Chocolate Turtle Cookies
These chocolate turtle cookies are stunning, and their intense chocolate flavor combined with the smooth caramel speaks for itself!
When I saw this cookie in the last issue of Cook’s Country, I couldn’t wait to try it.
It looks like a perfect Christmas cookie but let me tell you, this cookie is so delicious, I want to make them every day of the week, regardless of the season!
Albeit a little messy from the chopped pecans, these are fantastic and were a huge hit when I made them last week for a group of friends.
Not only are they stunning in appearance, but their intense chocolate flavor combined with the smooth caramel will speak for themselves!
Chocolate Turtle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (142 g) all-purpose flour
- â…“ cup (28 g) cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) butter, softened
- â…” cup (141 g) sugar
- 1 large egg, separated, plus 1 egg white
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped pecans, chopped fine
- 14 soft caramel candies
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners.
- Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in bowl. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined.
- Refrigerate dough until firm, at least 1 hour.
- Whisk egg white(s) in another bowl until frothy. Place pecans in another bowl. One at a time, roll dough into 1-inch balls, dip in egg whites, then roll in pecans. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using teaspoon measure, make indentation in center of each ball.
- Bake until set, 10 to 12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking.
- Meanwhile, microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Once cookies are removed from oven, gently press existing indentations with teaspoon measure. Fill each with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon caramel mixture. Cool 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool completely.
Notes
Yield: the original recipe says it will make 2 dozen cookies, but I DOUBLED the recipe, and still only ended up with about 28 cookies (and I promise I didn’t eat that much of the batter).
Serving: 1 Cookie, Calories: 282kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 42mg, Sodium: 153mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 19g
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Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Cook’s Country
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These cookies are the BEST. I’ve made them every year since the recipe was posted. I thought I’d give up after the 1st year because it was a mess. There are a lot of steps. I’ve got it down now to a process, so I offer these tips. (1) Go ahead and make a double batch. If you’re going to go through the effort, it’s not much more work to double it. (2) I yield 24-25 cookies per batch. Dough balls weigh 17-20 grams/each. This is the perfect size for a Xmas cookie platter. (3) Only put a bit of chopped nuts in a bowl at a time to roll the cookies in. The nuts will become wet from the egg white. (4) I use the end of a wooden spoon to press a hole into the cookie ball before baking. (5) when the cookies come out of the oven use the wooden spoon end to widen the holes if needed. (6) If a cookie has flattened a bit or is misshapen, don’t worry. Just reshape it with your hands while it’s still warm.
Thanks for including your tips, Nancy!