Homemade Turtles
I’ve always loved Turtles and decided to make my own.
Everything tastes better when it’s homemade, even Turtles.
Lately I can’t get enough of the pecan-caramel-chocolate combination. Crunchy, chewy, salty-and-sweet.
First there was Salted Caramel and Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars, then The Best Turtle Brownies, and now these.
I first made Turtles in 2009. Holy antique photography but I don’t delete old posts because they remind me how far I’ve come and how far my daughter has come. She was in cloth diapers then and now she’s in glittery lip gloss.
The Turtles are no-bake, easy, ready in under a half hour, and you only need 4 ingredients.
I used Trader Joe’s roasted, salted pecan halves. Make piles of about 5 pecans each and top each pile with caramel sauce.
I melted 25 caramel squares with 1/4 cup cream in the micro (or use the stove). Take your time and stop and stir frequently so you don’t burn the mixture and have to start over. The caramel sauce is runny and loose when you first take it out of the micro, but firms up quite a bit as it cools.
After topping each pecan pile with caramel, cover with melted chocolate. I used Trader Joe’s Pound Plus Bars because they melt smoother and easier than chocolate chips.
Some Turtles are coated with milk chocolate and others with dark. On some I sprinkled sea salt to play up the salty-and-sweet aspect. On some I drizzled milk chocolate over a dark chocolate-coated Turtle and vice versa.
Between the salty-and-sweet component, the crunchy pecans, chewy and gooey caramel, and the rich chocolate, they’re hard to resist. Save the recipe for holiday candy-making, birthdays, or for a last-minute hostess gift.
Or just hoard them all for yourself.
The Turtles are no-bake, easy, ready in under a half hour, and you only need 4 ingredients. Save the recipe for holiday candy-making, birthdays, or for a last-minute hostess gift. Take your time melting the caramels, stopping and stirring frequently so they don’t burn. I coated half the batch with dark chocolate and half with milk chocolate. On some I sprinkled sea salt to play up the salty-and-sweet aspect and on others I drizzled milk chocolate over a dark chocolate-coated Turtle and vice versa. Between the salty-and-sweet component, the crunchy pecans, chewy and gooey caramel, and the rich chocolate, they’re hard to resist. 8 ounces pecan halves (I used roasted, lightly salted) All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the recipe. Thank you.Homemade Turtles
Ingredients:
25 caramel squares, unwrapped (about 1 heaping cup)
1/4 cup cream or half-and-half, divided
about 16 ounces roughly chopped chocolate, melted (I used 8 ounces dark and 8 ounces milk, both Trader Joe’s Pound Plus bars)
sea salt, optional for sprinklingDirections:
Related Recipes
The Best Turtle Brownies – Super fudgy and loaded with chocolate, pecans and caramel
Chocolate-Covered 7-Minute Microwave Caramels – Never fear candy-making again with this no-candy-thermometer recipe made in the micro. Rich, buttery, soft & chewy. The best & easiest caramels ever
Salted Caramel and Chocolate Pecan Pie Bars – You’ll never want plain pecan pie again! Caramel and chocolate makes the bars taste amazing
The Best & Easiest Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce – Ready in 15 minutes & tastes 1000x better than any storebought sauce ever could
Caramel and Chocolate Gooey Bars (GF with Vegan adaptation) – Caramels, chocolate and oats are combined in these gooey, sticky, sweet, and texture-rich bars
Chocolate-Covered Microwave Peanut Brittle – Easy and takes just 5 minutes to make
Pistachio, Salted Caramel & Oreo Dark Chocolate Bark – Salty-and-sweet & so good! Dangerously easy and make in 5 minutes
Chocolate Saltine Toffee (aka Christmas Crack) – Lives up to it’s name and is extremely addictive! Salty, sweet, crunchy, chewy and a holiday favorite everyone loves!
Cowboy Bark: Trader Joe’s Copycat Recipe – Just like the real thing & ready in 5 minutes. Salty-and-sweet & supremely good!
I tried these out (I know they will taste delicious) but the only thing is, that the process was difficult. The caramel slid off the pecans (not the chocolate) so make sure the caramel is smooth and not runny. That was my mistake that made this difficult. Other than that, I applaud the recipe and the baker behind the recipe! Bravo!