Chocolate Turtle Candy

The perfect Holiday Candy does exist and it’s in the form of these homemade turtles! Filled with rich caramel and toasted pecans, then dipped in delicious melted chocolate and lightly sprinkled with salt flakes, who could resist?! Turtle candy has always reminded me of the holidays; when I was little I remember those candy boxes that everyone would buy at the mall and the turtles were my absolute favorite! It was such a happy treat to receive, but now you can make them at home and gift them to all your loved ones.

*Full disclosure, Endangered Species Chocolate sponsored our Instagram and Tiktok post, but this recipe is way too good not to share on our blog too!

Tips:

• Toasting pecans with bring out a wonderful flavor and give them an extra crisp texture to every bite. When toasting be sure to keep an eye on them and bake for only about 5-7 minutes, as they can go from perfectly toasted to burnt really fast

• When making the caramel sauce, please be very careful when it’s time to add in the heavy whipping cream. You are going to add the whipping cream in slowly, one tablespoon at a time, but when the cream hits the hot sugar it will produce a very hot steam. Make sure you be very cautious when doing this so you won’t get burned

• You can cut the chocolate or break it into small pieces, this will help the chocolate melt. When adding it to the microwave, you will need to heat it in 30 second intervals at 50% power, stirring in between each time until fully melted. This will help the chocolate melt slowly and not seize up or get a burnt flavor

• Sprinkling with salt flakes is optional, but does enhance the flavors of the turtle. It’s a wonderful contrast to the caramel and chocolate

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Chocolate Turtle Candy

*Makes 12-15 turtles

Ingredients

• 1 cup sugar

• 1/2 cup +1 tbsp heavy whipping cream

• 1 1/2 cup pecans

• 2 ESC Bold + Silky Dark Chocolate Bars or 1 cup chocolate chips

• Optional: sea salt flakes

Instructions

• In a 350 degree preheated oven, toast pecans on a parchment lined baking sheet for 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside

• Add sugar to a saucepan and cook on medium heat, once the sugar begins to melt, stir with a whisk constantly until sugar is golden brown and completely melted through with no sugar crystals, remove from heat. Add heavy whipping cream one tbsp at a time, continuously whisking until cream is completely incorporated into the sauce before adding the next tbsp. *PLEASE be extremely careful during this step, as the sugar is very hot and will produce steam when the heavy whipping cream is added. Once all cream is incorporated, place the saucepan back on the stove over medium low heat and stir constantly for 30 more seconds. Remove pan from heat

• Add toasted pecans into the caramel sauce and stir together. On a parchment lined baking sheet, drop spoonfuls of pecan / caramel mixture making clusters. Place in the refrigerator to set

• Break or cut the chocolate bars into small pieces. Place in a microwave safe bowl and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds, power level 50 increments until completely melted, stirring in between each time. Remove clusters from the refrigerator and dip into melted chocolate until they are completely coated chocolate. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and set aside until chocolate has hardened. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator

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