Go Back
–+ servings
Close up image of turtle cookies with pecans, caramel and chocolate

Turtle cookies

petro
Got a burning passion to make the best turtle cookies? You’ll be on cookie overload with this easy recipe!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Resting time 30 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 40 cookies
Calories 268 kcal

Equipment

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.
    A couple of turtle cookies drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauce

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookieCalories: 268kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 2gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 116mgPotassium: 67mgFiber: 1gSugar: 27gVitamin A: 296IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 38mgIron: 1mg
Keyword chocolate turtle cookies, pecan turtle cookies, turtle cookie recipe, turtle cookies
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!