My nephew Matt (#1, #1) was in the kitchen sharing his mom’s Caramel Pecan Turtle recipe. An introduction for Matt would go like this: if there’s ever a disaster of any kind I want to be living in walking distance to Matt. Matt can do anything, make anything, and grow anything. He truly can live off the land surviving on the hunt, the garden bounty, and homemade brew. His mind is always in a creative spin thinking about how to manufacture, make better, or re-do something. Think of him as an engineer meets foodie, meets comedian, meets teddy bear with the biggest heart ever! That’s Matt.
What I love about turtles is how 3 ingredients come together to make such a great tasting treat. Chunk caramel is used along with confectionery milk chocolate discs. Both are bought at a cake and candy supply shop. The pecans are from my cousin’s trees.
In the picture above, