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Today is my last cookie recipe for cookie week. These caramel pecan turtle cookies are a really pretty looking cookie but they are also tasty. I got this recipe from HostaCookieParty.com and have a giveaway running in conjunction with this post today, so be sure to enter. This recipe is a great one that you can get the whole family involved with. They can each help with topping the cookies. I made the cookie base the night before and did all of the topping the next day.
The cookies base by itself is delicious.
My family actually enjoyed eating them plain. However, you take this great cookie base and top it with caramel, pecans, and chocolate – all the ingredients of a turtle candy. When I made the recipe, I only had enough caramel to top half the cookies. So, I have change the recipe below to include double the amount of caramel. It is always better to have more caramel, rather than not enough, right? I mean if there were any leftovers, you may just have to eat it with a spoon. Darn it!
I also found a short cut that can be taken in making these cookies.
The original recipe asked for you to melt some chocolate and pipe it into the center of each cookie. I had a bag of Mini Hershey’s Kisses in my pantry and decided to try them out on some of the cookies instead. It you look at the picture below, you can see there isn’t much difference between the cookie topped with the melted chocolate and the mini Hershey’s Kisses. So by all means save a little time and an extra dish and go for the Kisses. However, if you want the entire homemade look for your cookie, then do the melted chocolate.
Caramel Pecan Turtle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Crisco® Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening or 1 stick Crisco® Baking Sticks Butter Flavor All-Vegetable Shortening
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Topping:
- 56 caramels unwrapped
- 4 tablespoons milk
- 3 cups pecan halves
- 1 (6 oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate chips or a pkg of mini Hershey’s Kisses
Instructions
- In large bowl, beat shortening, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add milk. Beat in eggs one at a time; add vanilla.
- Combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in medium bowl. Mix into shortening mixture. Chill 1 hour.
- Heat oven to 350ºF.
- Roll out 1/3 of dough at a time to about 1/4-inch thickness on a floured surface.
- Cut with 2 1/4-inch cookie cutters. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 6 minutes, or until edges are slightly golden. Remove immediately to cooling rack.
- TOPPING: Combine caramels and milk in microwave-safe bowl. Cover with waxed paper. Microwave on MEDIUM (50% power) for 1 minute. Repeat in 30 second intervals until smooth (or melt on rangetop in small saucepan on very low heat).
- Drop rounded teaspoonfuls of the caramel on top of each cookie. Place 3 pecan halves around edge of caramel followed by one mini kiss in the center if using the kisses.
- If using chocolate chips: Place chocolate chips in microwave-safe measuring cup. Microwave on MEDIUM (50% power) 1 minute; stir. Repeat until smooth (or melt on rangetop in small saucepan on very low heat).
- Pour melted chocolate into small food storage bag. Cut a small corner off the bag; drizzle a small amount of chocolate in the center of the cookie. Do not cover the pecans. Cool completely.
Recipe adapted from HostaCookieParty.com
3 comments
[…] Caramel Pecan Turtle Cookies from Real Mom Kitchen […]
[…] They turned out great and I did make a few changes. You can check out my version in my post […]
I love the presentation of these cookies!