Gluten Free Rocky Road Brownie Pie

This Rocky Road Brownie Pie is a fantastic dessert to bake up if you’re a fan or rocky road – and it’s gluten free, too! The pie has a chocolate crumb crust and is filled with a fudgy gluten free brownie that is packed with nuts, chocolate chips and marshmallows. It’s a twist on the classic ice cream flavor that is even richer than the ice cream that inspired it.

The filling for the pie is a fairly traditional brownie recipe that is made with cocoa powder and cornstarch instead of flour (check your brands to make sure they’re gluten free if you’re serving people with food allergies!). Chocolate chips, mini marshmallows and both toasted pecans and walnuts are folded into the batter before the mixture is poured into a pie crust and baked.

The mini marshmallows generally rise to the top of the pie as the brownie filling bakes, roasting themselves in the heat of the oven. This adds a wonderful toasted marshmallow flavor to the pie, even though it means that you probably won’t find pockets of marshmallow inside of each slice. Instead, I sprinkle a few untoasted marshmallows onto the fresh-from-the-oven pie to bring in that soft marshmallow texture. The heat of the pie helps them to stick!

I made a chocolate wafer crust from gluten free chocolate wafer cookies. Since it is not easy to find a package of gluten free chocolate wafer cookies, I recommend using gluten free Oreo-style cookies and removing the cream filling. I actually used the gluten free Joe Joe’s from Trader Joe’s. All the cream filling can make the crust lose its crispness when baked, which is why I remove it (even though I leave it in for no-bake crusts!), then grind the wafers into crumbs. The number of cookies that you’ll need may vary due to the brand of cookies that you use, but it’s safe to say that starting with a whole package is not a bad idea, as you can always eat the leftover cookies you don’t use.

Allow the pie to cool completely before slicing. It can be warmed slightly in the microwave if you want to serve it next to a scoop of ice cream. Leftovers should keep well for at least a day or two after baking.

Gluten Free Rocky Road Brownie Pie
1 9-inch Gluten Free Chocolate Wafer Crumb Crust (recipe below)
1/2 cup butter
3-oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup toasted pecans
1/3 cup toasted walnuts
1 cup mini marshmallows, divided

Preheat oven to 350F. Place pie crust on a baking sheet.
In a small, microwave-safe bowl, melt together butter and dark chocolate. Stir until smooth. Allow to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cocoa powder and cornstarch. Add in butter mixture and whisk until well combined. Whisk in vanilla and salt. Whisk in the eggs one at a time. Stir in chocolate chips, nuts and 3/4 cup mini marshmallows.
Pour batter into prepared pie crust.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until the filling is set. Remove pie from oven and immediately sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup mini marshmallows over pie. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Makes 1 pie; serves 8-10

Gluten Free Chocolate Wafer Crumb Crust
approx 5 oz (1 1/2 cups) chocolate wafer crumbs
6 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a large bowl, stir together chocolate wafer crumbs, sugar, salt and melted butter until ingredients are well incorporated and mixture begins to clump together.
Pour crumb mixture into a 9-inch pie plate. Press crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate, packing them down firmly.
Bake for 13-15 minutes, until crust is firm to the touch..
Allow crust to cool completely before using. Crust can also be covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and saved for 1-2 days, if you want to bake it in advance.

Makes 1 crust.