Turtle Cookies
Do you like cookies? Do you like chocolate turtles? Well, have we got a recipe for you! These Turtle Cookies have everything you love about both! Chocolate, pecans, caramel, and a super-tasty cookie. What could be better than this? I mean, seriously!
Cookies and sweets make the perfect snack any time of year, from amazing Gingerbread Men Cookies, to this gorgeous yet simple Caramel Apple Cake. Everyone loves a sweet little bite now and then! If you love caramel then you will also love our better than Crumbl Turtle Cookies.
These cookies are taken from a delicious Crumbl Turtle Cookie and, of course, made better!! They are giants, but you can always make smaller ones if you like, just bake them for a shorter time. They are the best of everything in one bite. The outside has a gentle crunch from the pecans, while the inside stays soft, rich, and fudgy like a brownie. The caramel drizzle brings that gooey, melt-in-your-mouth texture, and the chocolate on top adds just the right touch of sweetness with a little snap as you bite in.
Why I Love This Recipe
- It’s a candy and a cookie in one bite!
- Makes enough cookies to share
- Easy to make
- Great recipe for the kids to help with
- Perfect for gift giving
Helpful Items for This Recipe
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Ingredients for Turtle Cookies
Recipe Ingredients
All-purpose flour – This is the only flour this recipe has been tested with. I have not tried a GF version.
Baking soda – This leavening agent helps the cookies to rise.
Kosher salt – This is needed, just like in other recipes, to enhance flavor.
Brown sugar and granulated white sugar – Add sweetness, and the combination adds flavor too.
Powdered sugar – Adds sweetness without being heavy.
Cocoa powder – For that chocolatey flavor in the cookie.
Butter – I use salted butter, but you can use unsalted if you like.
Eggs – Act as a binder and help the cookies rise.
Vanilla extract – Adds a warm flavor to the cookies.
Pecans, finely chopped – Turtles have to have pecans.
Caramel sauce (store-bought) – You have to have a sticky caramel for your turtle cookies. Use a good quality brand, not a caramel topper for ice cream that is too runny.
Milk chocolate chips – The finishing touch for your turtle cookies.
How to Make Turtle Cookies
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a saucepan, whisk together the light brown sugar, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder. Add the butter.
Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir until the butter is melted and all the ingredients are combined.
Take off the heat and cool for 2-3 minutes. Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl.
Add the eggs one at a time, and mix well in between each addition. Add the vanilla extract with the last egg.
Combine the flour mixture with the chocolate. Mix well. The mixture will be thick. I used a Danish dough whisk. You can use a mixing spoon. I wouldn’t recommend using a regular whisk as the dough will get all stuck in the middle.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Take a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) and scoop the dough. Roll the dough into a ball in the palm of your hand. Then roll the dough ball into the chopped pecans.
Place on the prepared cookie sheet and gently press down to flatten the ball into a 1-inch disc.
Bake in the preheated oven for 14-16 minutes. To recreate the Crumbl cookie, don’t overbake them; the edges will be set, but the middle will still be soft.
Finishing the Turtle Cookies
Once the cookies are completely cooled, add 1 teaspoon of caramel in the center. Refrigerate the cookies to cool the caramel. Depending on the caramel you use, the caramel may not set, but at least it will be cool, which will help the chocolate to set faster in the next step.
Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 20-second increments, mixing well in between each one.
Once the chocolate is melted, use a small spoon to add the chocolate on top of the caramel, or place the chocolate in a small ziplock bag and pipe onto the caramel. Add approximately 1 teaspoon of chocolate per cookie.
Add some crushed pecans or a whole pecan on top of the chocolate and allow the chocolate to harden.
Little Chef’s Secrets
FAQs
I also tested out the cookies; instead of chilling the dough for 20 minutes, I chilled it overnight. If you do that, I would highly recommend putting a plastic film on the dough itself, not just covering the bowl. Make sure to bring the dough to room temperature before making the balls.
When baking the cookie: For this cookie to be a Copycat of the Crumbl turtle cookie, bake for the least amount of time; check for the edges to be set and the center to be soft. When you pull them out of the oven, carefully transfer them to a cooling rack.
If you don’t want a soft cookie like Crumbl but still want a delicious cookie, cook them until the middle is set, 15-16 minutes.
We personally love leaving them on the cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes for the bottom to set, and then transferring them to a cooling rack.
Caramel: I used a caramel sauce at room temperature. Depending on the type of caramel you use, make sure it is at room temperature. Don’t heat it up; it will be too liquid and run off the cookie.
Storage: In an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Because of the caramel on top, I place a parchment paper in between each layer of cookies so they don’t stick together.
Have fun with the recipe:
Change the pecans for another nut: walnuts or almonds
I used store-bought caramel; you can also do a homemade caramel or use a sea salt caramel.
You can make these cookies smaller; your cooking time will be shorter.
Turtle Cookies
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a saucepan, whisk together the light brown sugar, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, and cocoa powder. Add the butter.
- Place the saucepan over medium heat and stir until the butter is melted and all the ingredients are combined.
- Take off the heat and cool for 2-3 minutes.
- Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix well in between each addition.
- Add the vanilla extract with the last egg.
- Add the flour mixture to the chocolate. Mix well. The mixture will be thick. I used a Danish dough whisk. You can use a mixing spoon. I wouldn’t recommend using a regular whisk as the dough will get all stuck in the middle.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Take a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) and scoop the dough.
- Roll the dough into a ball in the palm of your hand.
- Roll the dough ball into the chopped pecans.
- Place on the prepared cookie sheet and gently press down to flatten the ball into a 1-inch disc.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 14-16 minutes.
- To recreate the Crumbl cookie, don’t overbake them; the edges will be set, but the middle will still be soft.
- Once the cookies are baked to your liking, take them out of the oven and gently transfer them to a cooling rack. Be careful, they will be soft. Cool the cookies completely.
- Once the cookies are completely cooled, add 1 teaspoon of caramel in the center. Refrigerate the cookies to cool the caramel. Depending on the caramel you use, the caramel may not set, but at least it will be cool, which will help the chocolate to set faster in the next step.
- Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 20-second increments, mixing well in between each one.
- Once the chocolate is melted, use a small spoon to add the chocolate on top of the caramel, or place the chocolate in a small ziplock bag and pipe onto the caramel. Add approximately 1 teaspoon of chocolate per cookie.
These cookies are everything my daughter loves: chocolate, pecans, and caramel. She even requested them for her birthday party coming up.