Homemade Turtle Candies are the PERFECT sweet and crunchy no-bake candy, made with melted chocolate and caramel over toasted pecans, ready in only minutes!
Homemade candy is easy to make and a kid-friendly fun activity, like this Oreo Balls (Oreo Truffles), Buckeye Balls, and Chocolate Truffles!
HOMEMADE TURTLE CANDIES
Homemade Turtle Candies are a sweet, chewy, and crunchy dessert, make with pecan clusters coated in caramel and drizzled with melted chocolate. This is the PERFECT 4-ingredient recipe to make for family and friends around the holidays, or just as a weekend treat. You can also try my Pretzel Turtles for a sweet and salty version.
You can top these homemade turtles with sea salt, sprinkles, or decoratively drizzle with melted caramel. They’re a great alternative to baking, plus you can make a lot of these turtles at one time and give them out as gifts, along with my Turtle Cookies!
CAN I SUBSTITUTE CARAMEL TOPPING FOR MELTED CARAMEL CANDIES?
I like to use the caramel candies for this recipe because they tend to harden better, where my caramel topping often stays soft. You can make the caramel in my caramel candies recipe, but that is a lot more work than just melting the caramel candies.
MORE CARAMEL DESSERT RECIPES
- Chocolate Covered Caramels
- Salted Caramels
- Salted Caramel Brownies
- Chocolate Caramel Pizookie (Cookie Pizza!)
- Gluten Free Salted Caramel Cupcakes
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WHERE DO TURTLE CANDIES GET THEIR NAME?
Turtle candies are playfully named for their shape, which looks like little turtles with a candy shell.
WHAT ELSE CAN YOU TOP THESE TURTLES WITH?
- Coconut flakes
- Cinnamon sugar
- Mini chocolate chips
- Crushed nuts
HOW TO STORE TURTLES
You can store these turtles at room temperature in an airtight container for 2-3 weeks. Keep them away from warm temperatures, if it’s really hot then move them to the refrigerator so the chocolate doesn’t start to melt.
CAN YOU FREEZE HOMEMADE TURTLES?
You can definitely freeze these homemade turtle candies. I like to layer them in an airtight container with parchment paper or wax paper, which prevents them from sticking together. Freeze for 2-3 months, then defrost at room temperature.
TIPS FOR MAKING THIS TURTLE CANDY RECIPE
- Try making these with my Slow Cooker Candied Cinnamon Pecans for more flavor.
- You can also spoon some melted white chocolate over the dark chocolate on these candies decoratively.
- You can help the melted caramel or chocolate set faster by refrigerating for 15 minutes.
- You can use chocolate melting disks, or chocolate chips for this recipe.
- If you prefer baking a lot of this candy at once, you can assemble the caramels on top of the pecan clusters, then bake for 3-5 minutes at 200 degrees F, before topping with the melted chocolate.
- Add a few drops of coconut oil to the chocolate if it’s too lumpy to smooth it out.
- Add a teaspoon of espresso powder to the melted chocolate for a mocha version of this candy recipe.
- Make this recipe with dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate. If you’d prefer white chocolate, you can also use almond bark.
- Toast your pecans by spreading them out on a baking sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees F. Instead of baking, you can also add them to a hot non-stick skillet, stirring constantly until they are fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- Make these turtles in the microwave by layering the pecans and caramels, then the chocolate, working in batches at 20-30 seconds at a time.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces toasted pecans
- 12 ounces caramels
- 1 tablespoon water
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate
Instructions
- Make 18 small mounds of pecans on parchment paper, roughly 4-5 pecans in each one.
- Add the caramels and water to a microwave safe bowl and microwave in 30 second increments until fully melted and stirred together fully.
- Scoop 2 teaspoons of caramel over each set of pecans then let it set for 2-3 minutes before adding melted chocolate.
- Melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl in 30 second increments until mixed completely and smooth and scoop 2 teaspoons of chocolate over each caramel cluster then allow the cluster to harden before eating.
Notes
Nutrition
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Are these raw pecans that you toast, or already roasted, salted pecans?
I use raw pecans. Please let us know how your Turtle Candies turn out! Happy Holidays!
So good abs so easy !!!
The caramel in my turtles is too hard, they are very hard to chew . I followed the directions but, how can I fix it so they can be eaten? Is there something I can place in the storage container with them that would help put moisture back into the caramel to soften it a bit like a slice of bread? Help!
No, there wouldn’t have been anything to do to fix them after the fact. Did you use the exact amount of caramels and liquid? the only fix is it was low on liquid, that’s what keeps it softer.
Can you use peanuts??
Sure 🙂
Love this idea and recipe. However I found the melted caramel too soft and flowed off the cluster of pecans. So what I did, was let the caramel cool off but was yet still pliable. I then took the cooled caramel, made a little disc and placed it on the cluster of pecans. Viola, worked like a charm. To keep the caramel from sticking to your fingers, ensure they are slightly wet.
Glad you were able to make it work, Lois.
I have made these years ago and is easy to do. A good hit for entertaining your guests
Thanks Suzanne, glad you liked it!
My problem was the melted caramel was too sticky, even after adding water. It was almost impossible to spoon the caramel onto the pecans without making a mess. it wanted to stick hard to anything it touched. The end result tasted great, but I’m not looking forward to working with melted caramel again.
Hi there a little tip, I bought soft Carmel’s you unwrap and cut them in half. Then put in oven on 300 for only about two mins then put the pea an on top and and out on my deck quick for three mins. Worked great,also another way I do them is to buy rolo’s and put them on the pretzel stick in the oven on 300 for four minutes and then put the pecan on top and cool them outside for a couple minutes were in the freezer worked like a charm. Hope this helps.
I made these a few hours ago exactly as instructed and they won’t harden. What gives?
Oh no! sounds like the chocolate was too hot or not stirred enough. Hope this helps for next time.
Our turtles just didn’t come out right. Carmel was too running and the chocolate the same. Followed the recipe. Our 1st time making this recipe. We’re going to give it another chance. Anyone else have problems like this? Merry Christmas kk
Oh no! Next time, try microwaving it for a shorter time so it’s not as runny or add less water for the caramels. Hope this helps!
Made theses and they turned out great.
So glad you like them! Thanks for the review! 🙂
I’ve made so many of your dishes, all so very delish. I really enjoy getting food ideas from you and can’t wait for the next email to arrive.
Aw, thank you for letting me know Diann! I really appreciate that!
Great recipe, this is may second time using this easy recipe. I didn’t have any problems.
Thank you!!!
I’m glad you love it so much to make it again.
These look so delicious and I can’t wait to make them for our party this weekend!
Sounds like a plan! Have fun!
These looks SO good!! I can’t wait to try this recipe!! YUM!
I hope you enjoy it!
Turtles are my all time favorites!!! Nothing better then pecans, caramel and chocolate. YUM!!
You’ve got that right!
Yum! Can’t wait to make these.
I hope you love them!
I make these for every holiday! They are a real favorite.
Such a classic!