National Rocky Road Day!

According to the National Day Calendar website, June 2 is National Rocky Road Day! A day dedicated to the sweet we know as Rocky Road. While many people hear Rocky Road, they think of ice cream, it’s most popular form; however, Rocky Road is a candy, candy bar, fudge, brownies, and cookies. What is the history of Rocky Road? What are the variations of this delicious dessert? What are the differences in Rocky Road from around the world?

Rocky Road started out as a candy in Australia around 1853. It would eventually travel across the world. By the 1900s, it was a common sight in most confectioner’s shops. According to Dreyer’s legend, in Oakland, California, William Dreyer was inspired by his partner, Joseph Edy’s Rocky Road candy. He used his wife’s sewing scissors and cutting up marshmallows and walnuts, mixing them in chocolate ice cream (today’s Dreyer’s Rocky Road has roasted almonds). After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Dreyer and Edy gave the flavor its name, rocky road, “to give folks something to smile about in the midst of the Great Depression.” However, there is a challenge to the Dreyer legend, George Farren of Fenton’s Creamery, also, in Oakland, California, created the ice cream flavor when he blended the Rocky Road candy into ice cream and that Dreyer based his recipe on theirs’s.

When you go to any confectioner’s shop, you will find Rocky Road candy and fudge. Some may even have cookies and brownies. These variations all have the same basic ingredients: chocolate, marshmallow and a nut. Some use walnuts, almonds and cashews are used. Annabelle’s, California based candy company, makes the Rocky Road candy car. This candy bar which is one of my husband’s favorites. We find them in our area mostly at 99 Cent Stores, but I have seen them at specialty candy stores and nostalgia stores. Annabelle’s original Rocky Road candy bar is a marshmallow center coated with milk chocolate and sprinkled with roasted cashews. They have two variations: the Mint Rocky Road which is a minty marshmallow center coated with dark chocolate and sprinkled with roasted cashews and the S’mores Rocky Road, with a marshmallow with a graham cracker center, coated with milk chocolate and sprinkled roasted cashews.   

As mentioned before, Rocky Road ice cream is the most popular variation. The original Rocky Road candy is a quick and easy no bake treat which can have varying ingredients in different parts of the world. In Australia, Rocky Road is made with glace cherries (aka candied cherries), milk chocolate (although dark or white chocolate is also used), desiccated (dried) coconut, and marshmallow. In Bahrain, Rocky Road is made with milk chocolate, Nutella, and pistachios. In the United Kingdom, Rocky Road is dried fruit, biscuit (aka cookie), milk chocolate (again dark or white chocolate is also used) with a drizzling of icing sugar. In the United States, it is chocolate, marshmallows and peanuts.

In conclusion, Rocky Road started out as a candy which evolved in the ice cream that we know and love. Rocky Road has also manifested into fudge, cookies, brownies, and candy bars. Whether you believe Dreyer’s invention story or Fenton’s, Rocky Road has been a wonderful and delicious addition to our sweet tooth cravings. So on this National Rocky Road Day, enjoy your favorite variation of this great treat!