Chocolate Turtle Candy Recipe

Someone is holding a 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.

Prep Time30

Bake Time10

Chilling Time1

Total Time1 40

Recipe Author Lynn April

Servings: 16 candies

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

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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.