homemade Chocolate Turtles — Fast easy, simple, no-bake and only four ingredients! Chewy, gooey, salty-and-sweet! Homemade always tastes better! Yum! !
Caramel Pecan Turtle Recipe
I’ve always been a fan of Turtles and I decided to make my own. It’s always better to make it homemade, including Turtles.
Lately I can’t get enough of the pecan-caramel-chocolate combination. Crunchy, chewy, salty-and-sweet.
The first was Salted Caramel, Chocolate Pecan Pie bars, and then the Best Turtle Brownies, and this is the latest.
I made my first Turtles in the year 2009. The most beautiful antique photography, but I don’t erase old posts, because they remind me of how much I’ve grown and the way my daughter has grown. They were cloth diapers back then, and now she’s wearing shiny lipstick.
These turtles candy recipes are easy to make, no-bake and made in less than a half hour, and you just need four ingredients.
Certain Turtles in the images below are covered in milk chocolate, and some with dark. On a few I sprinkled sea salt to emphasize the sweet-salty combination. On a few, I drizzled milk chocolate on top of the darker chocolate-coated Turtle and reverse.
Between the sweet and salty component with the crunchy pecans the gooey, chewy caramel and the chocolate that is rich They’re hard to resist.
What’s the Best Type of Chocolate for Turtles?
I have used the Pound Plus Bars because they melt faster and more smooth to work with than chips of chocolate. You may use semi-sweet, milk, or dark chocolate. Choose your preferred!
Tips for Making Homemade Turtles Candy
When you are making the pecan piles I suggest that you overlap some of the nuts to ensure to ensure that caramel does not drip across the.
Melting caramel can be difficult This is why I’ve given precise instructions about how to melt caramel in my recipe guide to the right.
You’ll need to chop into chocolate bars to make this recipe instead of using chocolate chips. Chocolate chips aren’t able to melt as fast and may be a mess in the microwave.
INGREDIENTS
8 Pecan halves of 8 ounces (I used roast, lightly salted)
25 caramel squares wrapped but not wrapped (about 1 cup heaping)
1/4 cup cream or half and half to be divided
approximately 16 ounces of roughly chopped chocolate melting (I made use of 8oz dark chocolate and 8 ounces milk, both from Trader Joe’s Pound Plus bar)
sea salt, to be used in addition to sprinkles
INSTRUCTIONS
Set up the baking sheet or plates by using parchment. It’s useful if they fit into fridges or freezer.
Create small pecan piles with 5 to 6 pieces each. Spread the pecans a bit to minimize gaps, so the caramel doesn’t get soaked through.
In a large microwave-safe bowl put the caramels in and half of the cream (reserve the rest) and then heat it at high speed to melt. It should take 3 to 4 minutes all-in however, you should stop and stir it every 30 seconds to ensure you do not burn it. You can also melt the caramels in a stove on a low heat with care and stirring regularly. **(see the following notes on melt the caramels)
Add 1 tablespoon of caramel on top of each pile of pecans and set aside.
In a microwave-safe bowl of medium size add 8 ounces of chocolate. Heat until it melts approximately 1 minute at high power. In 15 second increments, heat until the chocolate is stirred into a smooth consistency. I prefer working in smaller batches using chocolate. I suggest following the same procedure, and do not heat all the 16 ounces at one time and melt any additional chocolate when needed.
Add 2 tablespoons of chocolate on center of the pecan nut by adding it to the top of the cluster and then let it slide across the sides.
You can also add a pinch sea salt for each Turtle.
Let Turtles firm up at room temperature (will require several minutes) either in the refrigerator (or freezer) (about 30 minutes) prior to serving.
NOTES
Notes on melting caramels: For the initial few times of stirring can be a bit futile, however, eventually, the caramels will melt enough that they can be stirred smoothly. Make sure to take your time, do not overheat or overheat too fast and continue stirring until the caramel will begin to blend. If the mixture is heavy and requires more cream, you can add the remainder. The amount I chose was 1/4 cups of cream total and have tried this recipe using the two brands: Kraft brand caramels as well as Werther’s Baking Caramels. However, caramels can vary, and you may require lesser cream than what I used. The caramel is a bit runny and loose as it is first mixed but it does firm up slightly as it cools.
Storage: Turtles can be kept in airtight containers at room temperature for weeks, or stored in the freezer or fridge for months.