Easy Homemade Turtle Candy
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These irresistible clusters of toasted pecans, buttery caramel, and smooth milk chocolate are everything you love about candy shop turtles, made easy at home without a candy thermometer.
HOMEMADE TURTLES: IMPRESSIVE LOW EFFORT CANDY
When it comes to homemade candy, I admit to shying away from most things that require cooking sugar. With the exception of homemade caramel sauce, there aren’t many things I jump at the chance to make if I have to work with boiling sugar. It’s just not within my comfort zone, so stepping outside of that to make something like homemade marshmallows takes a lot of mental fortitude on my part.
That said, I am so grateful there is a broader category of homemade candy that is so much easier than it appears to be. Candied almonds make our holiday list every year, as does graham cracker toffee bark, and these turtles candy became a quick adoption in our annual rotation thanks to how simple they are to make while also delivering on flavor, texture, and authentic-candy-shop vibes.
WHY ARE THEY CALLED TURTLES?
Turtles come in many shapes and forms, often being arranged a little more deconstructed than the ones you see here, starting with an “X” of pecan halves below a dollop of gooey caramel that holds it together. With that swirl (shell) of chocolate on top, you can imagine how it looks like a turtle, so no matter the arrangement of the goodies, that combination of pecans, caramel, and chocolate = turtle.
In fact, you should probably grab two bags of caramels when you gather the ingredients to make these homemade turtles so you can make my chocolate pecan turtle cookies. Just a suggestion…
GRAB THESE 4 INGREDIENTS
There is some wiggle room within this ingredient list, so be sure you’re reading through exactly why we’re using each so you can decide which variation is most suitable for you. If you’re looking for exact amounts, be sure you’re scrolling all the way down to the recipe card for that information.
PECAN HALVES: you’ll be chopping these into coarse pieces, but toasting them beforehand. Toasting pecan halves is much easier than toasting pre-chopped pecans, so if you’re starting with the latter, you’ll just need to pay careful attention while toasting them. If you can find roasted/toasted pecan pieces, that’s another option.
SOFT CARAMELS: you’re looking for the caramels that come wrapped individually. I use the Kraft brand which has about 30 squares in it. Do not use caramel bits or caramel creams for this recipe.
HEAVY CREAM: this is an ingredient I almost always have on hand because I use it often in baking. You can use evaporated milk, half-and-half, or even whole milk for this recipe.
MILK CHOCOLATE CHIPS: using one 11.5oz bag of milk chocolate chips is the most efficient way to get melted chocolate for the shell, but you can use bar milk chocolate if you prefer.
CAN I USE SEMISWEET OR DARK CHOCOLATE?
You can absolutely use another kind of chocolate, but milk chocolate is the traditional pairing for turtles. Again, you can use chips or chopped bar chocolate or use a combination within your batch.
STEP-BY-STEP: HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE TURTLES
There’s quite a bit of downtime in this recipe, so be sure to read ahead and plan accordingly.
Toast the pecans: you can do this in the oven or on the stovetop– it’s your preference. Once toasted, remove them from the heat and set them aside to cool.
Melt the caramels: melt the unwrapped caramels and heavy cream in a medium size microwave safe bowl, stirring after each warming session. It will look like nothing is happening for the first couple of minutes, but as the caramels and cream heat, they will start to melt and smooth out. Once the mixture is completely smooth, set it aside to cool off a bit.
Chop the pecans: while the caramel cools, coarsely chop the pecans, then add them to the caramel mixture and stir everything together until the pecans are evenly dispersed.
Drop dollops: use something like this #50 cookie scoop to drop Tablespoon sizes of the caramel and pecan mixture onto the baking sheet. Take care to space them out evenly as you will be cutting the parchment into squares around each individual turtle candy. I suggest 8 per baking sheet (4 rows of 2).
Add the chocolate topping: you can do this in the microwave, stovetop, or in a double boiler. Your choice/preference! Once melted, drop 2-3 teaspoons of melted chocolate over each cluster of caramel and pecan mixture. I like to use my mini cookie scoop for this, which is 1 teaspoon in size. Use the back of the scoop to give the top of the chocolate a decorative swirl, if desired.
