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Categories: Recipe, sweets
Tags: baking, chocolate, cookies, dessert, fall, holiday, winter
I hope you’ve saved room for one last cookie recipe, because these were my favorites of the season! When Steph, the social media manager from America’s Test Kitchen, sent me a copy of America’s Test Kitchen Holiday Cookies 2010 Special Issue I had a hard time deciding which cookies to make. I asked Joseph if he could help me narrow down the options and when I opened the cover he saw these chocolate turtle cookies and said, “Those. Make those.” I told him he couldn’t take the easy way out; he had to look at all 64 recipes and tell me which one he wanted. But even after going through the entire special issue, he stuck with his original answer: the chocolate turtle cookies.
And frankly, it’s just further proof that I picked out the perfect guy because he was so right. These cookies are ridiculously good. How can you go wrong with gooey caramel nestled in a delicate chocolate cookie coated in toasted pecans? The answer? You just can’t.
I know, it’s a new year, and eating healthier is on nearly everyone’s list of resolutions. But if your new year’s resolutions included making good food, this is the recipe for you. Because even if you’re trying to cut down on sweets, you want to make sure that the sweets you do eat are well worth it. And these cookies are definitely worth it.
Ingredients
Instructions
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These cookies are adorable and I LOVE the pecan pieces on the outside. That creamy caramel doesn’t hurt either
I pinned this recipe, can’t wait to make these!
Do you think these cookies would travel well (i.e. through the mail)? I have a friend’s birthday coming up and I wanted to send her some cookies. These look amazing, but maybe they would be too messy after they got all the way to her. What do you think?
Oh I want these! They turned out perfect.
Well, it might be a little messy, but you could make it work if you really want to send these. I would put wax or parchment paper between each layer and wrap them up so that they’re not going to shake around too much in the box. When she takes off the paper between the layers there will be some caramel stuck to it, but other than that, it should be fine.
these look wonderful. i can’t wait to make them. by the way, i have found myself baking more and more cookies with my OXO spatula i won on your blog. it really is the best cookie spatula i have ever come across. thanks again
Saw this on Foodgawker and had to come checkout the recipe. They look amazing!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the spatula! I can tell you for a fact that the OXO spatula works really well on these cookies, but you may want to check it out for yourself
OMG! These sound HEAVENLY! I found your blog through foodgawker! Love this cookie, I WILL be making this soon!
I bought that issue of cook’s illustrated for this recipe and made them over the holidays. Totally my new favorite cookie. Yours are lovely!
these look so yummy. I just love turtles so I think I will love these. thanks for sharing.
I seriously considered making these over the holidays, but I took on so many other baking projects. I definitely need to make them at some point. Yours look gorgeous.
These look amazingly beautiful and decadent! The texture look just perfect too!
the caramel on top is simply perfect, I’m afraid that these cookies will become my favorite ones
Thanks! Yeah, the entire issue is pretty stellar, but so far these are my favorite. This recipe alone is worth the purchase!
It is incredibly hard to narrow down the choices for the holidays. Fortunately these aren’t super Christmasy or anything, so they’re perfect for any time of year!
I made these this weekend!! But I cannot tell you how much trouble I had trying to find plain caramels!! Philadelphia (or at least my neighborhood) seems entirely opposed to selling them. So I ended up having to buy caramels with cream centers, and then cutting the centers out (wasn’t hard to do). I’m not sure my caramel was quite as good as it would have been with plain caramels, but I assure you there were no complaints from the folks who ate the cookies!! Thanks for posting. I love the pecans on this cookie – they make all the difference.
Wow, that takes some determination to cut out all the cream centers! I’m glad you were able to make it work!
ahhh could these be any cuter!!?!? They look awesome girl! and sound deeeellish! Just found your blog today!
WOW WOW WOW
Sooo delicious!! I’m on diet
This look fantastic! However, I might have to go the completely lazy route and try them with Toffifee stuck in the center rather than dealing with caramel. I have no idea if you can get them in the US (we’re in Germany) but they seem perfect for these…
Awesome recipe! Just tried them and they turned out perfectly! The chocolate cookie nice and fudgey, the pecans lightly toasted and the caramel deliciously smooth! Would definitely make them again and they’ll probably become a must have on my holiday baking list from now on!
