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This simple caramel turtle recipe has a baked pecan base smothered in chocolate and homemade caramel – a perfect treat for sharing!
A Favorite Flavor Combo
Caramel-covered turtle candy is a family favorite (our mom’s all-time favorite)! And how could it not be with chocolate, pecans and caramel all over?!
This turtle-shaped candy is often sold and made year-round but is especially popular during Thanksgiving and Christmas. We always include them on our treat plates for holiday gifting and love to add them to party plates and Charcuterie boards for family gatherings since we love them so much.
Our turtle recipe includes homemade caramel for melt-in-your-mouth perfection! If you love the flavor combo of turtles, you also need to try Turtle Thumbprint Cookies and Turtle Cheesecake.
WHY WE LOVE IT:
- Flavor combination. The combination of crunchy pecans, chewy caramel, and chocolate is incredible.
- Homemade. This version is better than any turtle candy we have ever purchased. Plus, they’re less expensive to make than buy.
- Simple steps. Don’t be intimidated about the candy-making process, the steps are simple and there are plenty of tips!
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 15 minutes
REST TIME: 1 hour
- 3 cups pecan halves
- ½ cup butter – if using salted butter reduce the amount of added salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup corn syrup – light corn syrup
- dash salt
- 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk – (half of a 14-ounce can) Do not use evaporated milk.
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups chocolate chips – milk chocolate chips, or try semi-sweet, dark chocolate chips, or white chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoon vegetable oil – or shortening
- optional topping – sprinkle with flaky sea salt
Use Store-Bought Caramel
Use 25-30 soft store-bought Kraft caramels or a bag of caramel bits. Melt them in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between.
If the caramels are a bit tough, add a little spoonful of half and half to yield a smoother result.
How to Make Our Turtle recipe
- PECANS. Place 3 cups pecan halves in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes or till lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool. Arrange in clusters of 3-4 on silicone liners or parchment paper (not wax paper).
- CARAMEL. Combine ½ cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar, ½ cup corn syrup, and a dash of salt in a 6-quart pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk and ½ teaspoon vanilla.
- CORRECT TEMP. Continue cooking and stirring. Use a candy thermometer to ensure the caramel reaches 235-240°F.
- I use the ice water test, it’s more accurate. Drop a small spoonful of the hot caramel into a bowl of ice water. When you take it out, you should be able to roll it into a ball. Then it’s done.
- ASSEMBLE. Quickly spoon the caramel over the pecan clusters, making sure the caramel is touching each of the pecans. Let sit to harden.
- CHOCOLATE. Melt 1½ cups chocolate chips and ½ teaspoon oil in the microwave at half power, stirring often till smooth. Spoon chocolate on top of each layer of caramel (sprinkle with salt if desired). Let sit for 1-2 hours, or till hardened.
PRO TIP: High Elevation
In general, subtract 2° from the stated temperature for every 1,000 feet above sea level. For example, if you are 4,000 feet above sea level, subtract 8° from the stated recipe making it 227-232°F.
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Turtle Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups pecan halves
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup corn syrup
- dash salt
- 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk, half of a 14-ounce can
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups chocolate chips, I used milk chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoon vegetable oil, or shortening
Instructions
- Place pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350°F for about 10 minutes or till lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool. Arrange in clusters of 3-4 on silicone liners or parchment paper.
- Combine butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt in a 6-quart pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla.
- Continue cooking and stirring till the mixture reaches 235-240°F.
- I use the ice water test, it's more accurate. Drop a small spoonful of the hot caramel into a bowl of ice water. When you take it out, you should be able to roll it into a ball. Then it's done.
- Quickly spoon the caramel over the pecan clusters, making sure the caramel is touching each of the pecans. Let sit to harden.
- Melt the chocolate chips and oil in the microwave at half power, stirring often till smooth. Spoon chocolate on top of each layer of caramel. Let sit for 1-2 hours or till hardened.
Video
Notes
- If the caramels are a bit tough, add a little spoonful of half and half to yield a smoother result.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe FAQ
Store chocolate turtle candy at room temperature in an airtight container or freeze it in a freezer-safe container for 4-6 weeks. Set them out on the counter to soften before eating.
Thanks for sharing this recipe with us Kara! For more amazingly delicious recipes by her, head over to Creations by Kara!!
I just made these twice for my husband for valentines day. The first time the caramel ran all over the place so they all stuck together, I am going to call them alligators Lol. But being me I refuse to be out done, the second time I was for sure they were perfect but as they set they were so hard that one actually shattered into pieces that I accidentally drop on the countertop. Help me. This is his favorite candy and I would love to perfect it. I broke the first ones apart and put chocolate on them. He just walked in. Hope he likes them
Oh, no!! I am not sure what happened. They shouldn’t be too hard or too soft. Any changes to the recipe?
Can these be made with dark corn syrup?
I have not tried, but I am sure they could.
Just fyi, they turned out great with the dark corn SYRUP. The color was slightly darker but the taste and texture was spot on! I took them to a small new years eve party.. all 3 dozen were gone long before midnight. I had a little extra caramel so I put it in a dish, let it set up, cut it into squares and dipped it in chocolate for the people who were not a fan of nuts. They held there shape like a dream. These will be a new holiday tradition at my house. Thanks!
Thank you so much for letting me know! I am so glad!
I made 200, hundred of these for Christmas put them in Christmas containers every one love them thank you for sharing this with me !!!!!!
You are so welcome!! That’s a lot!! Thank you for trying them 🙂
Haaa how creative you are with these little cuties! they looks extremly sweet ?
– Natalie
Thanks, going to make right now. Can’ wait .
Hope you liked them!!
These Are so deLicious! I had a hard time eveN sharing theM!!
LOL..they are hard to share! Glad you liked them!
Mine are currently setting up and look amazing. I don’t have a candy thermometer and I’ve never been good at the ice water method, so I made an educated guess and took the caramel off The STove when I thought it should be done. Its setting up so I think I guessed right.
This recipe made a lot! I got just over 4 dozen. I also did some with PECANs and some with cashews instead of pecans.
I lightly sprinkled coarse salt on top of the chocolate for salted caramel chocolate clusters.
THANK you for The Recipe!
Sounds perfect!! Thank you for sharing all of that!
Turtles are my favorite! So glad u Found this recipe!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I am glad you found it 😉 I love turtles too!
These are DELICIOUSly simple! Fun and creative! My kids love to help make thede
They are a great recipe for kids to help! I am glad you all liked them!
I have made these twice and both times the caramel has been rather soft. When you pick them up it starts slowly drooping down. I put them in a container in the fridge and as long as they were cold you get them out fairly easily. But as soon as they started getting to room temp, they stuck to each other and you had fight to get them out and the pecans broke. Any suggestions? They taste good but want to make these to put in christmas boxes for friends.
Mine get a little soft, but not too soft. I wish I knew how to make them a little harder. I haven’t honestly had an issue with them drooping.
Drooping is the same as being soft. the caramel bends down a little bit.
The homemade caramel never set, it was still soft. So I boiled the left over Caramel again to 240-250 deg, and I’ll see what happens… The Caramel is delicious. I put the ones I made in frig, and i will ‘ make Chocolate and hopefully they will be perfect.
Just cook the caramel a little bit longer, it will stiffen the caramel.😊