Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Pecan Cookies

A lot of the great things in life were made by accident.  Post-It notes and about half of our population come to mind.  And now, these cookies.  Between you and me, these were totally meant to be something else.  These cookies are the product of one of those "oh-crap" kitchen moments.  

They were supposed to be turtle cookies with chocolate chips, pecans, and caramel bits.  I actually made them for a tailgate party last fall.  The day I was to make them, I sent my husband to the store (which almost never happens) with a very specific list, including caramel bits.  I told him the brand I wanted and everything.  He shortly returned home and reported to me that our small town grocery store doesn't have caramel bits.  "Oh crap" might not have been all that was going through my head at that moment, but I put my thinking cap on and came up with something that was delicious in its own right.

So I found myself with plans to make turtle cookies without any caramel.  I'm actually not a huge caramel fan  anyway, so my heart wasn't really broken.  I just went to the cupboards to see what else I could do.  There I found a bag of miniature marshmallows.  I have used marshmallows before in my toffee crunch cookies.  It seemed like they could step in in this recipe as well.

With adventure in my heart, I proceeded with my recipe and just swapped marshmallows for caramel.  It wasn't a turtle cookie, but it was still delicious!  I like the way a marshmallow melts in a cookie, almost like you have roasted it.  Yummy!  And adding pecans, or any other nut, to a cookie gives it a nice contrast in textures with a bit of crunch.  

So these didn't turn out to be the cookies I had planned, but I guess that's what I get for planning.  I took them to my tailgate, with no one knowing they were supposed to be something different.  And they were a hit!  You've got to love it when things work out like that.  This accident was officially a success!

Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Pecan Cookies
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp white vinegar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup mini marshmallows
1 cup pecans
Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F and cover the baking sheets with parchment paper.
Spread the pecans on a microwave-safe plate and microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring with your fingers in between, for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant and toasted.  Chop.
In a stand mixer, cream together the softened butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and vinegar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and baking soda, and beat until combined.
Add the flour, mixing until just combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips, pecans, and marshmallow, until evenly mixed.  Portion the dough in balls onto the baking sheets, leaving an inch between the cookies.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are just starting to get golden brown around the edges. Remove the sheets from the oven, and let the cookies sit for 5 minutes.  Remove the cookies to a cooling rack.

Recipe adapted from Jenna's Everything Blog