If you want a cookie that goes all in, these Turtle Cookies with Homemade Caramel are pure chocolate & caramel ecstasy! This rich and fudgy chocolate cookie is coated in toasted pecans, baked until soft + chewy then filled with a puddle of glossy homemade caramel.
This cookie recipe is bakery level gorgeous but totally achievable at home. These babies disappear faster than you can put them out.
A Quick Glance At This Turtle Cookies Recipe
- ✅Done in: 1 hour and 40 minutes
- 🛒Ingredients: 12
- 🍽️Serves: 18 cookies
- 💪Difficulty: Medium - there are a decent amount of steps
- 👩🍳Cook Method: Bake
- ⏰Make Ahead Friendly: Yes!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This caramel sauce is fool proof and perfect for beginners & making Turtle Pie.
- Triple texture trifecta - soft baked cookies, crunchy pecans & gooey caramel.
- Turtle Cookies give holiday & Southern Pecan Pie vibes meets old fashioned turtle candies, AKA nostalgia and they are great for gifting!
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Recipe Ingredients
- Homemade Caramel Sauce: This easy caramel sauce makes these Turtle Cookies a step ahead of the rest! Quick with the taste of fancy. Caramel pools so photogenic your guests can't help but take photos to post on social media.
- Butter: I always use unsalted so I can control the added salt.
- Cocoa Powder: Dutch process cocoa powder is best for Turtle Cookies.
- Espresso Powder: This is the secret ingredient of many chocolate baked goods, including Hot Chocolate Cookies. It doesn't give a strong coffee flavor but it enhances to chocolate flavor.
- Heavy Cream: Heavy cream is a must for the caramel sauce. Also know as heavy whipping cream, the full fat from this product is needed to achieve desired results.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- Espresso powder may be omitted.
- Store bought caramels, caramel bits, or caramel sauce can be used in a pinch or effort to save time. Melt caramels in the microwave before using for 10 second increments, stirring between each time to make them soft and spoon-able.
- Walnuts, Almonds, cashews or pistachios may be used in place of pecans.
- Use semi-sweet chocolate chips, bittersweet chocolate, or milk chocolate chips in these caramel cookies - which are mouthwatering in Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
How To Make Turtle Cookies
Step 1: Melt sugar in a large pan with low sides.
Step 2: Whisk butter into melted sugar.
Step 3: Whisk in heavy cream, remove caramel sauce from burner immediately.
Step 4: Whisk dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
Step 5: Cream butter and sugar in a mixer with paddle attachment, then add eggs and vanilla before stirring in dry ingredients.
Step 6: Gently fold in chocolate chips.
Step 7: Form cookies and make an indentation.
Step 8: Whip egg whites in a bowl until frothy.
Step 9: Dip Turtle Cookies in whipped egg whites and crushed pecans then bake.
Step 10: After baking, fill each cookie's indentation with warm caramel. Allow to set.
Expert Baking Tips
- Keep burner at a low temperature when melting sugar and keep a close eye. You don't want to stir the sugar but instead, let it melt while occasionally swirling the pan or scooting the pan over on the burner to melt remaining sugar. You can also use a heat proof rubber spatula to "paint' the melted sugar over the top of the un-melted sugar. Sugar can become to dark and burn if you don't keep a close watch and use low heat.
- This turtle cookie dough requires chilling before baking so they don't spread out too thin. This is a common practice to allow the dough to rehydrate, also used in Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies.
- Use a long whisk for stirring the caramel so you don't get burned by steam while making caramel sauce.
Turtle Cookie Recipe FAQs
You can keep turtle cookies stored at room temperature for up to 3 days. You must store them in a single layer in an airtight container - do not use any wax paper or plastic wrap over them as it will stick to the caramel even when completely cooled. They can be stored in the same manner in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
These caramel cookies can also be stored in the freezer for up to 2 months. I like to place the cookies on a sheet tray in a single layer then place them uncovered into the freezer. Come back after at least 2 hours and remove the tray, place the cookies into an airtight container and back into the freezer. At this point, the cookies can be stacked with layers of parchment in between because the caramel is frozen. Be sure to remove cookies and thaw in a single layer, to not make a mess of the caramel.
While not all cookies need to be chilled before baking, these caramel pecan cookies do. Chilling the dough allows it to rehydrate and keeps them from spreading out in the oven.
Yes! If you want to make all of your holiday cookies ahead of time, Turtle Cookies can be done for sure. I would bake them and cool completely then freeze before adding the caramel. Alternatively, you can fully make the Turtle Cookies with Caramel Sauce then place them in a single layer on a sheet tray, uncovered, into the freezer. Allow them to freeze for 4 hours then stack them in an airtight container and place back into the freezer for up to 2 months.
The sugar should be a medium amber color - medium brown. Be sure not to burn the sugar by keeping it on low and swirling the pan around.
Good news! We're using the dry method of making caramel here so there's much less of a chance to crystalize your caramel. Use a wide pan with shallow sides - I use a skillet with straight sides. Allow your sugar to spread out evenly in a thin layer without having it touch the sides of the pan. When it's near the sides it can start to go up the side and crystalize.
If your caramel starts to crystalize on the side of the pan, swirl your pan to one side allowing melted sugar to go over the top of the crystalized sugar. Continue doing this until the crystalized sugar has melted back in and is smooth.
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📖Recipe
Turtle Cookies With Homemade Caramel
Equipment
Ingredients
Caramel Sauce
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- 1 pinch kosher salt
Dry Ingredients
- 2½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup Dutch process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon espresso powder
Wet Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temp
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temp
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 2 egg whites
- 1 cup pecans chopped finely
Instructions
Homemade Caramel
- Heat sugar in a medium pot over low heat until sugar melts. Do not stir during this time. If sugar begins melting unevenly, swirl the sugar around in the pot and move the pot on the burner to ensure more even melting
- Once all granules are melted and sugar is an amber brown, add the butter and whisk quickly. Mixture will sputter quite a bit
- Pour in heavy cream and mix vigorously while sputtering until fully combined
- Mix in a pinch of salt then set caramel aside until needed
Dry Ingredients
- Whisk all dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl and set aside
Wet Ingredients
- Cream butter and both sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 3-4 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy
- Mix in eggs and vanilla
- Add dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated
- Mix in chocolate chips
- Line a sheet tray with parchment paper and scoop 2½ oz cookie balls
- Beat egg whites with the stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment or an electric hand mixer until frothy and airy
- Dip each cookie into the egg white mixture then into the pecan mixture, one at a time, placing them back onto the sheet tray afterwards. Use the back of a teaspoon and make an imprint into each cookie then freeze uncovered for 1 hour
- Preheat oven to 350°F then place cookies 2 inches apart on a parchment lined sheet tray and bake for 8-10 minutes. Lightly repress the spoon into the cookies if needed
- Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to the cooling rack for the remainder of the cooling process. Fill each cookie with caramel and serve
Kim Thuente
Total deliciousness!
Krista Stechman
Agreed, so delicious! So happy you liked them!
Tammy Cruse
These cookies are absolutely delicious! They are decadent as the name suggests! Definitely the star of the show for my holiday baking.
Krista Stechman
They're the best! We love them for the holidays as well.
Dacia Cobarrubias
Delicious and simple to follow! They were definitely a hit!
Krista Stechman
Glad you liked them, thank you!
Paul
Best cookies I ever made!!
Krista Stechman
I feel the same way! Happy to hear they're the best cookies ever!
Krista
Such rich chocolatey cookies! The crunch from the pecans and the caramel puddles are sooo good! Adding these to the Christmas cookie list!