Got a burning passion to make the best turtle cookies? You’ll be on cookie overload with this easy recipe! There’s no shame in coming up with a recipe for something simple. With my tips, you can achieve the best pecan turtle cookies in your neighborhood!
Turtle cookies
These turtle cookies are so delicious! These would be a great addition to a Christmas party, on a dessert table or a holiday cookie exchange. They’re crunchy and a little chewy and the butter cream frosting is so sweet and creamy it melts in your mouth, and adds a wonderful finish to this cookie. Make sure you put this one in your favorites, it’s sure to be asked for again!
More cookies you will love:
- Banana bread cookies with frosting
- Strawberry cookies with cream cheese frosting
- Lemon almond cookies
- Italian chocolate salami
- Mint magic cookie bars
- Chocolate crinkle cookies
- Air fryer hot cocoa cookies
- Chocolate turtle cookies
When it comes to creating delicious cookie recipes, it doesn’t get much better than the combination of chocolate and nuts. That’s why you’re going to love the classic flavor of your favorite candy that’s packed into these flavorful turtle cookies. With caramel swirl icing and a hard chocolate shell on top, these decadent cookies are an amazing treat you can enjoy any time of year. The combination of sweet caramel and chocolate with crunchy pecans is the perfect way to satisfy your sweet tooth.
What is a Turtle Cookie?
Turtle cookies are cookies made with the traditional ingredients found in turtle chocolate candy. Most turtle candy is made of a combination of caramel, chocolate, and pecans, resulting in a sweet and salty treat. And since these three ingredients go so well together, they result in a delicious holiday treat that also makes a great Christmas present!
These delicious cookies feature all the flavors of a classic turtle candy. With finely chopped pecans mixed into the cookie dough, you’ll instantly taste the salty crunch of nuts when you take a bite. And thanks to the hard chocolate shell on the outside of the cookie, you’ll get the feeling of biting into a delicious, nutty chocolate. But my favorite part is the creamy caramel swirl mixed into the smooth, cream cheese icing.
Turtle Cookie Baking Tips
These cookies are so simple to make! But that doesn’t mean you can’t use a few tricks as you’re baking. These easy tips will help make the baking process quick and simple, ensuring you have some delicious cookies to eat without any issues.
- Make sure your butter and cream cheese are softened. The key to getting the right consistency in your cookie dough and icing is working with room temperature ingredients. Around one hour before you plan to start baking, set out the butter and cream cheese on the kitchen counter. Allow them to rest at room temperature to soften for best results.
- Use a cookie scoop for even baking. To ensure each of your cookies is the same size, try using a cookie scoop to separate the dough. Scoop the dough out using the spoon, then roll the dough between your hands to smooth the sides before placing the dough ball on the baking sheet.
- Chill the dough to prevent spreading. While this dough doesn’t require any chilling before baking, if you notice your cookies are spreading too much, try popping the dough in the refrigerator. Giving the dough time to chill slightly will make it thicker and sturdier, ensuring the cookies don’t spread too thin as they bake.
- Sift the powdered sugar for smooth icing. Before mixing your cream cheese icing, make sure to take the time to sift your powdered sugar. Sifting the sugar before preparing your icing is the best way to create a smooth frosting without lumps and pumps from clumpy powdered sugar. You can sift your powdered sugar in a traditional sifter or place it in a fine-mesh strainer to help remove lumps.
How to add variety to your turtle cookies
- Try different nuts. While pecans are the most popular option when enjoying turtle candy, there are several other nuts you could use in your cookies. Try mixing in chopped walnuts, almonds, or macadamia nuts into your cookie dough for a little more variety.
- Try a caramel drizzle. Although this recipe features caramel in the frosting, there’s no reason you couldn’t add more! After giving your chocolate shell time to harden, try drizzling some caramel sauce over the top of each cookie before serving.
- Make your own caramel sauce. Using store-bought sauce is a simple way to speed up the prep work on this cookie recipe. But you can also make your own caramel sauce without much time or effort. Simply melt some caramel squares with a little bit of heavy whipping cream to create a smooth and creamy sauce to add to your cookie’s frosting.
How to Store Turtle Cookies
Since these cookies are made with a cream cheese icing and chocolate shell, it’s a good idea to keep your cookies refrigerated. Refrigerating your cookies will help keep the chocolate from melting as it sits at room temperature. And it will prevent the cream cheese in your icing from going bad before you can enjoy your cookies.
