Turtle Cookies
Turtle Cookies are soft, chewy chocolate cookies, coated with crunchy pecans and topped with a creamy puddle of gooey caramel for the ultimate in decadence.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup white sugar
- ¾ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups pecans finely chopped
- 30 caramels
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips for chocolate drizzle
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Beat in one egg plus one egg yolk (reserve the whites) and vanilla until well mixed.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat just until well mixed. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Use a 1½ tablespoon cookie scoop to scoop the dough. Roll into balls between your hands.
- Whisk the reserved egg white in a small bowl until very frothy/foamy.
- Coat the dough ball in frothy egg whites and then roll in the chopped pecans.
- Place each ball on the prepared baking sheets, 2 inches apart.
- Using the back of a teaspoon, press about halfway down into each cookie to create an indent for the caramel.
- Bake for 11 to 13 minutes or until the bottom edges look slightly browned.
- Remove cookies from the oven. If the centers have puffed while baking, use your teaspoon to gently re-press the indentation.
- Heat the caramels and heavy cream in a microwave-safe bowl for 30 seconds at a time in the microwave. Stir until smooth.
- Spoon the melted caramel in the center of each baked cookie’s indentation. Allow cookies to cool completely.
- Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, heating for 30 seconds at a time and stirring between, until melted. Drizzle the chocolate over the cooled cookies.
Notes
Since these are thumbprint cookies, using just a small amount of baking powder helps the cookies to retain their compact thumbprint shape.
The egg whites help the pecans to stick to the dough ball and stay in place while baking.
Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to check your cookies at the lower end of the recommended baking time.