These turtle cookies are made with a chocolate cookie that is filled with chopped pecans, stuffed with caramel, and topped with chocolate drizzle.
Turtle cookies are a delicious treat that combines the flavors of chocolate, caramel, and pecans.
These cookies are made by placing a caramel-filled chocolate candy on top of a cookie dough base, which is then baked until golden and gooey.
The result is a delightful combination of sweet and nutty flavors that is sure to satisfy any cookie lover's cravings.
These cookies are soft and fudgy on the inside and have a crispy interior with crunchy pecans and a chewy caramel center.
If you like making cookies, check out our chewy peanut butter cookies, cookies and cream cookies, double chocolate cookies, brown butter chocolate chunk cookies, small-batch chocolate chip cookies, and our M&M cookies!
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Why this recipe works
- Turtle cookies- These cookies are a cookie version of the famous turtle candy that is a favorite! It is made with delicious flavors and textures of chocolate, pecan, and caramel!
- Texture- These cookies have several textures, a chewy and fudgy chocolate cookie that is filled with crunchy pecans and filled with melty caramels.
- Caramel stuffed cookies- These are filled with caramel that is chewy and melts in your mouth.
- Simple- Made without a stand mixer! All you need is a mixing bowl and a whisk.
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of these delicious cookies.
Dutch cocoa powder– we like to use Dutch-process cocoa powder for our brownies because we like the deep and rich chocolate taste, but the natural cocoa powder will work great as well!
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Baking soda – baking soda helps the cookies rise and spread. Make sure that your baking soda isn't expired. Don't replace baking soda with baking powder!
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Brown sugar- adds a caramelly flavor and chewy texture to the cookies.
Eggs- you will need 1 large egg for this recipe. Make sure that your egg is at room temperature.
Egg yolk- egg yolk gives this cookie a chewier texture.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
Kosher salt- you will need about ½ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
Pecans- you will need chopped pecans both for the cookie dough and to coat the cookie dough balls.
Dark chocolate- use the best quality dark chocolate for the best flavor. We use it for the cookie dough and to drizzle on top.
Caramels- you can use either store-bought caramels or homemade ones! We have a recipe coming soon.
Instructions
Into a large mixing bowl, add the cooled melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and kosher salt. Mix with a whisk until combined.
Add the egg and egg yolk and mix well.
Sift the cocoa powder, flour, and add the baking soda, and mix until almost combined.
Add chocolate chunks and chopped pecans and mix until just combined. Dont overmix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
Use a cookie scooper to scoop out the cookies or scoop the cookies with a regular tablespoon, 1 ½ tablespoons at a time.
Make a hole using your thumb in the middle of the cookie dough ball and stuff it with the caramel. Roll it into a ball.
Dip the cookie dough balls into chopped pecans place the cookie dough balls onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Melt dark chocolate and drizzle the cookies with the melted chocolate. This is optional.
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with the back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your brown butter chocolate chunk cookies release easily from the pan.
- Use a cookie scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way you will have even-sized cookies, it ensures that your cookies bake evenly.
- Chill the dough! This step is crucial and prevents the cookies from spreading out too much. After making the cookie dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean towel, and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Be patient! I know it’s incredibly tempting to eat these cookies as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cookies cool for at least 15 minutes so they will be firmer and won’t crumble up.
- Let these cookies cool for 5 minutes and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 more minutes. This step ensures that the bottom of your cookies will not be soggy from the steam.
Faq's
These cookies will last for up to 5 days stored at room temperature in an airtight container.
We use all-purpose flour for these cookies. Cake flour will work great as well.
This usually means that there is too much flour in the dough. It is very important to measure your flour correctly. Check out our expert tips for how to measure flour correctly.
This step is optional, but I highly recommend it! Toasting the pecans adds a delicious rich flavor to the cookies which takes them to the next level of flavor wise.
Storing
It’s okay to store these cookies at room temperature. Make sure that you store them in an airtight container.
Freezing
Freezing the baked cookies- allow the baked cookies to come to room temperature, transfer them into a freezer-friendly container, and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature for a few hours.
Freezing cookie dough- Follow the instructions as written and make the dough balls, then transfer the dough balls into a freezer-friendly airtight ziplock bag, and freeze the cookie dough ball for up to 3 months.
