pecans

7 Days of Christmas Cookies – Cookie #2

Turtle Cookies > Turtle Chocolates.

Let me convince you.

1. Turtle Cookies are soft and don’t get all sticky up underneath your teeth.
2. Turtle Cookies have a complex cocoa flavor instead of being cloyingly sweet.
3. They are made with less expensive ingredients and are pretty easy to make.
4. And they are perfect for dunking in a glass of milk.

Also, look at these pictures.

Uhhh…. YUM!

I spent Saturday baking the beginnings of everything, but Sunday was for drizzling and decorating and garnishing. Therefore, NO ONE was going to touch or taste ANYTHING on Saturday. I’m very particular in the kitchen. It’s amazing my family keeps me around.

When I finally let Dad have a cookie around 3 pm on Sunday, he went for these and this is what he had to say: I picked this cookie for the caramel, but I went back for another because of the chocolate part.

Lesson learned? Doesn’t matter if you’re a caramel or chocolate or nut person — you’re gonna like these. Now off to the kitchen!

5 from 1 vote

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Chocolate Turtle Cookies

Lightly adapted from America's Test Kitchen

Prep Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 27 minutes

Servings 32

Author my Bottomless Boyfriend

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 large egg separated, plus 1 egg white
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups pecans chopped fine
• 14 soft caramel candies
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

Instructions

1. Combine flour, cocoa, and salt in bowl. Set aside.
2. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg yolk, milk, and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture until just combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
3. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Whisk two egg whites in bowl until frothy. Place pecans in another bowl. Roll dough into 1-inch balls, dip in egg whites, then roll in pecans. Place balls 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Using 1/2-teaspoon measure, make indentation in center of each ball. Bake until set, about 10-12 minutes, switching and rotating sheets halfway through baking. When cookies are still warm, you may want to re-press the indentations. (The cookies will rise slightly while in the oven.)
5. Microwave caramels and cream in bowl, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Fill each with 1/2 teaspoon caramel mixture. Allow cookies to cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.