Rocky Road Popped Chocolate Bars

Who doesn’t love an easy dessert? This hit the spot, let me tell you! The combo of flavors and the simplicity of this perfect recipe makes it a winner.

I made this for my family at Christmas and it was loved by all.

If you haven’t heard of Watusee Foods Popped Chickpeatos, you must not be following my social media pages (shameless plug: I’m on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest & Twitter). Watusee Foods makes incredible products, and my favorite so happens to be their Popped Chickpeatos line. Baked green peas and chickpeas come together to make a healthy snack for everyone. They are jam-packed with protein and have so much flavor, you won’t be able to put the bag down. Plus — they are good for you, too!

Popped Chickpeatos come in 3 flavors, Lightly Salted, Zesty Ranch and Caramel Sea Salt. Having tried all of them multiple times, they are all tasty and I wouldn’t turn any of them down. While I do understand that everyone has different taste buds, I honestly don’t know how anyone could not like these.

Watusee Foods also makes, Crispy Chickpeatos (flavors: Rosemary, Spicy Cayenne, Tomato Basil and Cinnamon Toast) as well as Chickpea Crumbs which are a great, gluten-free alternative to breadcrumbs. All of their products are vegan, gluten-free, non-GMO, ingredients are organic and the company is incredible.

Now, let’s talk chocolate. I have made this recipe using two different kinds of chocolate: Paleo chocolate and stevia sweetened chocolate. Both turned out GREAT.

The first chocolate I used was EatingEVOLVED’s primal chocolate, their Cashew Milk bar specifically. This is the world’s first cashew milk chocolate bar! It’s dairy-free, soy-free, vegan, paleo and gluten-free.

It’s creamy, sweet and made from super simple ingredients like organic coconut sugar, organic cacao, organic cacao butter, organic cashews and nutritional yeast. There are only 8g of sugar per serving, which is phenomenal for a chocolate bar. It’s a must-have chocolate bar and works great for this recipe.

Side note: Click here to learn more about this amazing paleo chocolate and use code KRYSTENDTMT at checkout to receive a free mini chocolate bar.

The second chocolate that I used for this recipe is the Premium Baking Chips from Lily’s Sweets. This chocolate is sweetened with stevia, it’s vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free and very tasty. I love that they use stevia to sweeten their chocolate, as it 0 grams of sugar. Plus, if you cannot have coconut sugar then this would be a great option.

For this recipe, I have made homemade marshmallows and it's so easy. Until I have finalized my recipe to share on my blog, you could use store-bought marshmallows or search for a marshmallow recipe online.

I made my Popped Chocolate Bars (see recipe, here) and she immediately loved them and then suggested I add walnuts and then took another bite and said loudly "ADD MARSHMALLOWS, TOO!" Thus, the "Rocky Road" Inspired Popped Chocolate Bar was born.

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INGREDIENTS

2 Cups Watusee Foods POPPED Caramel Sea Salt

1 cup marshmallows*

1 cup Walnuts**

1 bag Lily’s Baking Chocolates

OR 2 EatingEVOLVED Cashew Milk Chocolate Bars

*You can use homemade or store bought. Dandies makes incredible vegan marshmallows.

**You can use any nut of your choice. I prefer walnuts. Use them or toast them.

Directions:

Crush your walnuts or nuts of choice using a rolling pin. It's easiest if you put the nuts in a ziplock bag or Stasher reusable bag and roll them out or pound them.

Line a baking dish (9 by 13 for thinner bars and 9 by 9 for thicker bars) with parchment paper, set aside.

Pour Watusee Foods Popped Chickpeatos into a bowl with the marshmallows, set aside.

In a large bowl, pour chocolate (if using bars, break into smaller pieces) into a glass bowl and melt chocolate over a double boiler. While you could use a microwave, I do not recommend it.

Side note: please do not use the microwave, it's not good for you and alters the nutrition value in your food. I highly recommend you use a double boiler to melt your chocolate. It doesn't take long at all. For details on a double boiler, click HERE and see my photos below.

Pour melted chocolate over Popped Chickpeatos and marshmallows until all are covered in chocolate.

Pour the mixture into your baking dish and stop with crumbled walnuts.

Allow to sit in fridge for at least 20 minutes or until all chocolate has hardened.

Carefully remove from fridge and cut into smaller pieces using a sharp knife.

Serve and enjoy.