Bake at the same temperature and add 1-2 additional minutes of baking. There is no need to thaw the cookie dough before baking.
Substitutions
Dairy-free - If you are dairy-free, replace the butter with vegan butter or plant-based butter. Do not use margarine. It will change the flavor of these cookies and leave a weird taste. Also, use vegan caramel.
Gluten-free- you can swap the flour with gluten-free flour to make these gluten-free. I never tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, but it should work.
Equipment
- Mixing bowl (set of 3)
- Whisk Set (pack of 3) to whisk the ingredients together
- Baking sheet and rack set (our fave)
- Cookies scoop set of 3 (the best cookie scoop we used)
More chocolate cookies
Hot chocolate cookies- These hot chocolate cookies are made with a delicious chocolate cookie that is topped with marshmallows and chocolate ganache.
Oreo brownie cookies- These oreo brownie cookies are made with a delicious and fudgy brownie cookie, filled and topped with oreo chunks!
Nutella cookies- These Nutella cookies are chocolate cookies that are made with Nutella inside the cookie dough and topped with dollops of melted Nutella.
If you tried this recipe, don’t forget to leave a rating and a comment below. We love hearing from you.
If you liked this recipe
📖 Recipe
Easy Turtle Cookies
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup Butter melted, unsalted
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ cup Granulated sugar
- ¾ cup Brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 Egg
- 1 Egg yolk
- ½ cup Cocoa powder
- 1 ¼ cup Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 cup Pecans chopped
- 1 cup Dark chocolate cut into chunks
- 24 Caramels
Instructions
- Into a large mixing bowl, add the cooled melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and kosher salt. Mix with a whisk until combined.
- Add the egg and egg yolk and mix well.
- Sift the cocoa powder, flour, and add the baking soda, and mix until almost combined.
- Add chocolate chunks and chopped pecans and mix until just combined. Dont overmix.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Use a cookies scooper to scoop out the cookies or scoop the cookies with a regular tablespoon, 1 ½ tablespoon at a time.
- Make a hole using your thumb in the middle of the cookie dough ball and stuff it with the caramel. Roll it into a ball.
- Dip the cookie dough balls into chopped pecans and place the cookie dough balls onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- Let the cookies cool for 5 minutes, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Melt dark chocolate and drizzle the cookies with the melted chocolate. This is optional.
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your brown butter chocolate chunk cookies release easily from the pan.
- Use a cookies scoop to scoop out the cookies, that way you will have even-sized cookies, plus it ensures that your cookies bake evenly.
- Before making this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
- Chill the dough! This step is crucial and prevents the cookies to spread out too much. After making the cookie dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean towel, and chill the dough in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
- Be patient! I know it’s incredibly tempting to eat these cookies as they are pulled out of the oven, but let these cookies cool for at least 15 minutes so they will be more firm and won’t crumble up.
- Let these cookies cool for 5 minutes and then transferring them to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 more minutes. This step ensures that the bottom of your cookies will not be soggy from the steam.
Jenn says
Thank you thank you thank you for this insanely delicious cookie! I’ve baked a TON of cookies and this one is easily in my top 5. They’re addicting.
Kasey says
Tried today...totally awesome!
Sue says
You need to mention in your actual recipe to use unsalted butter instead of just in the directions. Also you should change your recipe to show you need 2 cups of chopped pecans, divided. I put one cup of chopped pecans in the batter and then realized I needed more to roll the cookies in. Love this cookie!
Taylor says
Hello!
Quick question- what type of carmel should be used? Can yoy give an example of a brand?
Looking forward to trying these!
RichandDelish says
Hi! You can make homemade caramels or use store-bought ones like Werther's caramels, for example. Hope this helps!
Leia says
Do these cookies fry completely, Can I stack them without them sticking to each other? They look soo scrumptious!
RichandDelish says
Hi! I'm assuming you meant dry instead of fry. I stack them on top of each other. They can stick to each other if they are still warm, so let them cool completely including the chocolate on top!
Renu Gupta says
These cookies look sooo scrumptious,can I make them eggfree , please please suggest an eggfree option.