These irresistible Turtle Cookies are about to become your new favorite treat! Rich, double chocolate cookies brimming with crunchy chopped pecans and gooey, melt-in-your-mouth caramel—each bite is pure indulgence.
TURTLE COOKIES
This turtle cookie recipe is a spinoff of the famous caramel turtle candy. Rich and soft fudgy chocolate cookies loaded with chocolate chips, caramel, and pecans! The soft and chewy cookies make for a great dessert no matter the occasion. The combination of chewy and crunchy is delightful.
WHAT YOU NEED-
- Flour– These soft, chewy cookies require all-purpose flour. Be sure to sift it before using it to ensure a light texture.
- Baking Soda & Powder– Use fresh baking soda and baking powder for the best rise and fluffiness in your cookies.
- Cocoa Powder– This recipe requires unsweetened natural cocoa powder, and Hershey’s cocoa powder is a great choice!
- Salt– A pinch of salt in the dough enhances and balances the sweetness of the cookies.
- Butter– You want to use softened unsalted butter! You can substitute salted butter, just omit the added salt.
- Sugar– Both granulated sugar and brown sugar are used to sweeten the dough. Either light or dark brown sugar works well in this recipe.
- Vanilla– Don’t forget to add vanilla extract—it adds essential flavor.
- Eggs– Fresh eggs act as a binding agent to help bring the dough together.
- Chocolate– You can use dark, milk, semi-sweet, or a mix of chocolates for these cookies. Mini morsels, regular morsels, or chopped chocolate chunks all work perfectly.
- Caramel– Caramel candies or caramel morsels can be used! I love chopping up soft caramel candies.
- Pecans– Like the Turtle candy, adding chopped pecans gives you a crunch and the taste of the candies.
HOW TO MAKE TURTLE COOKIES
You can have this cookie dough made in under 10 minutes, such a simple recipe and the cookie dough is so easy to work with!
- Sift together the dry ingredients and then set the bowl aside. This helps ensure the even distribution of the baking soda and baking powder and prevents any lumps in the flour.
- With a mixer, blend together the softened butter and both sugars until creamy. Add in the vanilla and eggs and mix to combine.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix to combine. The dough will be sticky at first, but the dough will firm, once the fats harden.
- Add the chocolate chips, caramel pieces, and pecans to the dough and gently fold to combine.
- With a 2 Tbsp cookie scoop, divide the dough into 22-24 scoops of cookie dough, adding to a parchment paper line baking sheet.
- Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven and line another large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Roll the scoops of the dough into round balls, placing them 1-2 inches apart from each other onto the baking sheets.
- Bake until the edges are firm to the touch and then remove from the oven. Top with flakey salt and cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Serve warm or completely cool.
| Enjoy these gooey caramel cookies with a glass of milk, an iced caramel latte, or a warm latte. |
STORING COOKIE DOUGH
You can make this cookie dough ahead of time and when ready to enjoy, just bake! I recommend always dividing the dough into scoops before storing, this makes it so much easier to work with after chilling!
- Fridge– Store the cookie dough in the fridge for up to 3-4 days! Store covered or in a Ziploc bag to avoid the dough from drying out.
- Freezer– To freeze cookie dough, place the dough balls onto a parchment-lined plate or tray that fits in your freezer. Freeze them for 25-30 minutes, or until they are firm. Once the dough balls are fully frozen, transfer them into a freezer-safe bag or container. They’ll keep well for 3-4 months!
| Baking Frozen Dough– You can bake the frozen cookie dough frozen or thawed! If you bake frozen, just add 1-2 extra minutes. |
STORING BAKED COOKIES
Although I doubt you will have any leftovers, these cookies store great and can be enjoyed for a long time!
- Counter– After baking, store your cookies in an airtight container, bag, or cookie jar at room temperature for 4-5 days.
- Fridge– For a longer shelf life, store cookies in the fridge, where they will stay fresh for up to 2 weeks.
- Freezer– To keep cookies for even longer, place cooled cookies in a freezer-safe bag or container. They will last for 3-4 months in the freezer.
| Thawing Frozen Cookies– Frozen cookies thaw very quickly! Simply remove a couple from the freezer and let them sit at room temperature for about 10-15 minutes. If you’re in a hurry, you can microwave them for a few seconds to warm them up. |
QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE:
I use a 2 Tbsp cookie scoop for all my cookie recipes, it gives you the perfect size cookie each time!
Yes! You can make either mini or jumbo cookies, just be sure to adjust the baking time.
Switch out the all-purpose flour for gluten free flour to get gluten free cookies!
Although one of the key ingredients for these cookies is the pecans, you can leave them out! You can just make these chocolate and caramel cookies. You can also substitute the pecans for walnuts, hazelnuts or even almonds!
Since the cookies are dark, it can be hard to tell if they’re perfectly golden and baked like classic chocolate chip cookies. A good way to check is by gently tapping the edges—if they’ve set, it’s a sign they’re done. Remember, even if they look a little undercooked in the center, they’ll continue to bake for a few minutes after you take them out of the oven.
OTHER COOKIE RECIPES
Check out all my other delicious cookie recipe ideas and follow my socials to keep up with my Christmas cookie series!
Best Turtle Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour sifted
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 1 cup softened unsalted butter 2 sticks
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup caramel candies cubed
- 2/3 cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt. Set the bowl aside.
- With a mixer, mix together softened butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar until creamy.
- Add in the vanilla extract and eggs and mix to combine.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients into the wet mixture until combined. The dough will seem dry at first, but keep mixing.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, caramel pieces, and chopped pecans, making sure they’re evenly distributed throughout the dough. Be gentle when folding to avoid overworking the dough, which could affect the texture of the cookies.
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop or spoon, portion out the dough into 22-24 equal-sized scoops. Place each scoop onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Chill the cookie dough for 30 minutes in the fridge. Chilling the dough helps to firm it up, which will result in thicker, chewier cookies.
- While the dough chills, preheat your oven to 350°F. Line another large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Once chilled, remove the dough from the fridge. Roll each scoop into a smooth ball with your hands. Place the dough balls onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1-2 inches apart. This spacing is important to allow for spreading as they bake.
- Bake the cookies at 350°F for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and firm to the touch. The centers may appear slightly soft, but they will continue to firm up as they cool.
- As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, sprinkle them with a pinch of flaky sea salt to enhance the flavors. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve the cookies warm, for a gooey, melt-in-your-mouth treat, or allow them to cool completely for a firmer texture. Either way, they’re delicious!
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