You guys know how much I love turtle candies and that I use any excuse to buy them when I am at a candy shop. Today’s Turtle Chocolate Chip Cookies have all the same ingredients and flavors that I love so much. No one can resist them!
The primary components of turtle candies are caramel, pecans, and chocolate. These cookies, with all the above, are a little crunchy, a little chewy, and utterly delicious. What’s not to love!
Cookie scoop in a bowl of the turtle chocolate chip cookie dough
Perfect for any occasion, you can serve them at potluck parties, packed in your kid’s lunch, included as part of a holiday dessert buffet or cookie exchange, for team meetings at work, and more … the sky’s the limit! What event would you take them to?
You can use different chips, like white chocolate or peanut butter, change the pecans to walnuts, or leave out the caramel bits entirely. These cookies are easy to modify to your personal tastes and what ingredients you have on hand in your pantry.
These turtle chocolate chip cookies are designed to be soft and chewy. If you are looking for a crunchier cookie, you can try these Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookies and adjust the mix-ins anyway you like. You can leave out the espresso powder for a less intense flavor (replace with an extra tablespoon of flour) if you prefer.
If you want to change the mix-ins for these cookies, just keep the ratios the same … up to 3 total cups of mix-ins. These cookies are totally yours to customize!
Using mini chocolate chips guarantees you get a ton of chocolate in every bite. While not required, I highly recommend using them. I love knowing that there is chocolate throughout every cookie!
Baking one baking sheet at a time worked perfectly for me because as the cookies were cooling on the sheets, I was able to load and bake a second sheet of cookies. By the time the second batch was done, the first batch was cool and could be transferred to a rack or platter. This was very efficient and I was able to make them all in no time.
These turtle chocolate chip cookies start out soft in the center but firm up as they cool. They wind up fairly crunchy, then soften again as they sit and are absolutely delightful. Each bite is packed with chocolate, caramel, and pecans!
So, are you going to give these Turtle Chocolate Chip Cookies a try soon? I sure hope so. They didn’t last long in our house and I guarantee they won’t last long in yours either!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Let me know in the comments and leave a star rating, I love hearing from you!
Ingredients needed for Turtle Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- Gluten-free flour blend or regular flour, salt, baking soda, butter
- Brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg + egg yolk, vanilla
- Chocolate chips, caramel bits, chopped pecans
PRO Tip:
If you want to change the mix-ins for these cookies, just keep the ratios the same … up to 3 total cups of mix-ins. You can switch to white chocolate chips, use larger chunks of chocolate, use walnuts instead of pecans, or leave out the caramel bits. These cookies are totally yours to customize!
How to make Turtle Chocolate Chip Cookies:
- Whisk the flour, salt, and baking soda together. Set aside.
- In your stand mixer or using a hand mixer, beat the butter and both sugars together until thoroughly blended. Mix in the whole egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined with no white streaks. Scrape the bowl well.
- Stir in the chocolate chips, caramel bits, and pecans.
- Using a cookie scoop, for the dough into balls about the size of a walnut or 1 tbsp of dough. Drop onto parchment-lined baking sheets. I bake one sheet at a time for the most even baking. If you are baking two pans together, spin and move them top to bottom halfway through the baking.
- Bake until the cookies are light golden brown and the outer edges darken with the centers still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes). Remove from the oven but leave them on the baking sheets, do NOT transfer to a wire rack until cool!
- Serve or store in an airtight container.
PRO Tip:
Using a cookie scoop or a spring-loaded disher lets you easily and quickly form the dough into balls that are all the same size so they bake at the same rate and more evenly. I have several sizes and use them all the time. They are one of my tricks for the best baking results!
Recommended Tools (affiliate links; no extra cost to you):
- Kitchen scale
- Small saucepan (for melting the butter)
- Baking sheet pans
- Parchment paper sheets
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Cookie scoop
Gluten-Free Tips:
*You can adjust any baking recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup until mounded, level off the top with the back of a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela’s All-Purpose Artisan Blend, Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
Turtle Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten Free)
The primary flavors of turtle candies are caramel, pecans, and chocolate – what’s not to love! These cookies, with all the above ingredients, are a little crunchy, a little chewy, and utterly delicious.
Ingredients
- 2 cups + 2 tbsp (255g) gluten-free flour blend* or all-purpose regular flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 12 tbsp (1-1/2 sticks; 170g), unsalted butter, melted and cooled a bit
- 1 cup (213g) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg (50g)
- 1 large egg yolk (14g)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup (170g) chocolate chips, preferably mini chocolate chips
- 1 cup (156g) caramel bits, such as Kraft brand
- 1 cup (114g) finely chopped pecans
Instructions
- Heat oven to 325°F (163°C). Adjust oven racks to upper third and lower third positions. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a medium bowl; set aside.
- Beat the butter and both sugars together until thoroughly blended. Mix in the egg, extra yolk, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, half at a time, mixing until just combined. Stir in the chips, caramel bits, and pecans.
- Use a cookie scoop to form the dough into balls. I made mine about the size of a walnut, about 1 tbsp of dough. Drop onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, at least an inch apart. Bake one or two sheets at a time. I bake single sheet pans instead of doubling up, and I spin it front to back halfway through the baking. If you do bake two at the same time, be sure to spin and rotate the top to the bottom halfway through.
- Bake until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to darken yet the centers are still soft and puffy, 13 to 16 minutes. Cool the cookies on the cookie sheets, do NOT transfer immediately to a wire rack! I placed the baking sheets on a wire rack to help cool them down faster, then, when cooled, transferred the cookies to a rack or platter. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.
- The dough can be made ahead and refrigerated, covered, up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month. See note below for information on freezing.
Recipe found at www.theheritagecook.com
Notes
*You can adjust any recipe to gluten-free by using 120 grams per cup of my favorite gluten-free flour blend. If you are using another brand of gluten-free flour, whisk the mix, spoon it lightly into a measuring cup without a spout until mounded, level off the top with the back of a knife, and weigh the flour left in the cup. Use that weight as your standard per cup of that specific flour. Do this for each flour blend you use. Commercial blends such as Pamela's, Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1, or King Arthur Measure for Measure are all good choices.
If freezing, I like to either form the dough into balls and freeze those on a baking sheet then place them in a resealable bag. You can bake the dough balls still frozen, just add an extra minute or two to the baking time. Or I roll the dough into a log, wrap in parchment (label with cookie type and baking temp and time), then wrap in plastic and freeze. I bring the logs down and let them defrost in the refrigerator overnight and then make slice-and-bake cookies the next day.
All recommended ingredients are gluten-free as of the writing of this article. Always check to be sure the products haven’t changed and are still safe to consume.
This recipe was adapted from one in Cook’s Illustrated magazine.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
36Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 127Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 59mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 1gSugar: 3gProtein: 2g
The nutritional information for recipes on this site is calculated by online tools and is merely an estimate.
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