Homemade Turtle Candies

18 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

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!

Chocolate Turtle CandyHOMEMADE 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 Caramel Turtles

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.

Chocolate Turtles with Pecans

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Homemade Turtle Candies

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!
Yield 18 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

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

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 268kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 48mg | Potassium: 199mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 25IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1.5mg
Keyword: chocolate turtle candy

Chocolate Turtles

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. 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!

    1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

    1. 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.

  4. 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

    1. 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!

  5. 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.