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Avalanche Bark
Last Friday, my Chief Culinary Consultant and I decided to take a little afternoon field trip and drove to the outlets an hour north of where we live. Upon arriving, we headed straight for the food court in do-not-pass-GO style, and grabbed hot pretzels for sustenance before starting our shopping. As we left the food court, we immediately ran into the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. As soon as I saw the caramel apples in the window, I realized that it was the same chocolate shop we visited in Toronto, which was inspiration for my homemade caramel apples. Since we had just eaten pretzels, we decided to hit up the chocolate store on our way out so we’d have some goodies to enjoy on the car ride home. A few hours and many shopping bags later, we found ourselves back there, staring at the cases of chocolate treats, trying to decide what we wanted. In the end, we settled on a buckeye caramel apple (mmm peanut butter, caramel and chocolate!), a chocolate-covered graham cracker, and my Chief Culinary Consultant eyed the avalanche bark in the case, so we got two pieces of that. Turns out, avalanche bark is quite possibly the best thing, ever.
The avalanche bark from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory tasted like part fudge, part Rice Krispies treat, and part chocolate bark. By the time the second piece had vanished, my Chief Culinary Consultant asked if I could recreate them. Like, immediately. Luckily, Rice Krispies treats and chocolate bark are among the easiest and quickest chocolate goods to whip up, so this didn’t take long at all. You can play around with the ratios of white chocolate and peanut butter, based on how much you like one or the other. You can also make it more or less crispy by altering the Rice Krispies, and more or less “chewy” by increasing or decreasing the amount of marshmallows. Any way you make them, you are going to LOVE them!
These were the perfect end to a wonderful impromptu shopping trip, and my guess is they would be a fabulous addition to any day of the week, no matter what you’re doing.
One year ago: Cranberry Upside-Down Cake
Two years ago: Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Three years ago: Parmesan Black Pepper Biscotti
Did you make this recipe?
A recreation of the popular Avalanche Bark from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.
Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper; set aside. Place the miniature chocolate chips on a plate and place in the freezer until ready to use.
Combine the white chocolate and peanut butter in a mixing bowl and microwave on 50% power in 30-second increments, stirring after each, until completely melted.
Remove from microwave and stir in Rice Krispies. Let the mixture sit and cool until it reaches room temperature, stirring occasionally, about 10 to 20 minutes.
Gently stir in the miniature marshmallows, then the miniature chocolate chips.
Turn the mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer. Refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes.
Remove from the pan and cut into squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Nutritional values are based on one serving
Calories: 382kcal
Fat: 21g
Saturated fat: 10g
Cholesterol: 9mg
Sodium: 137mg
Potassium: 206mg
Carbohydrates: 42g
Fiber: 1g
Sugar: 35g
Protein: 6g
Vitamin A: 6.9%
Vitamin C: 3.8%
Calcium: 9.3%
Iron: 10.6%
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Can these be made up a week ahead of time and kept in the fridge? Thank You!
Hi Patricia, Yes absolutely!
Love this – also a fan of the RMCF Avalanche bars; this recipe certainly nails the taste test. I’m a total oaf in the kitchen – I can even manage to burn a bowl of cereal. I’ve made this three times now and all of a sudden my family thinks I’m a snack chef. Too easy…..Thank you – plus, it saves us a ton of money versus RMCF Avalanche prices.
Hi! Just wondering, are these GF? Or vegan? I’m not familiar with the rules. Just curious!!ย
Hi Jodi, I would say not vegan, as I think most vegans don’t eat marshmallows because gelatin (used in making marshmallows) is derived from animals. As for gluten-free, they could be, but you would need to check the actual labels of the products you use to make sure.
These are the perfect treat for a snow day! But honestly who needs a snow day? Perfect for today! Thanks!
This used to be my absolute favorite from RMCF but I haven’t had it in a while. My husband just brought me home a piece after one of his business trips, and I have to say, it’s not as good as I remember. Maybe they have changed their recipe, but the piece he brought me seems to be almost ALL rice krispies, where what I remember was a lot of the chocolate/pb mixture with some rice krispies for crunch. In any case, I’ll tell him to save his money and I’ll make up a batch of your recipe the next time I get a craving for it! (By the way, I told him that I get most of the recipes I make from your site and it’s the first place I look if there’s something I want to make… just took a batch of your chocolate-chocolate chunk muffins out of the oven a minute ago!)
I worked across from Rocky Mountain absolutely loved the avalanche bark, but pricey…
So I went home and made it…I triple your ingredients because everyone loves it. The guy at Rocky told me when you make just make sure the mixture cools before adding the mini chocolate chips…
It’s easy tasty and is loved by all. I high recommend trying this promise you won’t be disappointed…I wrapped mine in plastic wrap then stored in Tupperware.
Thanks for the recipe! I had something similar at a local bakery and loved them, so I started searching for a recipe and I was excited to see that one of my favorite bloggers is way ahead of me! I just made two batches for a potluck.
Why are you chopping the white chocolate only to melt it? No need for that. Taking a look at your picture I can see your ratio of peanut butter and Rice Krispies is a little off. Here’s the internal recipe from RMCF:
Avalanche Bark
Ingredients:
16oz. white chocolate
16oz. peanut butter (use less if you don’t want a strong PB taste)
6oz. rice cereal (obviously we know a good alternative)
5oz. mini marshmallows
16oz. chocolate chips
Directions:
Start out by putting the white chocolate into a large microwave safe bowl
Microwave it for 30 seconds, stir, and then repeat until it is slightly melted yet still chunky
Then add peanut butter, repeat the microwave and stir every 30 seconds until everything is melted together
Then stir in rice krispies
Then stir in marshmallows
Stir in chocolate chips, but don’t add in until the mix has cooled a bit, otherwise the chocolate chips will melt (unless you like that).
