Homemade Turtle Candy . . . these decadent little clusters are a perfect combination of crunchy and chewy all rolled into one amazing candy. A simple homemade caramel makes this recipe the best!
Turtles have always been one of my favorite candies. The crunchy pecans, the chewy caramel, the melt in your mouth chocolate. Simply incredible. I don’t know why I never thought to make a homemade version before now.
Guys, this homemade turtle candy is amazing. Way better than any store bought turtles I’ve ever tried!
HOW TO MAKE TURTLE CANDY
Don’t be intimidated about the candy making process, these turtles are really quite simple to make. You start by toasting your pecans. Toasting makes a huge difference in the flavor of the finished product, so don’t skip this step. Just place your pecans on a cookie sheet and bake at 350° for about 10 minutes. They will smell amazing!
Arrange the pecans in clusters of 3-4 on baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats. If you don’t have them, you can use waxed or parchment paper sprayed with non-stick spray.
As soon as your caramel is ready, immediately spoon the hot caramel on top of the clusters, making sure each pecan is covered with some caramel. Don’t worry about perfection, just work fast. If the caramel starts to set up, you can pop it back on the stove for a minute or two.
You can wait for the caramel to set up, or just add the chocolate now. Just melt the chocolate and oil in a small glass bowl in the microwave at half power, stirring often. Then spoon a small amount of chocolate on top of each turtle. Use the back of your spoon to make a little swirl in the chocolate as you lift it.
The hardest part about homemade turtle candy is waiting for the chocolate to set up. Be patient, it can take awhile. Mine weren’t totally set up for a couple of hours. Of course, you don’t have to wait that long to eat one! 🙂
You can tell they are set up when the chocolate loses its shiny luster.
Now you can go ahead and dive right in. Mmmmm.
For more treats perfect for the holidays, checkthese out:
Homemade Turtles Candy recipe - Baked pecans covered in a delicious homemade caramel and topped with with melted chocolate! These treats make perfect neighbor gifts for the holidays!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Ingredients
3 cups whole pecans
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
Dash of salt
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk (half of a 14oz can)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate chips)
1/2 tsp vegetable oil or shortening
Instructions
Place pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° 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 mixture reaches 235-240 degrees. 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 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.
Leave a comment below and pin the recipe to Pinterest!
This turtle recipe is perfect for holiday gift giving, but seriously, homemade turtle candy with pecans and caramel is going to be well received any time of year!
It's no surprise that Turtles® clusters have been popular for more than 100 years. The original caramel nut cluster filled with crunchy pecans, creamy caramel, and luscious chocolate was just the beginning.
Turtles are a candy made with pecans and caramel dipped in chocolate, with a shape resembling a turtle. The name is trademarked by DeMet's Candy Company.
The chocolate turtle today is a trademarked candy from Chicago's DeMet's Candy Company. However, candy history tells us that the "turtle" originated in San Francisco during the early 1900s. The chocolate candy with caramel and pecans was the creation of a candy chef named Louis Gordon Hooper.
After nearly 100 years, Pecan Caramel Clusters or "Turtles" are still one of the most popular nut candies. And ours are the best. Created in small batches, we start with fresh pecan pieces, Georgia grown of course. Then add thick creamy caramel, and finally enrobe them in our smooth Milk Chocolate.
Choose from an assortment of turtles, including dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate turtles with pecans, cashews, and almonds. We know these delicious turtles are sure to be a new favorite!
Why do we call it White Turtle? Because it's the white chocolate version of a turtle candy! We know you'll go nuts for the Vanilla Ice Cream, Caramel and real Pecans that go into this classic Bruster's flavor.
pick-AHN: A hybrid of other pronunciations, this one is prevalent in the southern U.S., notably in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma. PIC-ann: Not many places list this as a pecan pronunciation, but it does seem to be another hybrid form of pronouncing the nut's name.
The original praline was invented in France in the 17th Century. The Praline is named after César duc de Choiseul, comte du Plessis-Praslin, a French diplomat.
What is the difference between Pralines and Turtles? The turtles contain pecans and chocolate, the pralines do not. Pralines use Almonds in the recipe, Homemade Turtle Candy with Pecans and Caramel, uses pecans.
Ye Olde Pepper Candy Companie in Salem is the oldest, continuously operated candy company in America, and much of its early history was rooted in Peabody. In 1806, Mrs. Spencer began selling gibralters, a hard sugar candy, from her wagon in Salem.
Our easy Homemade Turtles are made with chewy caramel, toasted pecans, and rich chocolate for one of the BEST Christmas candy recipes that you really can (and should!)
He is best known for introducing Milky Way (1924) and Mars (1932) chocolate bars, and M&M's (1941) chocolate, as well as orchestrating the launch of Uncle Ben's Rice. He was the son of candy company Mars, Inc.
In fact, the sale of tiny pet turtles has been banned in the US since 1975 because of the number of illnesses they cause and the risk to children. Although any turtle can carry germs, tiny turtles are especially risky because children are more likely to handle them and get sick.
Of the 360 known turtle and tortoise species, 187 are threatened, according to the IUCN Red List criteria. Of these, 127 are endangered or critically endangered. Many could go extinct this century.
The shape of them with a hump of caramel in the middle resembles a turtle shell, hence the name. I've turned one of my favorite fudgy cocoa brownie recipes into the ultimate decadent treat by adding pecans, chocolate chips and drizzles of salted caramel to deliver a nostalgic taste of that famous confection!
In 1983, Laird invited Eastman to move in with him in Dover, New Hampshire. That November, Eastman drew a masked turtle standing on its hind legs armed with nunchucks to make Laird laugh. Laird added the words "teenage mutant".
A Culver's Classic! We begin with creamy Vanilla Fresh Frozen Custard and swirl in ribbons of old fashioned salted caramel, novelty chocolate, and toasted pecan pieces.
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