When refrigerated, your cookies will stay good for up to one week. Place the cookies in an airtight container to ensure they don’t break or crack while they’re chilling.
Turtle cookie recipe
Ingredients in Turtle Cookies
If you’re a fan of turtle chocolate candy, you’re going to love these delicious cookies! They combine a chocolate cookie with pecans and caramel to create a deliciously decadent dessert.
To make these cookies at home, you’ll need a handful of simple ingredients, including:
- Butter
- Sugar
- Vanilla
- Egg
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Pecans
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- Caramel sauce
- Hard shell chocolate
How to make turtle cookies
To make the cookies
- In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer add butter, sugar, vanilla, egg and blend until light and fluffy.
- Add the chopped pecans and blend lightly.
- In a separate bowl add flour and baking powder and stir well to blend. Continue to blend the cookie dough until it’s completely blended and a smooth ball starts to form.
- Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and roll the cookie dough into small balls, about 1 inch balls, and place the balls on the parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or just until the cookies start to turn a light golden brown around the edges. About halfway through baking the cookies, check the oven, and the cookies may have started to crack a little.
- Take a flat bottom glass, dip it in sugar before lightly applying to each cookie and smash the cookies very gently, and slightly, making them a little flatter and spread out a little more. This will give the cookies the crinkle look.
- When the cookies are done, remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool completely. While cookies are cooling, make the frosting.
To make the frosting
- In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer add softened butter and cream cheese and mix until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar a little at a time, blending after each addition, until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
To finish the cookies
- Using plastic wrap tear off a piece about 16 inches wide and place the frosting in the center of the wrap, spreading it out into a large rectangle. Drizzle with the caramel sauce and roll the frosting up with the plastic wrap into one long ribbon of frosting. Twist the plastic wrap at the ends. Snip the end off of the plastic wrap, on one end only, and place it in a pastry bag with the large round tip. Pipe the Frosting onto the cookies, using a swirling motion, then bringing the frosting to a point at the top.
- Pour the Hershey’s Hard Shell Chocolate into a dish and dip the cookies into the chocolate, beginning with the first frosted cookie, and ending with the last frosted cookie.
- Allow the frosting to set, or firm up a bit, about 30 minutes. Add a whole pecan to the tops of the Cookies and add more caramel sauce on top of the cookies.
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Turtle cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 2 sticks butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 3/4 cups pecans finely chopped
For the frosting
- 1 stick butter softened
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 32 oz powedered sugar
- pecans to garnish
To decorate
- 1 jar caramel sauce
- 1 jar Hershey's Hard Shell Chocolate
Instructions
To make the cookies
- In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, using the whisk attachment, add the butter, sugar, vanilla, egg, and blend until light and fluffy.
- Switch to the paddle attachment. Add the chopped pecans, and blend lightly.
- In a separate bowl, add the flour, and baking powder, and stir well to blend. Add the flour a little at a time and mix on low to blend, until all the flour is added. Continue to blend the cookie dough until it's completely blended and a smooth ball starts to form. Scrape down the mixing bowl as needed.
- Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, and roll the cookie dough into small balls, about 1 inch balls, and place the balls on the parchment paper.
- Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or just until the cookies start to turn a light golden brown around the edges.
- About halfway through baking the cookies, check the oven, and the cookies may have started to crack a little. Take a flat bottom glass, dip it in sugar before lightly applying to each cookie - smash the cookies very gently, and slightly, making them a little flatter, and spread out a little more. This will give the cookies the crinkle look.
- When the cookies are done, remove from the oven to a wire rack to cool completely. While cookies are cooling, make the frosting.
To make the frosting
- In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add the softened butter, and cream cheese, and mix until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, blending after each addition, until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.
To finish the cookies
- Using plastic wrap tear off a piece about 16 inches wide, and place the frosting in the center of the plastic wrap, spreading it out into a large rectangle.
- Drizzle with the caramel sauce, and roll the frosting up with the plastic wrap, into one long ribbon of frosting.
- Twist the plastic wrap at the ends. Snip the end off of the plastic wrap, on one end only, and place it in a pastry bag with the large round tip. Pipe the frosting onto the cookies, using a swirling motion, then bringing the frosting to a point at the top.
- Pour the Hershey's Hard Shell Chocolate into a dish, and dip the cookies into the chocolate, beginning with the first frosted cookie, and ending with the last cookie frosted.
- Allow the frosting to set, or firm up a bit, about 30 minutes. Add a whole pecan to the tops of the cookies, and add more caramel sauce on top of the cookies.
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