Clean Plate Club

I'm pretty sure I made these cookies in the wrong season. Those caramel squares that are talked about in this recipe? No where to find in the summer, just saying. When you've committed to the recipe and standing in the grocery store you have to trust your gut and make a choice - choice was Rolos. These were for Vacation Bible School and made ahead and frozen as dough balls for easy baking later. Andy offered to help me put things together - he unwrapped and cut the Rolos into quarters. How many? We measured with our heart. Some went in the cookies and some on to. I did use some chocolate chip too. These froze and baked up beautifully. The caramel was a little melty on the parchment after baking but we did our best. These were a hit when served. They flew off the plate and zero leftovers. That's what I like to see! Clean plate club!

Turtle Cookies
Ingredients
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
¼ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 stick unsalted butter, softened, 1/2 cup
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, regular or mini size
½ cup chopped caramel squares, use a knife to cut into small pieces
½ cup chopped pecans

Instructions
Cut the caramel squares into small pieces with a knife.
Combine the chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and caramel pieces in a bowl, mix. Reserve 1/2 cup for the outside of the cookie dough balls.
Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat.
In a small bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda.
In a mixing bowl cream the butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until fluffy, 1 minute. Add in the egg and vanilla, beat again. Add the flour mixture and the add ins (minus the 1/2 cup you’re reserving) to the wet mixture, mix with a spatula (or on low with a mixer) just until everything is combined
Use a cookie scoop to form dough balls. Press the 1/2 cup of add-ins on the outside of the dough balls. This is optional but I like the way the cookies look when you can see the chocolate chips, caramel puddles and pecans on top.
Place the cookies 3 inches apart on a silicone lined baking sheet and bake for 10-14 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.