These Pecan Turtles are such a fun holiday treat and you only need 4 ingredients! The bite sized chocolates are filled with pecans and caramel and topped with sea salt. Whip these up for holiday parties or add them to the Christmas cookie platter.
I'm all about the least ingredients possible for Christmas treats. It's such a busy time, but I still want all the sweets. I had to test these a few times to get them right, but they turned out so yummy.
A lot of the recipes on the internet are larger clusters with 5 pecans, but I wanted something smaller to snack on and I think they still look like cute little turtles. 🐢🐢🐢
For more easy Christmas treats, try these Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispies, Hot Chocolate Dip, Christmas Oreos, Nutella Puff Pastry, and Ritz Cracker Cookies.
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Why You'll Love These:
- Easy Shopping. Only 4 ingredients needed for this recipe.
- Quick. Ready in about 30 minutes.
- Holiday Favorite. The best bite sized Christmas treat.
- Simple to Make. Skip the store bought turtles with just a few easy steps to make pecan turtles at home.
Ingredients:
Melting Wafers: I prefer Milk Chocolate Melting Wafers because they're easier to work with versus chocolate chips and they don't seize up quickly like chocolate chips tend to. The Ghirardelli brand is a bit more expensive, but the taste is totally worth it.
Caramels: I first tested this recipe with Kraft caramels, but the results were too hard and really chewy. I switched to the Favorite Day Sea Salt Caramels from Target and they were a little harder to work with, but the taste was 10 times better with a softer, melted caramel. I suggest using a soft caramels for this recipe because it makes it taste like the caramel inside of a truffle. Werther's also makes a soft caramel if you can't access the favorite day ones from Target.
*Find the full recipe ingredients and quantities in the recipe card below.
Substitutions and Variations:
- If you want to use chocolate chips instead of melting chocolate, add in 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to help keep the chocolate from seizing up.
- Ghirardelli also makes white chocolate and dark chocolate melting chocolate.
- I recommend using soft caramels, preferably the Favorite Day Sea Salt Caramels from Target. You can tell if they are soft by squeezing them. The Kraft ones just tend to be really hard. However, if you can find a softer package, use them.
You'll love these Smores Bites too!
How to Make Chocolate Pecan Turtles:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap the caramels and cut each in half. Spread the 20 pieces of caramel halves out of the cookie sheet.
Step 2: Bake for 1-3 minutes until the caramel melts into a circle. Remove from the oven and place the pecans with the smooth curved side down into the caramel. I like to have the top of the pecan showing a bit in front of caramel. This tiny piece will stay without chocolate and look like a little turtle head. Allow the caramels to cool for about 10 minutes, then they should be easily removed from the parchment paper. Note: If they are sticky still, give them another 5-10 minutes before removing.
Step 3: In a double boiler over medium low heat on the stovetop melt the melting chocolate. Alternate method: Follow the instructions on the package and use the microwave to melt the chocolate. Place a large piece of parchment paper on the countertop.
Step 4: Grab the tip of the pecan "turtle's head" and dunk the rest of the caramel and pecan into the melted chocolate.
Step 5: Place the chocolate turtles onto the parchment paper pecan side down. After about 3-4 turtles, sprinkle a bit of salt over the tops before the chocolate dries.
Step 6: Allow the chocolate to cool completely, then peel from the parchment paper. Enjoy!
Expert Tips:
- If you use the Kraft caramels instead of the real soft caramels, they take a bit longer to melt in the oven (around 3-5 minutes). The soft ones melt really quick, in 1-2 minutes, so be sure to watch them closely.
- Parchment paper is a must have for this recipe or it will be impossible to get the caramels unstuck.
- Work quickly when adding the pecans to the caramel and push down so they are connected once the caramel hardens.
- Don't let the melting chocolate get any water near it when melting or it could seize up.
For more Pecan Recipes, check out this Turtle Pie, Chocolate Covered Pecans, Butter Pecan Cookies, and Banana Pecan Muffins.
More Christmas Treats to Try:
If you tried this Pecan Turtles Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
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Pecan Turtles
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 20 pecan turtles 1x
Description
These Pecan Turtles are such a fun holiday treat and you only need 4 ingredients! The bite sized chocolates are filled with pecans and caramel and topped with sea salt. Whip these up for holiday parties or add them to the Christmas cookie platter.
Ingredients
- 10 soft Caramels, cut in half into 20 pieces (Favorite Day Brand from Target or Werther's Soft Caramels)
- 20 Pecan halves
- 5 ounces of Milk Chocolate Melting Chocolate (Ghirardelli) *½ a bag
- 1 tablespoon flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Unwrap the caramels and cut in half. Spread the 20 pieces of caramel halves out of the cookie sheet.
- Bake for 1-3 minutes until the caramel melts into a circle. Remove from the oven and place the pecans with the smooth curved side down into the caramel. I like to have the top of the pecan showing a bit in front of caramel. This tiny piece will stay without chocolate and look like a little turtle head. Allow the caramels to cool for about 10 minutes, then they should be easily removed from the parchment paper. Note: If they are sticky still, give them another 5-10 minutes before removing.
- In a double boiler over medium low heat on the stovetop melt the melting chocolate. Alternate method: Follow the instructions on the package and use the microwave to melt the chocolate. Place a piece of parchment paper on the countertop.
- Grab the tip of the pecan "turtle's head" and dunk the rest of the caramel and pecan into the melted chocolate.
- Place the chocolate turtles onto the parchment paper pecan side down. After about 3-4 turtles, sprinkle a bit of salt over the tops before the chocolate dries.
- Allow the chocolate to cool completely, then peel from the parchment paper. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you use the Kraft caramels instead of the real soft caramels, they take a bit longer to melt in the oven (around 3-5 minutes). The soft ones melt really quick, in 1-2 minutes, so be sure to watch them closely.
- Parchment paper is a must have for this recipe or it will be impossible to get the caramels unstuck.
- Work quickly when adding the pecans to the caramel and push down so they are connected once the caramel hardens.
- Don't let the melting chocolate get any water near it when melting or it could seize up.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: dessert
- Method: oven and stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Holly says
These are so yummy! Can’t wait to make them again for Christmas.
Tara Smithson says
Thank you and we loved these too!