This Turtle Candy is the ultimate holiday baking treat. Crunchy, salty, chocolatey, and sweet, the perfect amount of each thing in every single bite.
With all the holiday coming up, it’s always nice to find new baking recipes and this Turtle Candy is a delicious addition. While these may look like little piles of melted sticky mess, they’re truly the perfect sweet treat.
I love baking and making treats, especially around the holidays. My kids and I have been having fun making new things and when we added this Turtle Candy to our baking list years ago, we’ve never turned back.
One thing that I love about these is that we make our own homemade caramel for this recipe instead of using store bought caramels. Also the toasted pecans add so much flavor.
All around these Turtles are a hit and are really easy to throw together and great to give as gifts or just to have as an option for your holiday dessert table.
You can call these snacks, candies, desserts, whatever you’d like, but they are just called delicious to us. Absolutely worth putting on your must make list.
Some of our other favorite holiday dessert recipes we have on our site include: Struffoli, Potato Candy and Cranberry Bliss Bars.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- The combination of milk chocolate, caramel and pecans is pure perfection.
- Easy enough to add to your holiday baking list.
- Makes a big batch but can easily be doubled.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM)
Toasted pecan halves
Toasted chopped pecans
Salted butter
Light brown sugar
Granulated sugar
Light corn syrup
Sweetened condensed milk
Vanilla extract
Milk chocolate chips
Vegetable shortening
HOW TO MAKE TURTLE CANDY, STEP BY STEP:
- On two parchment-lined sheet trays, divide the pecan halves into 30 piles, about 3-4 pecans for each pile. Evenly top with the chopped pecans, and set aside.
- Slice the butter and add it to a dutch oven or medium-sized pot along with the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and corn syrup.
- Bring to a low boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
- Add the sweetened condensed milk, and mix it in well. Continue to cook, constantly stirring, so it doesn’t burn, until the mixture reaches 240°F.
- Take off the heat, and continue to stir until it begins to thicken, 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla.
- Working quickly, drizzle about ½ tablespoon of the caramel over the piles of pecans. Try to drizzle the caramel over all the pecan pieces so they stick together. Repeat with the remaining pecans and caramel.
- Let the candy sit for about 30 minutes until the caramel is set. You can also place them in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the chocolate chips and shortening. Microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring in between until smooth.
- Use a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon and dollop the melted chocolate into the center of each turtle, smooth it out slightly. You will use about ½ – ¾ teaspoon of chocolate for each one.
- Let the turtles sit out at room temperature for 2-3 hours, or you can pop the trays into the refrigerator for 1 hour to set. Enjoy immediately, or store between layers of parchment paper in an airtight container.
DO I HAVE TO MAKE THE CARAMEL?
I think making your own caramel really adds to these treats, but I totally get if you aren’t into that or don’t have the time.
Instead, you can buy some of the individually wrapped caramels from the store. You’ll need 30 unwrapped caramels.
Place them into a large bowl then add 2 Tablespoons of heavy cream and microwave them in 15-second intervals, stirring in between each interval until all is melted and creamy.
CAN I TOAST MY OWN PECANS?
I know it can be hard to find toasted nuts in the grocery store sometimes. So, if you can’t find those toasted nuts, you can absolutely make your own.
Get your pecans and half them if needed. Preheat the oven to 350°F, place them on a sheet tray and toast in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until fragrant.
Then place the chopped pecans in a dry, small skillet over medium-low heat, tossing often, or until fragrant, that typically takes 8 minutes.
CAN I ADD ANY ADDITIONS?
You can add more nuts or other nut choices. You can add mini chocolate chips on top or other chopped up chocolate pieces. To give it a little more of that sweet and salty flair, add some flaked sea salt to the top.
HOW TO STORE:
Store your Turtle Candy in an airtight container the refrigerator where it will keep for up to 2 weeks.
You may also choose to freeze them for up to 3 months in the freezer in a freezer safe container separated by parchment paper.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- When you aren’t serving these candies, keep them in the refrigerator. If not, they’ll end up tacky and sticky at room temperature.
- Making your own caramel isn’t the only option, you can use store bought, see my tips above.
- This recipe is a good one to double to make even more candies.
- These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- If you don’t have vegetable shortening, you can add 1 teaspoon of vegetable or coconut oil instead.
- You can add more additions, see my ideas above.
- If you don’t want to use milk chocolate, you can use whatever variety of chocolate chips you like. But I can’t press using quality chocolate enough.
Want a crunchy, chocolatey, salty and sweet candy? Then you have to try these Turtle Candies! Turtle Candy is so easy to make and so delicious, you can’t stop at just one.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
If you’ve tried this TURTLE CANDY or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Turtle Candy
Ingredients
- 2 cups toasted pecan halves
- ½ cup toasted chopped pecans
- ½ cup salted butter
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light corn syrup
- 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups milk chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon vegetable shortening
Instructions
- On two parchment-lined sheet trays, divide the pecan halves into 30 piles, about 3-4 pecans for each pile. Evenly top with the chopped pecans, and set aside.
- Slice the butter and add it to a dutch oven or medium-sized pot along with the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and corn syrup.
- Bring to a low boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
- Add the sweetened condensed milk, and mix it in well. Continue to cook, constantly stirring, so it doesn’t burn, until the mixture reaches 240°F.
- Take off the heat, and continue to stir until it begins to thicken, 5 minutes. Stir in the vanilla.
- Working quickly, drizzle about ½ tablespoon of the caramel over the piles of pecans. Try to drizzle the caramel over all the pecan pieces so they stick together. Repeat with the remaining pecans and caramel.
- Let the candy sit for about 30 minutes until the caramel is set. You can also place them in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the chocolate chips and shortening. Microwave in 15-second intervals, stirring in between until smooth.
- Use a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon and dollop the melted chocolate into the center of each turtle, smooth it out slightly. You will use about ½ - ¾ teaspoon of chocolate for each one.
- Let the turtles sit out at room temperature for 2-3 hours, or you can pop the trays into the refrigerator for 1 hour to set. Enjoy immediately, or store between layers of parchment paper in an airtight container.
Notes
- When you aren't serving these candies, keep them in the refrigerator. If not, they'll end up tacky and sticky at room temperature.
- Making your own caramel isn't the only option, you can use store bought, see my tips above.
- This recipe is a good one to double to make even more candies.
- These can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- If you don't have vegetable shortening, you can add 1 teaspoon of vegetable or coconut oil instead.
- You can add more additions, see my ideas above.
- If you don't want to use milk chocolate, you can use whatever variety of chocolate chips you like. But I can't press using quality chocolate enough.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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