Reduced Sugar Rocky Road Ice Cream Will Rock Their World

Attention all ice cream lovers – imagine indulging in a creamy, chocolatey scoop of rocky road without the guilt of excessive sugar intake. Sounds too good to be true, right?

All that chocolatey goodness with less sugar. Perfect for summertime.

There is some debate about the origins of "Rocky Road" and what ingredients it contains.

Some say it started in Australia as a way to sell chocolate and nuts that didn't fair so well in transport from Europe - named Rocky Road because of its journey across the ocean to Australia.

Dreyer's Ice Cream claims it's founder invented it and named it because of the Rocky Road people had to deal with after the 1929 stock market crash and subsequent Great Depression.

Does it matter? It is delicious no matter how it got started.

Here in the US, it is traditionally chocolate candy (or ice cream) with mini marshmallows and nuts. Aussies add coconut and glace cherries. In the UK, cookies (biscuits) are added.

What kind of nuts to use can turn into another debate.

Ingredients for Rocky Road Ice Cream

By the powers vested in me by the Internet, I hereby proclaim... YOU CAN ADD THE INGREDIENTS YOU WANT!

I went with mini marshmallows, raw almonds and some dark chocolate.

I simplified the recipe from many I saw out there and added only half and half instead of part whole milk and part cream. This made the recipe "fatter", but also simpler for me.

Since we are quickly approaching swim suit season, I went sugar free with stevia. Feel free to use sugar, or your favorite sugar substitute.

I used raw almonds, but you could opt for peanuts or pecans. Toast them slightly and let them cool before mixing in the ice cream for even more delicious nutty flavor.

Ice Cream Maker Options

Yes, you need an ice cream maker for this recipe. If you do not have one, check with a friend or neighbor to see if they have one collecting dust in their cupboards.

I have this one that requires you to freeze the insert before making. But it is non-electric, and you only turn it every few minutes unlike the old hand crank ones. It works great for small batch recipes like this one.

Some day I may upgrade to this one that uses a stand mixer to turn.

If you want to make bigger batches, this one holds 4 quarts and offers both hand crank and electric turning methods.

More Ice Cream Recipes from #OurFamilyTable

I scream you scream... you know the rest. Now try some of the best ice cream treats:

Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches from Creative Cynchronicity
Homemade Caramel Syrup from Art of Natural Living
Tiramisu Ice Cream Cake from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventure

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Recipe

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Ingredients

 

• 1 cup sugar or sugar substitute
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 ½ cups half and half (divided use - or 1 ½ cups whole milk and 1 cup heavy cream)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup mini marshmallows
• ⅓ cup bite sized chocolate chunks or chips (milk, semi sweet or dark chocolate)
• ⅓ cup chopped nuts (almonds, peanuts, walnuts, etc.)

Instructions

 

• In a medium saucepan, whisk together cocoa and sugar until blended.
• Add 1 ½ cups half and half (or the milk if using milk/cream combo) and the eggs whisking until smooth.
• Heat over medium heat until custard begins to thicken. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Slowly add remaining 1 cup half and half (or cream if using) and vanilla, whisking continuously until smooth. Refrigerate until cold (at least one hour).
• Freeze in ice cream freezer per manufacturer's direction, adding marshmallows, nuts and chocolate in the last 5 minutes of churning. Freeze at least 2 hours until hard.

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Until next time, happy eating!
~Audrey