This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy.
Turtle cookies are soft, chewy and loaded with chocolate chips, pecans and caramel bites. Gobble these up warm out of the oven with a big glass of ice-cold milk.
Featured with this recipe
Turtle cookies make a regular appearance in our home as it’s one of our favorite cookie recipe in the entire world. They smell incredible while baking, and will leave your fingers perfectly sticky while eating them thanks to the caramel bits and chocolate chips. Eat them hot off the wire rack or later on at room temperature. Any way you serve them, these chocolate turtle cookies will be a huge hit! If you are looking for a recipe to bring to a holiday party, a new mom, or even just for dessert, give these turtle cookies a try. You might just find it’s your new favorite cookie!
Ingredients in Turtle Cookies
This chocolate cookie dough is so yummy you’ll have little fingers sneaking cookie dough balls right off the baking sheet. Here’s what you need:
- 1 cup butter – softened to room temperature.
- Sugar – about ¾ cup granulated sugar
- Brown sugar – ¾ cup packed brown sugar, either light or dark brown sugar – whatever you have on hand.
- Eggs – Combine the whole egg, egg yolk and egg whites together.
- Vanilla extract – about two teaspoons
- Unsifted flour – You’ll need about two and a quarter cups for the flour mixture.
- Baking soda
- Salt – I like using kosher salt or sea salt in the recipe and to sprinkle a little on the top of the one inch balls of dough.
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips – I love the Ghirardelli brand, but you can use any of your favorite chocolate morsels.
- Chopped pecans – or walnuts, if you prefer.
- Caramel bits – you can buy caramel baking bits online or in the baking aisle of your grocery store.
What are Turtle Cookies?
Turtle Cookies are cookies made with all of the delicious flavors and textures traditionally found in turtle chocolate candy. Namely this means chocolate, caramel, and pecans. I’m a huge fan of turtle chocolate candy and cookie dough, so this is really a marriage of two favorite things.
Recipe Tips for Turtle Cookies
Since I’ve made the recipe for turtle cookies dozens of times (or more), I have learned a few tips and tricks that will help your cookies turn out perfect every time. Here’s what you need to know:
- Make sure the butter is softened to room temperature. Use a paddle attachment on a stand mixer to mix the ingredients to fluffy.
- Choose the right chocolate chip. To make these turtle cookies, be sure to use semi-sweet or even dark chocolate chips. We tried milk chocolate chips and it made the cookies way too sweet.
- Substitute the nuts. Feel free to substitute with chopped almonds if you are not a fan of chopped pecans, or leave them out altogether if you don’t like nuts.
- Try diced apples. Another REALLY yummy substitute is swapping the pecans out for diced dried apples. This makes the turtle cookies taste more like awesome caramel apple cookies! You can even make the dough then add apples to half and pecans to the other half if you want to try both.
Baking Suggestions
- Roll cookie dough into one inch balls, then make a slight indentation with your finger to the top of each one.
- Grease baking pans or use silicone mats or parchment paper to keep the cookies from sticking to the sheets.
- Serve piping hot with a tall glass of milk, or out of the freezer for a frozen treat.
Frequently Asked Questions About Turtle Cookies
You’ll find the main three components of turtle candy in these cookies: rich cookie dough filled with pecans, melted caramel and melted chocolate.
If stored in an airtight container at room temperature, these cookies will stay fresh up to two weeks. Keep them in the freezer for up to two months.
Turtles candies get their name because the way the caramel and chocolate stacks on top with the pecans sticking out, it looks like a shell of a little turtle. These don’t look like turtles but totally taste like the famous candy.
READ NEXT: 35+ Best Easter Treats and Desserts
Other Cookie Recipes to Try
- Bakery Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Homemade Oreo Cookies
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies
- Carrot Cake Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Molasses Cookies
- Grandma’s Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe
How to make Turtle Cookies
Turtle Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 1/4 cups unsifted flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips Ghirardelli brand
- 3/4 cup pecans chopped
- 3/4 cup caramel bits
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium size bowl, stir together flour with baking soda and salt, and set aside.
- In large mixing bowl, beat butter with sugar and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy and lightened in color.
- Add eggs and vanilla. Mix on low speed until incorporated.
- Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture.
- Stir in nuts, chocolate chips, and caramel bits.
- Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets.
- Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until lightly browned.
Notes
- Roll cookie dough into one inch balls, then make a slight indentation with your finger to the top of each one.
- Grease baking pans or use silicone mats or parchment paper to keep the cookies from sticking to the sheets.
