“I Love Rocky Road!”

One of last week’s Hungry Girl emails was called “I Love Rocky Road!” and described how to make low-cal rocky road fudge. I was skeptical at first, but decided to give it a whirl, and made a double batch for two different birthday parties. The interesting thing about this fudge is you only get a hint of the pumpkin – just enough to say “What is that?” but not enough to say “Yuck, it isn’t Thanksgiving, so don’t serve me pumpkin pie.” And this is fudge you can feel better about eating, considering the fact that regular rocky road fudge can net you 226 calories and 10 grams of fat per piece.

Hungry Girl’s Rocky Road Fudge

• 1 box Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies Mix (18.3-oz. family size)
• 2 cups canned pure pumpkin (if you’re making a double batch, like I did, one big can can get you almost 4 cups – I just used a little less than 2 cups per batch)
• 2 cups mini marshmallows
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds, lightly crushed
• 2 tbs. Hershey’s Lite Chocolate Syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine brownie mix, pumpkin, and chocolate syrup in a large bowl, and stir until completely mixed and smooth. (Batter will be thick.) Spray a midsized baking pan (8×8 works best) with nonstick spray and pour in the mixture. Smooth the top of the batter with a spatula.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove pan from the oven, and evenly distribute mini marshmallows across the top of the batter. Sprinkle almonds over the marshmallows. Using a spatula (or your fingers!) press down on the marshmallow-nut layer to help it adhere to the batter.

Return pan to the oven, and bake for 10 additional minutes. Remove pan from the oven, and let cool slightly. Refrigerate, uncovered, for several hours, until completely chilled. (Important – do NOT cover pan while initially chilling it in the fridge.) Cut into 36 squares and serve.

Per serving:  Calories – 73,  Fat – 1g, Protein – 1g