use 3 cups total of gluten-free flour? They are super huge but they shouldn’t spread too much. Levain Bakery’s cookies are 6 ounces (and really big!). I haven’t recipe tested this cookie recipe with gluten free flour so I am not sure how it will respond and if the cookies will be as thick. 🙂
I just made this recipe for the first time tonight. I was shocked by the size of 5-6 Oz too lol I made mine 2.5 Oz, which is still a sizable cookie imo. They’re so good!
These are cookie perfection!
Best cookies ever! I am obsessed!
These are the perfect cookies IMO. A new go to in my house!
My fav cookies!
AMAZING COOKIES
Should the cashews be salted?
Seriously incredible cookies. Your Levain cookies are always a favorite, but these might just be at the top!
I love the taste, but the marshmallows were oozing on the edges of the cookies when they were done. I tried scooping the edges back to the center of the cookie like you suggested, but it was still so messy–the gooey marshmallow stuck to the spatula and ripped the cookie apart when I tried to get it off. I’ve made them multiple times and have the same problem, even when I put the marshmallows on top and chilled them several hours. Any suggestions?
Hi Emily! This is a great question. I would suggest not adding marshmallows to the cookie dough. Once you roll the dough into balls, strategically place the marshmallows into the center of the cookie and press into the cookie. There will be a lot of marshmallows in the center but they spread when baking. This will keep them from spreading on the sides. I hope this helps!