chocolate turtle cookies
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
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 large egg, separated, plus 1 egg white
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups pecans, chopped fine
- 14 soft caramel candies
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, 1 hour.
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk egg whites in bowl until frothy. Place pecans in another bowl. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, dip in egg whites, then roll in pecans. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using 1/2-teaspoon measure, make indentation in center of each ball. Bake until set, about 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking.
- Microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Once cookies are removed from oven, gently re-press existing indentations. Fill each with 1/2 teaspoon caramel mixture. Cool 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Try not to devour them all at once.
January 12th, 2012 at 9:48 am
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!
January 12th, 2012 at 10:04 am
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?
January 12th, 2012 at 11:41 am
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.
January 12th, 2012 at 11:03 am
Oh I want these! They turned out perfect.
January 12th, 2012 at 1:06 pm
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
January 12th, 2012 at 3:27 pm
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
January 12th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
Saw this on Foodgawker and had to come checkout the recipe. They look amazing!
January 12th, 2012 at 3:25 pm
Thanks so much for stopping by!
January 12th, 2012 at 5:56 pm
OMG! These sound HEAVENLY! I found your blog through foodgawker! Love this cookie, I WILL be making this soon!
January 12th, 2012 at 7:15 pm
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!
January 15th, 2012 at 6:14 pm
Thanks! Yeah, the entire issue is pretty stellar, but so far these are my favorite. This recipe alone is worth the purchase!
January 12th, 2012 at 9:34 pm
these look so yummy. I just love turtles so I think I will love these. thanks for sharing.
January 12th, 2012 at 10:07 pm
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.
January 15th, 2012 at 6:16 pm
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!
January 13th, 2012 at 11:45 am
These look amazingly beautiful and decadent! The texture look just perfect too!
January 13th, 2012 at 10:04 pm
the caramel on top is simply perfect, I’m afraid that these cookies will become my favorite ones
January 16th, 2012 at 10:23 am
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.
January 16th, 2012 at 10:30 am
Wow, that takes some determination to cut out all the cream centers! I’m glad you were able to make it work!
January 17th, 2012 at 11:20 am
ahhh could these be any cuter!!?!? They look awesome girl! and sound deeeellish! Just found your blog today!
January 18th, 2012 at 1:24 pm
WOW WOW WOW
Sooo delicious!! I’m on diet
January 24th, 2012 at 4:49 pm
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…
January 28th, 2012 at 6:04 pm
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!
January 30th, 2012 at 2:23 pm
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!
January 30th, 2012 at 2:20 pm
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.
January 30th, 2012 at 2:24 pm
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!
April 20th, 2012 at 2:01 pm
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
April 24th, 2012 at 8:22 am
These look heavinly! I was wondering, can they be made ahead and frozen? Or how long would they last in a container?
April 24th, 2012 at 10:07 am
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!