Pecan Turtles

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: pecan turtles

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 28 minutes

Servings:

Calories: 155kcal

Starting with pre-made caramels helps these delicious Pecan Turtles come together quickly!

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Ingredients

2 cups pecan halves
11 oz bag of wrapped caramels
2 tablespoons heavy cream milk or water may be used
1 teaspoon vanilla
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 bag
sea salt Fleur de sel or similar if available

Instructions

Spread the pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake at 375*F about 5 minutes, until warm and fragrant. Cool and set aside.
Unwrap caramels and place caramels, cream and vanilla in the top of a double boiler and heat until the caramels have melted (this will take a while). Stir as needed.
While the caramel melts, heat the chocolate chips in another double boiler, or in the microwave at 50% power in 30 second intervals. Stir between intervals and stop cooking when the chips have almost melted, but not fully. Be careful not to over heat the chocolate, it can easily burn. Stir chips until smooth and fully melted.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat liner. Spoon a small amount of chocolate onto the baking sheet, using the back of the spoon to smooth it into a small circle (about 2" diameter). After you've made 3-4 circles, arrange 5 pecan halves on to of chocolate, creating the "turtle" head and four legs (as pictured), or a flower. Continue making circles of chocolate, then adding pecans until the baking sheet is full (I usually fit 6-10 on a baking sheet). Set entire baking sheet in the fridge for a few minutes, until the chocolate has set up a bit.
Once the chocolate has set, (remove from fridge) and add about a teaspoon or two of melted caramel onto the center of the pecans (as pictured). The caramel should be just melted enough that it will fall off a spoon, but not so liquid that it just rolls right off the pecans into a puddle. If the caramel is too thin, remove from heat and allow to cool just a bit. Once caramel has been added to each turtle, place baking sheet back into the fridge for a few minutes.
When the caramel has set up just a bit, spoon a bit of chocolate on top, covering as much of the caramel as possible. If desired, add a bit of fleur de sel sea salt on top.
Place turtles back in the fridge for just a few minutes to set up.
When fully cool and set, remove from baking sheet and store in an airtight container at room temperature. See notes below about shelf life.

Notes

The ingredient measurements listed in the recipe above are just what I used, but really could vary according to how many turtles you want to make. Basically you need nuts, chocolate, caramels and a bit of cream.

Chose good quality caramels, stay away from generic brands for this project. I usually use Brach's or Kraft. I have not tried the unwrapped caramel bits for this project, but I imagine they would work perfectly well.

If you do not temper the chocolate, the finished turtles should be enjoyed within 2-3 days or the chocolate will begin to discolor. If you temper the chocolate before use, the turtles will remain beautiful for much longer (I've never kept them more than a week, but I would imagine they could be kept longer).

Nutrition