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Turtle Cookies

These Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cookies are perfectly soft and chewy and crunchy and chocolatey and nutty and caramel-y all at the same time.  Delicious!

If you love Turtle Chocolates, then you need to add these Turtle Cookies to your holiday baking list! They’re just like the classic candy, but in cookie form. With a delicious chocolate cookie base, nutty topping and a caramel centre. So good.

Turtle Cookies {A Pretty Life}

Worth the effort.

These cookies are not hard to make, they just take a little extra time to assemble. But I’m here to tell you, they are absolutely worth the effort. I can’t even tell you how good they are. You just need to make them to find out.

Turtle Cookies {A Pretty Life}

Soft, chewy, chocolatey, nutty and caramelly.

They’re perfectly soft and chewy and crunchy and chocolatey and nutty and caramelly all at the same time. So much deliciousness in one little bite.

Turtle Cookies {A Pretty Life}

Makes a good sized batch.

This recipe makes about 2 dozen little cookies, which is a good thing because they will disappear fast! These little delights didn’t make it more than 2 days around this house. They mysteriously disappeared by the end of the day Saturday…hmmmm…and no one would admit to a thing. Must have been Mr. Nobody at it again. 😉

Turtle Cookies {A Pretty Life}

I hope you love these cookies as much as we do!

Turtle Cookie Recipe Tips

  • Cocoa Powder: Use the good stuff. The quality of cocoa makes a big difference in flavour.
  • Nuts: I used chopped pecans, but you can also use chopped walnuts or chopped almonds.
  • About the egg whites. This recipe requires 2 egg whites, whipped. The whipped egg whites act as a ‘glue’ to adhere the nuts to the chocolate cookie. I don’t recommend skipping this part.
  • Let the dough chill. Make sure to allow the dough to chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before rolling it into balls for baking. OR put it in the freezer for 30 minutes. The dough needs to be firm before rolling.
  • Storage: Store these cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days.
  • Freezing: These cookies freeze well. Store in a ziplock bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cookies
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Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cookies

These Chocolate Caramel Turtle Cookies are perfectly soft and chewy and crunchy and chocolatey and nutty and caramel-y all at the same time. Delicious!

  • Author: Jo-Anna Rooney
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Chilling Time: 1 hour
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
  • Yield: 2 dozen cookies 1x
  • Category: Cookie
  • Method: Baking

Ingredients

Units Scale

Chocolate Cookie:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup cocoa powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup butter (at room temperature)
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Nutty Topping:

  • 2 egg whites
  • 1 1/4 cups pecans (chopped finely)

Caramel Centres:

  • 16 soft caramel candies
  • 3 tbsp heavy cream

Instructions

Making the Cookie Dough:

  1. In a bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa, and salt. Set aside.
  2. With a mixer cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
  3. Then add the egg, milk, and vanilla and combine.
  4. Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
  5. Now it’s time to chill the dough: wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until it is firm, about 1 hour. OR put it in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Putting the cookies together:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Whip the 2 egg whites until frothy (I use a hand blender to do this). Set aside.
  4. In a separate bowl, add the chopped pecans. Set aside.
  5. Using your hands, roll the cookie dough into 1 inch balls, then roll the ball in the egg whites, then immediately in the chopped pecans.
  6. Place the cookie dough balls 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
  7. Then using a 1/2 tsp measuring spoon, make an indentation in centre of each ball (see above picture).
  8. Bake the cookies until set, about 10-12 minutes.

Preparing the caramel:

  1. Just as the cookies are done baking, it’s time to make the caramel sauce.
  2. Microwave the caramels and cream in a bowl for 1 – 2 minutes, stirring a couple of times during the melting process.
  3. Once cookies are baked, remove them from the oven, and gently repress the existing indentations (they will have bubbled up a bit and you need an indentation for the caramel).
  4. Fill each indentation with 1/2 tsp of the caramel mixture.
  5. Cool for about 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
  6. Enjoy!

Keywords: chocolate cookies, cookies, turtle cookies

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Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen via Pixelated Crumb

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So go ahead!  Get your bake on!  These are worth the effort, trust me.

Happy baking!

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29 Comments

  1. My oldest daughter loves turtles (her sorority’s mascot is a turtle) so they sometimes serve turtle treats at her sorority house! I’ve pinned this on my Christmas group board that I share with her. These look fantastic!

    xo,
    Ricki Jill

  2. Oh my goodness, what are you trying to do to me. These look so good too. Now I know yours didn’t make it past Day 2, but I wonder if they freeze well. It might almost be worth making another batch – in the name of research and all.

    1. Sorry for not getting back to you sooner about this…I think they would freeze just fine, but without putting the caramel in. I would add the caramel right after freezing them.

  3. I am going to make these tomorrow; I expect they will be gone by tomorrow afternoon. Oh darn, I’ll have to make them again…..and again….and again….