Salted Caramel Pecan Turtles

Sink your teeth into the gooey goodness of Salted Caramel Pecan Turtles. Homemade with toasted pecans, soft caramels, dark chocolate and a sprinkle of sea salt, these easy no-bake turtles are so much better than store-bought.

Life is a series of mishaps keeping my name off Santa’s nice list. In any other year, my freezer would already be stocked with truffles, peppermint bark, fudge and homemade turtles for jolly old Saint Nick. Instead, we’re 5 days into December and I’ve barely given candy making a passing thought. For the record, I didn’t lose my Christmas spirit; I lost a battle with walking pneumonia and spent the past 2 weeks coughing so hard that I cracked a rib. To make matters worse, my newfound fracture keeps poking me in precisely the same spot as my underwire bra.

Imagine being simultaneously stabbed in the boob by a jagged bone and a metal wire every time you cough. Now imagine coughing 24/7 for 14 days straight. I swear it’ll be a Christmas miracle if my silicone implant survives without springing a leak. Especially when Santa has strict instructions for his reindeer to fly right past the homes of women who are 50% flat chested and 100% out of his favorite candy. This is why I’m preemptively stuffing my left bra cup with a stocking from the mantle. And why I’m making a batch of pecan turtles pronto.

Fortunately, my pecan turtle recipe makes 60 turtles, which is enough for Santa and a whole slew of his elves. Plus, this 5-ingredient candy is no bake and so easy to pull off that you can do it with a broken rib and bacterial pneumonia. Forget antibiotics, nothing makes me feel better than homemade Pecan Turtles. Try a batch yourself then say goodbye to the boxed versions at CVS and hello to freshly toasted pecans, gooey caramels, dark chocolate and a kiss of sea salt better than any mistletoe kiss this side of the North Pole.

Before sharing the recipe for how to make Pecan Turtles, here are a few tips to help you out:

Ingredient Tips

Be sure to choose soft caramels for this recipe. I used Kraft but Werther’s would also be a great substitute. Since each caramel brand is different, you’ll need to adjust the amount of heavy cream needed when melting the caramels.

This recipe calls for chocolate melting wafers instead of chocolate chips. I love Ghirardelli’s Dark Chocolate Melting Wafers but milk chocolate or a combination of milk and dark would also work great.

Preparation Tips

When melting caramels, you must stir thoroughly after each 30 second burst in the microwave. The first 2 attempts at stirring will be difficult, but it’s still necessary to rotate the caramel placement to prevent burning.

To make cleanup a cinch, boil a large pan of water then pour it into your prep bowls until the stuck on caramel and chocolate melts off.

How to Store Pecan Turtles

Cover and store caramels in an airtight container between layers of parchment paper at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks or in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 weeks.

To freeze homemade turtles, place them in an airtight container between layers of parchment paper and store in the freezer up to 3 months.

I hope you enjoy making Pecan Turtles candy! Please leave a rating and review below when you try out the recipe. And, while you’re at it, sign up for my weekly Recipe Newsletter so you never miss a tempting recipe.

Finally, if you’re looking for more Christmas candy recipes check out this Boozy Peppermint Bark. Yule love how easy it is to make this 4-ingredient candy at home! Simply splash peppermint schnapps into melted dark and white chocolate, swirl the two together then sprinkle with crushed candy canes.

Salted Caramel Pecan Turtles

Heather Wolf

Sink your teeth into the gooey goodness of Salted Caramel Pecan Turtles. Homemade with toasted pecans, soft caramels, dark chocolate and a sprinkle of sea salt, these easy, no-bake turtles are so much better than store-bought.

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 0 minutes mins

Freeze 15 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Candy and Sweets

Cuisine American

Servings 60 Turtles

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups pecan halves
• 30 soft caramels
• 2 – 3 tbsp heavy cream
• 8 ounces dark chocolate melting wafers
• sea salt for sprinkling

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350F.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper then place pecan halves on top in a single layer.
• Toast pecans for 8 to 10 minutes, flipping them with a spatula after the first 4 minutes to ensure they heat evenly on both sides.
• Remove pecans from the oven.
• Once pecans have cooled to the touch, make individual piles of 2 pecan halves on the parchment paper. (If you have broken pieces of pecans, use 3 to 4 pieces to make a pile.) Set aside.
• Unwrap caramels then place them in a heat-safe bowl.
• Add 2 tablespoons of heavy cream to the bowl then microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each increment, until caramels are melted and smooth.

  Note: If caramel sauce is too thick to drizzle, stir in an additional tablespoon of warmed heavy cream.
• Top each pile of pecans with a drizzle of caramel.

  Note: You can eyeball the amount of caramel needed to cover the top of each pile, there is no need to measure but it will be approximately 1 tablespoon of caramel per pile.
• Place chocolate melting wafers in a heat-safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments, stirring after each increment, until melted and smooth.
• Top each pile of caramel pecans with a dollop of melted chocolate.

  Again, no need to measure the chocolate but you will use approximately 1 tablespoon of chocolate per pile.
• Sprinkle turtles with sea salt.
• Place turtles in the freezer for 15 minutes or until the chocolate sets.
• Return turtles to room temperature before serving.
• Cover and store caramels in an airtight container between layers of parchment paper at room temperature for 1 week, in the refrigerator for 2 weeks or freeze up to 3 months.

Keyword candy, caramel, chocolate, pecan, turtles