Walnuts and Marshmallows

After an exceedingly long delay, I've come back to the blogging scene. There's been much action over here in the bentobear land -- finals week came (and went, thank God), college commencement (though I still have classes until August 14th), study abroad in Ireland (zomg!), Arts Fest, and now.. cookies! Oh, I also got engaged. *squeal* TheBoy proposed with a really sweet video that he made for me and that you can view here. 

Aside from personal news, there actually hasn't been much in terms of food production. I moved back in with my family for the rest of the summer (August 22 is moving day... YES!), so I've been stuck in a rut of few bentos and even fewer imaginative meals. 

Well, today, I broke the cycle. I was in the mood for some cookies, so I decided instead of heading to the wawa (read: best convenience store possible), I made some chocolate rocky road cookies. 

I stuck pretty close to the recipe: my family only uses veggie oil spread instead of butter, so I used that instead of heading to the supermarket (probably not a great choice, but they still taste great). I also didn't have mini marshmallows, so I just used a pair of kitchen shears to cut up some regular-sized 'mallows (probably also not the best choice, but worked out fine).

One thing that really surprised me while making this recipe is that I no longer hate walnuts. For years, I avoided anything involving walnuts and replaced them with almonds in any recipe. Well, no more! (unless I'm cooking for my allergic future father-in-law). I used to maintain that walnuts are soapy tasting and gross, but I guess I've outgrown that. These cookies made great use of the nuts to provide a fun texture (though the marshmallow goes a long way into making a good feel) and give this treat a tiny bit of redemptive nutritional value. Yay, nuts!

So, verdict on the cookies: rich and yummy, and just right for a girl who needs some chocolate, but doesn't need to be overwhelmed. Now, if only I had some rocky road ice cream to accompany them!

Edit: Guess who ate the most of these cookies? No, it wasn't me.. or even my little brother.. it was my aunt's bad dog! ::sigh:: I hope she'll be ok -- chocolate is so not good for doggies.