Then, pour out onto a large flat pan that is covered in wax paper. Flatten out to desired thickness, and let sit for about an hour or 2 before cutting. If to be consumed at a later point in time, refrigerate but remove from refrigerator a couple hours before serving.
Since then I have experimented a bit and found that whipping the daylights out of the peanut butter makes them light and fluffy. While you’re whipping it in a high speed mixer add some unsalted butter and some powered sugar. I’ve not nailed down any specific measuring yet. Another interesting alternative is to use crumbled oreos (remove filling) instead of chocolate chips.
The white chocolate is chopped because it melts much faster and more evenly than if left as a big chunk, which cuts down on the risk of it overheating and seizing.
Hum…can’t say I’ve ever had an issue in over 20 years. Are you using bars or morsels? We only ever used morsels.
Either bulk Callebeaut or Valrhona in wafers. I actually despise using white chocolate morsels – I find them to be extremely chalky.
Dont eat at RMCF then ;)
I know this is old but I wanted to thank you for the actual recipe! I’ve had the hardest time (and tried a lot of recipes) getting the right texture but this produced exactly the bars i was hoping for– just like the RMCF I used to buy from before I moved.
Have tried many avalanche bark recipes and this won is the best! Wont be looking anymore. Thanks for this fantastic recipe! YUMMY
I made 3 batches of this bark over the holidays, was a HUGE hit with everyone and very easy to make! Thanks for the recipe!
I made this bark for the first time the other day, and my family really likes it. Unfortunately, the bark was awfully crumbly, which made cutting it difficult. (In fact, I ended up with a pile of “crumbs” that I plan to mix into homemade ice cream. Yum!) I would like to make the bark again. Do you have any suggestions for correcting the problem I had? Thank you so much!
Hi Jocelyn, Perhaps the mixture sat too long during step #3 or the melted mixture was cooked too long in the microwave.
OK – The first time I made these I don’t know if they sat too long cooling or something else. They kind of fell apparat BUT everyone loved them anyway. The second time I mad them I left the peanut butter – white chocolate – rice krispies mixture about 15-20 minutes and didn’t freeze the chocolate chips and they turned out perfect. Now people I shared them are calling them Dreamy Bars and I agree – they are dreamy and I can’t keep them in my house.
p.s. If you can refrain from taking little spoonfuls of the white chocolate-peanut butter = rice krispies mixture as it cools – yo’re a better person than me!
I’ve made these several times and each time they’re just as delicious as the first
I finally made this and it came out excellent. It is rich, but the flavors are great together. I also thought it was fairly quick and easy to make and will definitely use this recipe again! : ) Thanks for sharing this recipe!!!
Nvm! I just read the instructions again and seen it lasts for a week in an air tight container! Can’t wait to make the recipe. I’ll report back once it has been made :). Cheers!
Hi everyone! I was just wondering if anyone knew how far in advance this could be prepared and how to store it (air tight container I’m guessing?)?! Let me know when you can. It would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance :)
Super easy and super delicious! A little different than the real version but definitely satisfied my craving!
I just finished making these and I can’t recommend them highly enough. It was love at first bite for me & my six-year-old (who also helped me make them). The only tip I’d offer is to make sure you really do wait 15 minutes (or even more) before you add the marshmallows & chocolate chips if you want the pristine look in the picture. Even prepping them in the freezer, my chips melted into the bars a little bit. Of course, if you’re like us & are just going to hoover the whole batch, it doesn’t matter at all. Lol… But if I ever make them for a gift or an event, I’ll wait longer before adding the chips, just for best presentation. :)
I just made a Christmas variation of this recipe today. Instead of peanut butter and chocolate chips I used almond butter, chopped pistachios and chopped candied cherries. I also added a 1/4 tsp almond extract and 1/4 tsp salt since the almond butter has none. Can’t wait to taste how they turned out!!
OMG!! Thank you thank you thank you! I have made several of your recipes but this one by far is one of the best! Everyone that tries this loves it and asks for the recipe. I had some white chocolate chips left from Christmas baking and used them..so simple and delicious. This is a keeper for my cookie platter presents. Thank you!
I picked up a slab of the bark at the Grove City outlets a few weeks ago. After tasting it, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to try your recipe. But…I’m glad I did. It tasted so much better than the one I purchased (it was pretty dry). I’m making this to give out as treats on Christmas Eve. OMG–did you get a look at their giant buckeyes?
Hi Lisa, I did see those giant buckeyes, LOVE! So thrilled to hear that you loved my take on the avalanche bars!
This is the only item I ever get at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, thanks for the recipe! I’m wanting a bit more of a peanut butter flavor so was going to up it from 1/2 cup to maybe 2/3 or 3/4 cup, should I change the amount of white chocolate or rice krispies so the consistency stays the same?
Hi Tanya, I think you could increase the peanut butter to 2/3 or 3/4 cup without changing the other quantities. Let me know how they turn out!
Finally made this again and I used 2/3 cup of peanut butter – tasted fantastic and had more peanut butter flavor but without being overwhelming.
This sounds absolutely incredible!
Yum! I made this this weekend and took it to a birthday party. Luckily, I left the container there (although it was quite by accident) otherwise I would need to go shopping for larger pants! :) So yummy. Thanks for sharing!