Rocky Road Cookies

A drop cookie that delivers all three rocky-road ingredients on every single bite. The dough is built around a melt-half-the-chips trick: half the chocolate chips melt with margarine for the dough’s deep cocoa flavor, while the rest stay whole and stud the cookies with bursting pockets. Chopped nuts go in for crunch, and a mini marshmallow pressed into the center of each cookie melts and puffs as it bakes.

The 400°F (200°C) bake is hot and fast on purpose. Eight minutes is just enough to set the cookie around the marshmallow without letting it spread into a flat disc, while the marshmallow softens to a glossy dome rather than browning to a crust. Pull them while they still look slightly soft in the center; they firm up as they cool.

Three textures, one cookie, no excuses needed.

Pro Tips

• Cool the melted chocolate mixture before mixing in the eggs; warm chocolate scrambles eggs into chocolate-fleck dough
• Use a small cookie scoop for even sizing; mismatched cookies bake at different rates
• Press the marshmallow into the center, not just on top; an embedded marshmallow stays put, a perched one rolls off
• Move cookies to a rack immediately; sitting on hot pans steams the bottoms soggy
• Avoid parchment if you can; marshmallow wicks oil through paper and can burn in spots

Variations

• Use peanut butter chips alongside the chocolate chips for a peanut-and-chocolate take
• Add a teaspoon of espresso powder to the dough for deeper chocolate flavor
• Drizzle melted dark chocolate over the cooled cookies for a double-chocolate finish