Big, chewy, buttery Turtle Cookies are chocked full of those delicious turtle candy flavors of chocolate, caramel, and pecans. These hearty cookies are perfect alongside a cup of coffee or tea.

Turtle is to cookies as Rocky Road is to ice cream. It is sort of a hodgepodge of various delicious bits and bites, including chocolate chips, caramel, and pecans. I think they are wonderful and should be considered right up there with the cookie classics like oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip cookies.

This recipe was created for #ChristmasCookiesWeek! I was sent samples and products by some of the sponsor companies but as always opinions are 100% mine.

For this recipe, I used products from Millican Pecan Company, Anolon and Adams Extracts & Spices.

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Where did the term “turtle” come from?

Turtle style candies were my inspiration for these cookies. A box of chocolate “turtles” is one of those boxed chocolates that most everyone likes. Which is great because then you don’t get those chocolates with a bite taken out then put back in the box when it contained something somebody didn’t like or wasn’t looking for.

It was in 1916, in the windy city of Chicago, that George DeMet of DeMet’s Candy Company brought the Turtle to life. The original style of the candy contained caramel, pecans, and chocolate, and the bumpy look from the pecans covered in chocolate looked like a turtle shell.

With turtle candies, the nuts are held together with caramel, then dipped into chocolate to cover. Of course, with a turtle cookie, you are using the cookie dough to do the supporting work and binding it all. That means more room to get generous with the caramel, pecans, and chocolate chunks.

Why is it called a Turtle Cookie?

A good turtle cookie needs to be full of chopped pecans, chunks of chocolate, and gooey caramel. The cookie dough part was almost an afterthought when I decided to make these, even though it is the part that holds everything together.

I used the base of my Butter Brickle Cookie, which is a nice chewy, buttery cookie, and went with the “turtle” perfectly.

Once the cookie was packed with the chocolate, caramel and pecans, it, too, did look a little bit like a turtle shell.

Ingredients in Turtle Cookies:

Please find the list of ingredients here, and scroll to the bottom of the post to see a detailed printable recipe.

butter
brown sugar, granulated sugar
vanilla extract
salt
baking soda
eggs
flour
caramel bits
chocolate chunks
pecans

Once the cookie dough is mixed up, fold in the turtle goodness!

I used my cookie scoop to form good-sized dough balls. Each was about a tablespoon. They made nice sized cookies to house the turtle goodies.

The outcome can be described in one word, perfection.

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Don’t forget where you found this yummy Turtle Cookie recipe! Save it to your favorite Pinterest baking board before you go!

Pecan Recipes

I adore baking with pecans! I have all sorts of recipes that use pecans, so make sure you get a BIG BAG of them so you can try them all!

Here are some reader favorites:

My first cookie of Christmas Cookies Week were these Chocolate Sugar Kiss Cookies. They are so simple to make and only require 4 ingredients! If you pop over to see this recipe, you can see a detailed list of all of the prizes being offered by our amazing sponsors, Millican Pecan Company, Adams Extracts & Spices, Anolon and Sweets & Treats Boutique.

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You can see ALL of my COOKIE RECIPES HERE

Please check out the cookies from all of the other talented bloggers in the list right under my printable recipe card.

Let’s get to the Turtle Cookies recipe!

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Print Recipe

Turtle Cookies

Buttery chewy cookies chock full of pecans, chocolate and caramel make up these dreamy turtle cookies.

Prep Time5

Cook Time9

Total Time14

Course: Cookies

Cuisine: American

Keyword: butter cookies, caramel, chewy cookies, chocolate, holiday baking, how to make turtle cookies, pecans, Turtle cookies

Servings: dozen

Calories: 120kcal

Author: Michaela Kenkel

Equipment

Ingredients

1 stick salted butter softened
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla
2 eggs
2 1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup caramel bits
1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chunks
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Sift together flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.
In your mixer cream butter until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in sugars and vanilla, mix well. Add in eggs, mix until combined. Gradually add in flour mixture, mixing until incorporated. Fold in caramel bits, chocolate chunks and chopped pecans.
Form cookies into 1 Tablespoon sized dough balls and place onto parchment-lined cookie sheets.
Bake 9-10 minutes or until slightly brown. Don't overbake or they won't be chewy!
Cool on wire racks.

Nutrition

Thank you to the hosts of #ChristmasCookies week where more than 25 bloggers shared cookie recipes perfect for your holiday celebrations. Hosted by Ellen from Family Around the Table, Christie from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures and Heather from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks.

Don’t miss one delicious cookie recipe! Follow along on Pinterest.

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