Easy Homemade Turtles

Overhead shot of double stacked white bowls filled with small homemade turtle candies, and some sprinkled around on a blue and white napkin.

5 from 2 votes

These Easy Homemade Turtles are an easy no-bake treat, that are both sweet and salty. My mom made these for us at holiday time, and they are bring back all the memories.

Prep Time30 mins

resting time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: homemade turtles

Servings: small turtles

Calories: 80kcal

Author: Sue Ringsdorf

Ingredients

5 oz. pecan halves
30 Kraft caramels
2 Tablespoons half and half - or more
4 oz. Ghirardelli bittersweet baking bar
sprinkle of kosher salt

Instructions

Take two baking sheets and line them with parchment paper.
Lay the pecans out on the pans, forming turtles. Use two pecan halves for the body, and half of one (cut the long way) for the head. (See blog post for more details.)
Melt the caramel and half and half in microwave, stirring every 45 seconds, until melted. I use 50% power. Spoon about a teaspoon in the center of each little turtle. This gets sticky, so you may need another spoon (or your finger) to scoop the caramel off. Refrigerate until set.
Melt the chocolate in the microwave, at 50% power. This should only take a minute or so. Spoon a mound of chocolate over each mound of caramel. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt, and return trays to the refrigerator until set.
Store turtles in freezer, layering parchment paper in between to prevent sticking.

Notes

Use two pecans (for the body) plus one half of a pecan (for the head).
When melting the caramel and the chocolate, do it in increments and stir so you don't burn it.
You may need to add extra half and half to the caramel (and maybe even microwave it again) as you design the turtles, because the caramel will start to set up.
The turtles can be sticky because some of the caramel sinks between the pecan halves. You could use more chunks of small pecans to keep the caramel from seeping through.

Nutrition