Caramel Turtle Cookies with Pecans

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Soft and chewy butter cookies filled with chocolate chips, caramel bits, and pecan pieces for a mouthwatering cookie you’ll want to enjoy with a tall glass of milk or piping hot cup of coffee.

A platter with 3 Turtle Caramel Cookies spinkled with chocolate chips and pecans.

I have a cookie problem.   I know this sounds funny but it really isn’t.  About once a week my husband and I will be sitting around after we put our son to bed and one of us will say that we feel like a cookie and the other laughs.

A few minutes later we will bring up the cookies again.  This happens three or four times in a thirty minute period before I jump up from the couch and say I’m going to make cookies.

My problem is that I always have ingredients for cookies.  I have a great cookie base and I just start adding in mix-ins from there.   Our favorite cookies are chocolate chip and while I make those a lot I often start adding in nuts or other flavored chips or spices.

So I walked out to the kitchen and made my cookie base.  When I’m making cookies during the week I usually either halve the recipe or quarter so I’m only making 8 cookies or 16 cookies instead of 2 or 3 dozen.

After mixing together the dough I looked in the pantry and the refrigerator and I came up with chopped Millican Pecans, a bag of chocolate chips, and some caramel pieces.  I was very excited because I was totally in the mood for turtle cookies and I haven’t made them in forever.

These Caramel Turtle Cookies with Pecans are super easy to make and bake up in just about 10 minutes.   You can easily halve the recipe to make a smaller batch and they will turn out tasting the same.

A close up of a turtle cookie with a bite out of it and a platter of cookies in the background.

Ingredients:

  • flour
  • baking soda
  • salt
  • butter
  • sugar
  • brown sugar
  • eggs
  • vanilla
  • chocolate chips
  • chopped pecans
  • caramel bits

I used the caramel squares in this recipe and cut them into quarters but after making them I remembered why I prefer using the caramel bits.   The squares really melt and make it super hard to get off the pan.  While the bits will melt, they are much easier to scrape off the pan so I suggest you use those.  You can also use caramel chips if you don’t want any mess but you also won’t get the gooey goodness from the caramel.

To make these cookies you will mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and set it aside.   Then you need to cream together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in another bowl.

After the sugars are creamed with the butter you add in the eggs and vanilla and mix well.  Then the dry ingredients are added to the wet ingredients and everything is mixed together until a dough forms.  This is my basic cookie dough recipes.

Once I had my dough made I folded in the chocolate chips, chopped pecans, and caramel bits.   You can use a different type of nut if you want but then they won’t truly be Turtle Cookies.   You can also use dark chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, or milk chocolate chips.   Make these cookies the way you like them.

Pin Image: A platter of Caramel Turtle Cookies, text, a bowl of cookie dough, a bag of chocolate chips, and a bag of caramels.

After everything is mixed together I use my cookie scoop to scoop out the cookies.  I usually flatten the tops a little bit and then put them in the oven.  I don’t know about you but I love the smell of the butter, sugar, and chocolate baking in the oven and the addition of caramel was just over the top.

These cookies come out of the oven golden brown and looking amazing.   Let them sit for a minute or two before getting them off the cookie sheet to let them firm up but don’t let them sit so long that the caramel starts to harden.  If the caramel does start to harden pop the cookies back into the oven for another minute to soften it up.

These cookies are just super yummy.  Soft and chewy on the inside and a little crisp on the outer edges.   Then the burst of caramel and chocolate with the crunch of the pecans is totally delicious.  I like enjoying mine with a cup of coffee but my husband prefers his with a tall glass of milk.

Whatever you drink with them, make sure you make enough cookies that everyone in your house can have a few because they are going to disappear fast!

Pro Tips and Substitutions:

  • Use your favorite flavor of chocolate chips.   You can use milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or even white chocolate.  It’s up to you!
  • While pecans are the preferred nut in these cookies because they are turtle cookies you can either omit the nuts altogether or you can use walnuts or almonds.
  • If you want your cookies to be thicker you can chill the dough for 1-2 hours before baking and they will stay thicker.

A platter with three Caramel Turtle cookies on it.

If you’ve tried my Caramel Turtle Cookies with Pecans or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on:

A close up view of a caramel turtle cookie with a bite out of it and a platter of cookies in the background.

Caramel Turtle Cookies with Pecans

Yield: 3 dozen cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 11 minutes
Total Time: 31 minutes

Soft and chewy butter cookies filled with chocolate chips, caramel bits, and pecan pieces for a mouthwatering cookie. It's hard to eat just one!

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 c. flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 c. (2 sticks) butter
  • 1 c. brown sugar
  • 1/2 c. sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 1/2 c. chocolate chips
  • 1/2 c. caramel bits
  • 3/4 c. chopped pecans

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
  3. In a large bowl cream the butter, brown sugar, and sugar.
  4. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix well.
  5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until a dough forms.
  6. Fold in the chocolate chips, caramel bits, and pecans.
  7. Drop batter by heaping tablespoons onto a cookie sheet so they are about 3 inches apart.
  8. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges begin to brown and the middles are set.
  9. Remove from the oven and let cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

A Hezzi-D original recipe

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 36 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 123Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 116mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 1gSugar: 14gProtein: 2g
A close up view of a caramel turtle cookie with a bite out of it and a platter of cookies in the background.

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