Reece’s Rocky Road Bars

So the Rocky Road Bars I made and posted turned out to be a HUGE hit. They were amazing, but the whole time I was thinking of the one thing that could make them better: peanut butter! So I got to work and planned my recipe. When my brother invited us over for a grill out, I told him I would make dessert. This is perfect for last minute events and it tastes pretty impressive.

So there isn’t much else to say about this that I didn’t already say about the other one. Both versions are absolutely amazing and I plan to make both for an event I have early next month. I only made a few key small changes, but they really differentiate the two and I can’t wait to try them side by side.

Change number one was the graham crackers. I decided to use chocolate instead of regular. Right off the bat, it amps up that chocolate flavor and makes it taste totally different from the regular.

My second change was the toppings. I used regular chocolate chips for the first one, but for this one, I used the mixed bag of Reece’s from the baking section. The mini peanut butter cups added in some real chocolate and I love the color that the Reece’s Pieces added.

My last change was the peanut butter that I added to the sauce. I was nervous about adding it because I was afraid that it would thin it out too much, but it turned out awesome. It did seem stickier at first, but it set up beautifully.

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I did consider making one more change, but I decided not to. I came very close to buying peanuts instead of cashews, but I don’t like peanuts. I love peanut butter so much, but I just can’t handle actual peanuts. Cashews are some of the only nuts that I like, so I decided to leave them in the recipe. If you like peanuts, you might want to try them instead, otherwise, cashews are great in both recipes.

This was awesome for a gathering of 6, but if there’s going to be more than 8, you might want to make two trays! This is seriously delicious stuff!

The original Rocky Road Bar recipe I posted was adapted from a recipe I found in the book Carrot Cake Murder, by Joanne Fluke. In the book, it was made for a summer get together and it’s so easy to see why! The original, along with my peanut butter version, are going in my summer recipe arsenal for all time. If I think of any other renditions, I’ll share with you all! If you find your own version, I ask that you do the same. These are just way to good not to share.

Reece’s Rocky Road Bar Recipe

• foil lined sheet pan, greased
• 16 sheets (32 half sheets) chocolate graham crackers
• 2-3 c. mini marshmallows
• 1 1/2 c. cashews (or peanuts)
• 1 bag Reece’s baking mix
• 3/4 c. butter
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. peanut butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla

NOTE: Lining your cookie sheet with foil AND greasing it is so important! Please don’t forget my friends.

Preheat oven to 350.

Place your graham crackers evenly on your sheet, covering it completely. If you have to overlap to cover everything, that is totally fine. It’s better to overlap than to leave a blank space.

Throw on the marshmallows, cashews, and Reece’s mix as evenly as possible. Set aside while we make our peanut butter caramel sauce.

For the sauce, place the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan on medium heat. Stir until it comes to a low boil. Turn it down to medium low and let it simmer for about a minute before turning off the heat. Add in the vanilla and peanut butter and stir to combine. Pour the mixture as evenly as possible over the goodies on the cookie sheet.

Bake the whole thing for 14-17 minutes, until the marshmallows are toasty and bubbly. Allow to cool a bit before eating. They are delicious warm or room temperature.

In the rare event of leftovers, store them in a ziploc bag or airtight container at room temperature.