Turtle cookies are rich, decadent cookies that combine all the flavors of the classic turtle candy: chocolate, caramel, and pecans. Chewy chocolate cookies are filled with caramel bits and rolled in chopped pecans.
Heather's recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Soft chocolate cookies filled with chewy caramel bits and rolled in crunchy chopped pecans.
Yield: 45 cookies
Similar to: Dutch Cocoa Cookies
Jump to:
Ingredients and substitutions
- Cocoa - Natural cocoa powder is needed for this recipe to balance with the leavening agents. I do not recommend using Dutch cocoa powder, as it is less acidic than natural cocoa and can change the texture and rise of your cookies.
- Caramel - I used Kraft caramel bits (pictured above), but any chopped soft caramels work as a substitute.
- Pecans - Can be substituted with walnuts.
How to make turtle cookies
- Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add remaining wet ingredients and beat until light and fluffy.
- Gradually stir in whisked dry ingredients until just combined.
- Stir in caramel bits and stir to combine. Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour.
- Form chilled dough into 1 inch balls. Roll in pecan pieces.
- Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until tops begin to crack.
- If any caramel leaks out of your cookies, use a spatula to reform into a round shape.
- Allow to rest 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Heather's Top Tip
For accurate results every time, use a kitchen scale to measure flour by weight. If you don't have a kitchen scale, use the spoon and level method. Stir the flour (especially if it's been packed down in a bag/container), then gently spoon into the measuring cup, leveling off the top with a knife. Scooping with a measuring cup compacts flour into the cup and adds up to 25% extra to the recipe, resulting in dry, bland cookies that don't spread properly.
Tips and tricks
Room temperature ingredients - Room temperature ingredients mix together evenly to create a perfectly mixed dough (without streaks of unmixed ingredients).
Bring ingredients to room temperature quickly - Slice sticks of butter into small, ½ inch slivers. Small pieces warm up faster than a whole stick. Place eggs into a bowl and cover with very warm tap water. They'll come to room temperature in about ten minutes.
Prevent spreading by lining your baking sheet - Use parchment paper or a silicone baking mat instead of greasing your pan. Adding grease to a baking sheet causes cookies to spread more while baking.
Cookie scoop - Use a cookie scoop (I used a medium OXO cookie scoop for this recipe) for perfectly sized, round cookies.
Frequently asked questions
Turtles are a candy made with pecans and caramel that's been dipped in chocolate. Their shape loosely resembles that of a turtle.
Dry baked goods can happen for several reasons. If any of the moisture-adding ingredients have been reduced, like sugar, butter, or eggs, this can cause baked goods to turn out dry. If too much flour was added (weigh your flour or use the spoon and level method), cookies can turn out dry or cakey. Lastly, baking too long in the oven can dry out baked goods.
Chilling cookie dough allows the flavors to meld and firms up the dough so it spreads less in the oven. Some of the moisture in the dough evaporates, which prevents excess spreading in the oven. If you don't rest your dough, it's very likely that your cookies will spread into thin blobs on the baking sheet. See my section above, "chilling cookie dough", to see my chill time test results.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Turtle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup (160 g) brown sugar
- ½ cup (99 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups (270 g) all purpose flour
- ¾ cup (63 g) natural cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 11 ounces (312 g) caramel bits
- 1 ½ cups (171 g) pecans, chopped
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add butter and sugars. Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream together until light and fluffy, about a minute. Add eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Cream together until fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, whisk (or sift) together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda.
- Gradually stir dry ingredients into butter mixture until just combined. Add caramel bits and stir until just combined.
- Cover bowl or wrap dough in wax paper. Chill for 1 hour in the refrigerator. Refrigerating helps the flavors meld and also creates a firm dough that's easier to roll into balls.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Remove dough from refrigerator. Scoop dough using a 1.5 tablespoon (medium) cookie scoop or shape by hand into 1 inch balls. Roll balls in the chopped pecans.
- Place dough balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheet. Bake for about 8-10 minutes, or until tops have started to crack. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Storage: Cookies will keep for 5-7 days in a sealed container. To help keep cookies fresh, you can place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. Replace the bread slice as needed.
- Dough storage: Raw cookie dough will keep in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cookie dough balls (and baked cookies) freeze well, up to 3 months in a sealed plastic container or freezer bag. Allow frozen balls to thaw for up to 10 minutes on the baking sheet before baking, or add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.
- Caramel: If you can’t find caramel bits at your local store, you can also dice up any soft caramels into pieces.
- More tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cookies, based on reader comments and questions!
Comments
No Comments