TOP WITH GARNISH BEFORE THE CHOCOLATE SETS
Want something decorative on top of your turtles? You can top them with festive sprinkles, flaky sea salt, more pecan pieces, or just leave them plain.
Set + prepare for serving: once the candies are firmly set, cut the parchment paper into squares around each candy, then store the individual pieces on their parchment squares in the refrigerator.
HOMEMADE TURTLE STORAGE
It is completely fine to store homemade turtles at room temperature up to 1 week, keeping in mind they will be quite gooey and sticky, so they are best stored in the refrigerator, up to 2 weeks. Turtles freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw them in the refrigerator.
MY TURTLES ARE STUCK TO THE PARCHMENT
Yes, they are very sticky and gooey. That’s the draw! But it can make for a tricky time getting them off of the parchment. Chilling turtles in the refrigerator helps mitigate the stickiness, and once chilled, the turtles really just pop off of the parchment.
Chocolate Turtle Candy Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (227g) pecan halves about 2 cups
- 1 bag (11 ounces/312g) soft caramels1 unwrapped
- ¼ cup (60mL) heavy cream2
- 1 bag (11.5 ounces/326g) milk chocolate chips about 2 cups
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Spread the pecans out onto a baking sheet (I like to use a jelly roll size pan). Toast the pecans for 8-10 minutes until they just start to darken in color and become fragrant. You can also do this on the stovetop in a large saucepan over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Be sure to move the nuts around frequently.8 ounces (227g) pecan halves
- When the pecans are toasted, remove them from the oven and set them aside to cool.
- Place the unwrapped caramels and heavy cream in a medium size microwave safe bowl. Heat in the microwave on HIGH for 20 seconds, stirring after each warming session. It will look like nothing is happening for the first couple of minutes, but as the caramels and cream heat, they will start to melt and smooth out. Once the mixture is completely smooth, set it aside to cool off a bit.1 bag (11 ounces/312g) soft caramels1, ¼ cup (60mL) heavy cream2
- Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Coarsely chop the pecans. Add them to the slightly cooled caramel mixture, then stir with a large spatula until the pecans are evenly dispersed.
- Drop Tablespoon sizes3 of the caramel and pecan mixture onto the baking sheet, taking care to space them out evenly as you will be cutting the parchment into squares around each individual turtle candy. I suggest 8 per baking sheet (4 rows of 2). I use this #50 cookie scoop to portion out my caramel and pecan mixture.
- When you have used all of the mixture, set the baking sheets aside while you melt the milk chocolate chips. You can do this in the microwave, on the stovetop, or in a double boiler (your preference).1 bag (11.5 ounces/326g) milk chocolate chips
- When the chocolate chips are completely melted and the mixture is smooth, drop 2-3 teaspoons of melted chocolate over each cluster of caramel and pecan mixture. I like to use my mini cookie scoop for this, which is 1 teaspoon in size. Use the back of the scoop to give the top of the chocolate a decorative swirl, if desired. You can top the turtles candies with flaky sea salt, more pecan pieces, or just leave them plain.
- Allow the candy to set until the chocolate firms up. The caramel will still be very gooey, so pop the baking sheets in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or the freezer for about 10 minutes so you can work with the candies more easily.
- Once the candies are firmly set, cut the parchment paper into squares around each candy, then store the individual pieces on their parchment squares in the refrigerator. I like to let mine sit at room temperature about 5-10 minutes before enjoying, as the caramel starts to soften but not enough to be too messy at that point.
- It is completely fine to store homemade turtles at room temperature up to 1 week, keeping in mind they will be quite gooey and sticky, so they are best stored in the refrigerator, up to 2 weeks. Turtles freeze well, up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
Video
Notes
- Soft caramels: I use the Kraft brand, but most bags of individually wrapped caramels will also be in 11 ounce bags.
- Heavy cream: you can also use evaporated milk, half-and-half, or whole milk for this recipe. Just use whichever of these you have on hand.
- Turtle sizes: in theory, you can make these any size you want. If you want to make them a bit smaller, just be sure you’re downsizing the amount of chocolate you put on each candy.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.