Most people think of turtle candy, a stack of pecans, then lots of caramel, then topped with chocolate. At least that is what I thought of turtle candy.
A candy factory called the Chicago's DeMet's Candy Company (former name Johnson's Candy Company) was the first to use the name Turtle Candy in 1918. But somewhere in candy history, it says they originated from San Francisco in the early 1900s. There might be a slight discrepancy in the origin.
So, to create a cookie with the Turtle Candy concept, I needed chocolate, caramel, and pecans. The chocolate I used is an unsweetened Dutch-Process cocoa and I love Guittard's Cocoa Rouge. Pecans go with your favorite brand. The caramel chips proved to be more of a challenge, but I settled on Lieber's Caramel Baking Chips. I purchased the Toll House Caramel Chips, but they tasted like butterscotch, so I did not use them.
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Ingredients
- Cream Cheese
- Butter unsalted
- Sugar white
- Vanilla Extract
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder (Guittard Cocoa Rouge Cocoa Powder Amazon link)
- Baking powder
- Kosher Salt
- Caramel chips (Lieber's Caramel Chips - Amazon link)
- Pecan pieces
- Pecan halves
Making the Turtle Cookies
These are pretty easy to make after you find all the ingredients. The first thing I do is weigh or measure the sugar into a bowl and set it aside. In another bowl, weight or measure the flour. Add to the flour the unsweetened cocoa powder, baking powder, and the kosher salt. Grab a whisk and blend them altogether.
If you do not have any pecan pieces and only have pecan halves, pick out 34 to 36 of the best halves for the top of the cookies and roughly chop enough of the rest for the ½ cup.
Prepping
In a mixer bowl cube the butter and add the cream cheese. If these are room-temperature, turn the mixer to a medium speed and blend for about 2 minutes.
If the butter and cream cheese are still cold, start the mixer on the lowest speed and work your way up to a medium speed. Then mix for 2 minutes. You want them mixed before adding the sugar.
Add the sugar and mix on a medium mixer speed for 3 minutes. I will look creamy with soft peaks.
Add the vanilla extract and one egg. I break my egg into a small dish first to check for egg shells before adding to my cookie dough. Once incorporated, add the 2nd egg.
Scrape down the sides and across the bottom so everything is mixed to this point. Turn the mixer to the lowest speed and add the flour mixture about a third at a time. This should only take about a minute total. You can always finish mixing with a spatula if needed. Over mixing, the flour will make your cookies tough.
Finally, on a low mixer speed, add the caramel chips and the pecan pieces. This will only take seconds to blend in. You can always use the spatula to even out chips and pecans throughout the dough if it is needed.
Cove lightly with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
Scoop and Bake
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. I am using a medium cookie scooper for this cookie.
I have had people ask me the best way to add scooped cookies to a sheet pan so that the scoops will be far enough apart. So I start by going down the left side, then going across the top (3 down and 4 across). Then just fill in the rest. I have an easier time making them straight if I have guides to follow.
After you add the 12 scoops of cookie dough, take a half pecan and lightly press one on top of each cookie mound.
Bake for 10-12 minutes. After pulling the pan from the oven, I leave the baked cookies on the sheet pan for 3-5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
Enjoy!
FAQ's
You can, but every time I try to use them with this cookie, all I get is cookies that roll under when trying to get them off the sheet pan. Or they stick to the cooling rack and half the cookie stays on the rack when trying to pull them off.
You could try not adding them to the cookie dough and just stick them around the top of the cookie mound before baking. This way, they are not on the bottom for them to stick to anything.
It depends! It is processed differently than the block. There is more moisture and air mixed into it, so it spread easier, but it can be used in making cookies. It may give a little different texture to your cookie though, but you may really like it. If you are making cream cheese icing though, I would use the block.
Other Chocolate Cookies
Recipe
Chocolate with Caramel and Pecan Turtle Cookies
Barbara HallWould you like to save this recipe?
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Ingredients
- 8 oz (226.8 g) Cream Cheese room temperature
- ½ cup (113.5 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
- 1 ½ cup (300 g) Sugar white
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Vanilla Extract
- 2 (2) Eggs room temperature
- 1 ¾ cups (218.75 g) All-purpose flour
- ¾ cup (64.5 g) Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoon (2 teaspoon) Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Kosher Salt
- 1 cup (236.59 g) Caramel chips
- ½ cup (49.5 g) Pecan pieces
- ⅔ cup (49.5 g) Pecan halves 1 on top
Instructions
- In a bowl, weigh or measure the sugar and set aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, and run a whisk through to blend. Pick out 34 to 36 nice looking pecan halves, so you have 1 for each cookie scoop. Then rough chop some of the leftover pecans halves for the pecan pieces that will go into the cookie dough.
- In a stand or hand-held mixer bowl, add the cream cheese and butter. Turn your mixer to a medium speed for about 2 minutes. If your butter and cream cheese are still really cold, slowly increase the speed of your mixer from a low speed. This will take longer to blend the two ingredients. Add the sugar and blend for another 3 minutes. Stop and scrape down your bowl and across the bottom. Turn the mixer back on to medium-low speed and add the vanilla extract. Break one egg into a bowl (to make sure you do not have any eggshells) and add it to the cookie batter, after being incorporated; repeat with the second egg.
- I scrape down the sides again and turn the mixer back on to a low speed before adding the flour about a third at a time to the wet mixture. This should only take about a minute, so try not to over mix the flour. Scrape down the sides and across the bottom, then add the caramel chips and pecan pieces. You want to get the caramel and pecan pieces as evenly mixed throughout the cookie dough as possible. You may have to mix a little by hand to ensure evenness. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C), and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. Taking a medium cookie scoop and scoop out 12 mounds onto one of the cookie sheet pans. Take 1 pecan half and lightly push it down on the top of each cookie mound. Bake for 10-12 minutes. After you pull the cookies out of the oven, leave the cookies on the pan for at least 3-5 minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
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NUTRITION DISCLAIMER
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.
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