I plan on making these this week! They look so delicious!!! I was wondering if the caramel stays soft after cooling? I’ve made turtles before & the caramel got really hard after cooling for a while.
I’m so glad you liked them! They are absolutely going to be on my holiday baking list from now on, not to mention whenever I need a chocolate-caramel fix! They’re just too good!
No, the caramel stays wonderfully soft and gooey, even days later (if you still have any left by then!). Let me know how it goes!
Kristen, thanks for the recipe, these were awesome! My grandmother loves turtle sundaes, turtle cake, etc. so I made these and sent them as a care package for her 97th birthday. She always jokes that she wishes her doctor would prescribe chocolate for her health – I figured at 97 she should eat as many of these as she wants
These look heavinly! I was wondering, can they be made ahead and frozen? Or how long would they last in a container?
They’ll last around a week in a sealed container. I haven’t tried freezing them, but they should keep for up to a month if you wrapped them well. Not a bad idea – that way you could always have some on hand!
I made these as part of a Mother’s Day gift. They turned out soooo good & yummy! Perfect!
…they literally fell apart on the cooling rack. 12 minutes is nowhere near enough? I followed the recipe exactly. Heaps disappointing
Oh no! Maybe your oven runs a little cool? Or maybe the batter didn’t cool enough before you put it in the oven. It’s important to cool it thoroughly so that the butter doesn’t melt the second you put them in the oven.
If I am not going to use the pecans (nut allergies) would I still dip the balls in the egg white?
You can skip the egg wash – that’s just necessary to get the nuts to stick to the cookie. Enjoy!
Hi, I have a gas oven. Max temp is 230 degrees. will be I able to bake in lower temp. this cookies?
Hi Martha, is that in Celsius or Fahrenheit? If your oven is in Celsius, cook them at about 175 or 180 degrees.
Thanx, my oven – Celsius. Will do them this weekend.
i want to make these tomorrow but i dont have pecans…do you think i could use crushed walnuts instead of the pecans?? they look so yummy
Yes, walnuts would be fine. Enjoy!
I love turtles and want to give this a try, but you don’t specify which rack to bake them on. You said to adjust the oven racks up and down from middle, but then you don’t specify which rack to use when it’s time to bake? That’ll make a huge difference. Which one should I use, middle top or middle bottom? thank you
IF you’ve got two cookie sheets, you’ll want to put one in the upper-middle and one in the lower-middle position so that one is in the upper third of your oven and the other is about 2/3 of the way down. Then you’ll want to rotate the cookie sheets halfway through baking. If you only want to bake one sheet at a time, bake it on the middle rack in your oven.
awesome! Now I understand switching! thank you.
Made. LOVED!!!!!! Posted about. Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe … just may be my new favorite cookie. I added a chocolate drizzle on top … come check ‘em out if you’d like.
http://thekitchenismyplayground.blogspot.com/2012/09/insanely-delicious-turtle-cookies.html
Tracey @ The Kitchen is My Playground
How do you know when the cookies are done? Mine have been in over 12 minutes but they are super soft. How are they supposed to be?
These came out great! I hope there are some left for my husband when he gets home from work tonight!
The cookie itself should be somewhat firm to the touch,but not hard. It you press the cookie lightly, it should kind of bounce back.
can I use milk instead of heavy cream? and instead of putting the caramel on the top could i use rolos?
If you want to use rolos, I would skip the heavy cream altogether. Instead, I would press the rolos into the cookie dough just before baking. If you decide to go the caramel route, I would not replace the heavy cream with milk because it will make the caramel too thin.
Hi, i made the cookies and froze them without the caramel, took them out a week later and put the caramel on frozen cookies… they are so good, i am going to server them tomorrow night with a maple syrup mousse verrines and apple cake… thank you so much for this recipe… Sylvie
I made it and it was pure sin ! I used cashew nuts instead of pecan and added some grated cooking chocolate to the mixture as well. I used a caramel sauce ( home made by boiling a tin of condensed milk ) for the centre
How do I not make them to come out flat even thow I used everything by order
Maybe you didn’t chill the dough enough? Also make sure that your butter is not melted, just soft enough that it leaves an impression if you press with your fingers, but it should still provide some resistance.
These look really good. Can you freeze them? If so, for how long?
I’ve never tried freezing them, but it should work. I think in general you can freeze cookies for 3-6 months.
