Chocolate Pecan Turtles
What is more delectable as a Christmas candy than turtles? They’re gooey and rich in chocolate, pecans and caramel. The best part they can be made at home with the same taste as the store bought ones. The recipe yields 1 dozen.
Ingredients
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 cups pecan halves, toasted
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup light corn syrup
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
12 ozs. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
Directions
1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Finely chop 1/2 cup toasted pecans, leaving the remaining 1 1/2 cups whole.
2. In a medium saucepan, stir together brown sugar, condensed milk, corn syrup, butter, and salt. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until mixture reaches 240 degrees F, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and vanilla extract.
3. Add chopped and whole pecan halves and stir for one minute until caramel begins to thicken slightly. Working quickly, use a spoon to scoop 2 tablespoons of mixture in a mound on prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all of the mixture has been used, which will yield 12 mounds. Move the baking sheet to the refrigerator until mounds have solidified and are no longer warm to the touch, about 20 minutes.
4. Over a double boiler or in the microwave, melt chocolate until smooth. Coat each caramel mound in chocolate, gently lifting the mound out of the chocolate with a fork allowing excess chocolate to drip off. Return chocolate covered mound to its place on the baking sheet. Then return baking sheet to the refrigerator to allow chocolate to harden, about 30 minutes. Store in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator.