- Serve piping hot with a tall glass of milk, or out of the freezer for a frozen treat.
Absolutely love this recipe, however the baking temp is way too high. It burns the caramel. I dropped the temp
to 350° and left the time the same. I also made the cookies a little bigger, 1½ inch balls vs 1 inch.
I LOVE ALL OF THE RECIPES THAT I HAVE LOOKED AT.
Tastes like a chocolate chip cookie with pecans and caramel bits tossed in. Ungreased cookie sheets had to be washed each time they came out of the oven. ** Using parchment paper is a must with this recipe and should have at least been mentioned in the instructions. **
Absolutely delicious!! Thanks for sharing. ❤️
I did make the turtle cookies, but I used parchment paper, and let them cool on the paper and they just came off so easy
Taste is lovely, but cookies severely stuck to ungreased baking pan.
These were so good! Crispy edges and chewy inside! These also made a ton of cookies, probably a little over 24 regular sized ones. I’d make these again, they were pretty reliable for a first try.
Thank you for rating this recipe and sharing your experience with it. I’m so glad you liked it!
Taste, these cookies are right up there yummy! I used my air bake cookie sheets. Most cookies, you let them sit a minute before you move them to a rack to cool. Not these cookies! That caramel sticks to the pan like there is no tomorrow, so I had to pop the pan back in the oven, to be able to get them off. It still was not easy. The caramel got on the spatula, and then goofed up all the cookies as I was trying to remove them. Next batch I thought I would try taking them off right away. Still was not easy. I decided to use parchment paper on the last 2 batches and to be honest, those caramels still gooed up my spatula. Flavor is great, but not a happy baking experience!!
Absolutely love! My 2 year old and I made these and they are so yummmy! Thank you for sharing
I made these and they were amazing!! I’m definitely saving this recipe. I can’t wait to share them with my friends and family! 😀
This happened to me too. I tried chilling the dough, cooking at a lower temperature and not putting the caramels in the dough at all. I cannot seem to figure out why this recipe only yields me paper thin crisps…. Disappointed. I quadrupled the recipe for a cookie exchange and now I’m not sure what to do. 🙁
I am so sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you! Sometimes my cookies turn out too thin if I add butter that is too soft or semi-melted. Altitude and climate where you live can also make a big difference when baking!
I love these cookies, I just tried for the first time last month and I’ve already made them twice. I was a bit scared of the caramel because of the previous concerns but I tried it and if you try to take them off the cookie sheet to soon the caramel will still be soft I left them on the cookie sheet 8 to 10 minutes and I didn’t have any issues with the caramel ot was nice and set in the bottom yet soft and chewy in the middle. Love them!
I tried this recipe, the dough tasted wonderful, but the butter melted before the cookie could even bake and it ended in a huge mess of paper thin crisps … am i supposed to freeze the dough before cooking ?
I am so sorry this recipe didn’t work for you! I haven’t had that happen before so I am not sure what went wrong! The recipe doesn’t call for freezing the dough, but if you live in a warmer climate you might want to chill it a little bit before baking. Hope this helps!
I made these, following exact recipe. Made 48 of the most delicious cookies ever!!! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Christy- so glad you liked them! Thanks for the nice comment!
Do you use All purpose flour or self rising
All purpose!
Can u freeze after baking??
How many cookies does this recipe yield please?
About 3 to 4 dozen, depending on size.
Made these following exact recipe and they were A M A Z I N G!!
Thank you, Kathy! We are so happy you liked them!
Where can I find the Caramel bits? I clicked on the link it only took me to more recipe’s.
Thank-you
Carol Hillidge
You can usually find them near the chocolate chips in the grocery store.
How big is the bag of chocolate chips?
Standard size- about 11 oz.
I just TRIED to make these cookies and they stick to the sheet and the turner. Next to impossible to get them off of the sheet or the turned. Delicious flavor to to big of a mess to serve to anyone. I even tried greasing the cookie sheets and use parchment paper. Not but 6 cookies were in the shape of a cookies. 🙁 Any suggestions?????
shoot, I’m not sure what went wrong. Mine came off fine. Maybe next time instead of mixing in the caramels, try adding them to the top of the dough just before cooking.
I just made these and they’re amazing! I made one tray with a silicon mat and one without. When I tried to pull a cookie off the one without the mat I had an “oh oh” moment, but when I grabbed a spatula and started pulling them off it went off without a hitch!
Thank you so much for sharing your scrumptious recipes. My
family & friends will just love me more for baking for them
Thanks again
Denise