Easy Homemade Chocolate Turtles with Pecans Recipe

Are you ready for a sweet and salty treat that will satisfy all your cravings? Look no further than homemade chocolate turtles! These delicious treats are made with crunchy pecans, gooey homemade caramel, and rich chocolate. Chocolate turtles are known for their irresistible combination of textures and flavors. And the homemade version tastes so much better (and it’s not even difficult to make!). Simply make the caramel in the microwave, add the crushed pecan nuts, and leave to set. Once hardened, the candy is dipped into melted chocolate and left to harden. The result? Crunchy, gooey deliciousness!

What is Homemade Chocolate Turtles?

While it’s not exactly clear when chocolate turtles were created, most sources say they became popular around the mid-20th century in the United States. The name “turtles” comes from their shape as well as the pieces of nuts that resemble a turtle shell. Today, the candy is much-loved by folks all over the world. This is mostly because of the classic combination of caramel, nuts, and chocolate. These days they are made with different types of nuts, and some variations even add pretzels to the mix!

Tips

• If you prefer the chocolate coating to be shiny, you’ll need to temper the chocolate. It stabilizes the chocolate making it suitable for use in confectionery. Tempering involves heating the chocolate to a certain temperature, and then cooling it down again until it reaches a certain temperature point. The chocolate will end up smooth and shiny, and it won’t melt as easily.
• Heat the chocolate over a double boiler, until it reaches the correct temperature. Then continue stirring while it cools down again to the right temperature (see below).
• For dark chocolate, the melting temperature is 122 – 131°F (50 – 55°C) and the cooling temperature is 88 – 90 °F (31 – 32°C). For milk chocolate, the melting temperature is 113 – 122°F (45 – 50°C) and the cooling temperature is 86 – 88 °F (30 – 31°C).
• Make fruity turtles by adding dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots, or raisins.
• Add more flavor by adding chopped crystallized ginger, lemon zest, orange zest, or vanilla essence.
• You can also make the candy in an 8×8-inch tin, and slice it into bars once set. Spray the knife with oil cooking spray to ensure smooth slices. This will prevent the candy from sticking to the blade, and ensure that each slice comes out smoothly. Once set, dip the squares in melted chocolate.
• You can use other nuts too. Almonds, peanuts, cashews, and macadamias will all work.

How to Store Homemade Chocolate Turtles

To store the homemade turtles, wrap them with parchment paper, and then place them in an airtight container, and keep them for up to a week.

You can also freeze them. Simply wrap the bars in a layer of parchment paper, then with another layer of plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months.

How to Make Homemade Chocolate Turtles

Spread pecans out onto a baking tray covered with parchment paper and bake for 5-10 minutes.

Once cooled, roughly chop the pecans and set aside.

Place butter in a large microwave-safe bowl and heat in the microwave until melted (about 2 minutes).

In a mixing bowl with butter add brown sugar, granulated sugar, condensed milk, and corn syrup and stir well to combine.

Return bowl to microwave and cook mixture on high power for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the bowl from the microwave, and stir vanilla into the hot caramel. Stir in chopped pecans.

Add spoonfuls of the mixture onto the parchment paper-lined baking sheet to create individual mounds of caramel candy (for about 20 candies). Refrigerate until set, about 20 minutes.

Pour the chocolate into the microwave-safe bowl and transfer for 2 minutes into the microwave.

Drop a cluster into the melted chocolate and with the help of two forks coat it all over. Lift the cluster up with a fork, and tap it several times to allow excess chocolate to fall through the tines of the fork, into the bowl.

Place dipped clusters on the baking tray covered with parchment paper to set up. Allow to set up in the fridge (for about 30 minutes).

After 30 minutes when the chocolate turtles are firm remove them from the fridge and serve.