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Turtle candy has a baked pecan base covered in delicious homemade caramel and melted chocolate. They are the perfect treat for sharing!
You also need to try Turtle Thumbprint Cookies and Turtle Cheesecake, which have all the same flavors as these candies.
We Love Chocolate Turtles!
These chocolate turtle candies are a family favorite (my mom’s all-time favorite) and are often sold and made year round, but they’re especially popular during Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Here’s why we absolutely love them:
- Flavor combination. The crunchy pecans, the chewy caramel, the chocolate that melts in your mouth. Simply incredible.
- Homemade. This version is better than any turtle candy I have ever purchased. Plus, they’re less expensive to make than buy.
- Simple. Don’t be intimidated about the candy-making process, this turtle candy recipe is really quite simple to make and is great to gift.
If you’re on the hunt for candies and cookies to give out around the holidays, make sure to include these homemade turtles!
Why is it called turtle candy? If you use your imagination, the pecans covered in caramel and chocolate look like little turtles – hence the name!
Ingredients
- whole pecans
- butter – If you use salted butter reduce the amount of added salt.
- brown sugar
- corn syrup – light or dark corn syrup
- salt
- sweetened condensed milk – Do not use evaporated milk.
- vanilla extract
- chocolate chips – I used milk chocolate chips, but you can use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips.
- vegetable oil – or shortening
How to Make Turtle Candy
- PECANS. Place 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.
- CARAMEL. 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.
- CORRECT TEMP. Continue cooking and stirring till the mixture reaches 235-240°F.
- I like to 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 the chocolate chips and 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.
Variations
- Start with a pretzel base, top with chocolate, then add caramel and pecans.
- Top with sea salt to give more contrast in flavors.
- Use melted white chocolate on top instead of milk chocolate.
Store-bought caramel
If you are running short on time, you can use store-bought caramels.
- Use about 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 end result. Pour over the pecans to solidify them together.
Recipe Tips
Use these simple tips when making caramel for this recipe!
- Use a candy thermometer to ensure the caramel reaches 235-240°F.
- Elevation may play a role in how long to boil the caramel and what temperature it should reach. To test, use the following tips:
- 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.
storing info
- STORE. Store chocolate turtle candy at room temperature in an airtight container so the caramel stays soft.
- FREEZE. For long-term storage, place caramel turtles in a freezer-safe container and freeze for 4-6 weeks. Set them out on the counter to soften, or you may be asking Santa for your two front teeth.
For more holiday candy, try:
Turtle Candy Recipe
Turtle candy has a baked pecan base covered in delicious homemade caramel and melted chocolate. They are the perfect treat for sharing!
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole pecans
- 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 like to 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
- STORE. Store chocolate turtle candy at room temperature in an airtight container so the caramel stays soft.
- FREEZE. For long-term storage, place caramel turtles in a freezer-safe container and freeze for 4-6 weeks. Set them out on the counter to soften, or you may be asking Santa for your two front teeth.
Nutrition
Serving: 36g, Calories: 172kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 10mg, Sodium: 37mg, Potassium: 63mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 18g, Vitamin A: 115IU, Vitamin C: 0.3mg, Calcium: 37mg, Iron: 0.4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Recipe inspired by Jamie Cooks It Up!
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.😊