Will the caramel make the cookies stick together when I put them in a container?
I am going to try these and give them as gifts. I have almost all the ingredients on hand but wondered if salted/unsalted butter mattered when making these cookies?
Yes – put some wax or parchment paper between layers.
I prefer unsalted, but if you have salted, that’s fine, just cut down the salt in the recipe.
Found this recipe and your blog via pinterest and I made these cookies for a dessert party last weekend – they were great! Might be my new holiday favorite. I just blogged about them – thanks for sharing the recipe.
How many cookies does this recipe make? I have a cookie exchange on Saturday so I plan on making 7 dozen of these delicious little suckers tomorrow.
The recipe makes 2 1/2 dozen, so you’ll probably want to triple the recipe. Have fun!
Thank you! Of course I noticed that at the top right after I posted my comment. Silly me. Wish me luck! I hope mine turn out as beautiful as yours! Thank you for sharing the recipe, I’ll let you know if they win!
Wow! I was looking for a turtle cookie recipe that contained caramel for my cookie exchange at work. I had found recipes, but not with caramel and then I googled and this came up… OMG! I am so glad I found this recipe, I made them and ate one and all I could keep saying was OMG! I’m sure they will be a hit, I will find out today! I will be making them again for my family for Christmas! Thank You!!!!
I’ve never heard of turtle cookies but am trying these tonight for a party tomorrow!
My husband could only find jersey caramels (is there a difference?!) hmmm, will post tomorrow if they work.
Thanks!
Tried it and failed. not sure where i went worng… will give another go tomorrow
thank you for sharing
Jersey caramels work fine- yay!
I had to cook them a few mins extra and used butter instead of shortening but they turned out really well! Also, I squished them back to the perfect shape when they came out the oven. Thanks!!
Does anyone know if these freeze well?
I made these cookies, found the recipe off of Pinterest, and plan on making MANY batches for the holidays! They were perfect! I struggled with getting the caramel to harden up enough that they didn’t just ooze all over when I tried moving them, maybe less cream next time…. But, a new favorite! THANK YOU!!
Did you use roasted nuts? I would like to but I don’t want them to have a burnt flavor when they finish cooking.
Hi Joanna, The nuts will get toasted lightly while the cookies bake, so there’s no need to roast them beforehand.
Just made these for the first time…and won the Christmas baking contest at the school where I work! Thanks for sharing a great recipe. They are not too hard to make, and really delicious.
I made theses cookies today after finding them on Pinterest. My husband loves chocolate turtles so this was sure to be a winner. These are as amazing as they look. A couple of things I will do differently next year. The mixer makes the cookie mixture too soft. Next time I will either mix by hand or chill longer. Chilling and keeping the cookie dough relatively cold ensures they don’t melt in the oven. I also will make sure I chop the nuts more finely. I also will add less cream to the caramels or add more to the mixture so the caramel gets a little bit firmer like the chocolate candy turtles. Lastly my formed cookie balls were about 2″ this was was too big, not because I don’t love big cookies, but because they take forever to cook and the cookies are so rich they simply are too big to finish. Making the bigger cookie I ended up baking nearly 20 min. Thank you for this wonderful recipe it will be a family classic now for years to come.
Just made these! Next time I’m using Trader Joe’s fleur de sel caramels! Yum!!
I’ll be trying these out tonight. I’ll be making them Mexican style though by using Dulce de Leche which is a type of caramel!! So excited to se how they come out. I have a squeze bottle for a mess free pour hahaha
I can only imagine how good these cookies must taste, especially with that pool of caramel in the middle of them! I’m so glad there are others out there like me who still think cookie recipes are 100% acceptable after New Year’s (resolutions or not!). We can’t miss out on this kind of a deliciousnness!
Can i use homemade caramel? How can i make the caramel harden a little bit?
Thank you in advance!!! These are the recipe ive been looking for!!! Thanks for sharong it!????
I made these for my grandfather and he LOVED them!!!!!
Another Winner! I just had to pre-test these as a contribution for a fund-raising bake sale this coming week. They are absolutely, hands down my favourite cookie. Surprisingly not sweet, just the right amount of caramel heaven with rich chocolate cookie goodness covered in pecans. I posted them on my blog. Thank you for sharing this cookie!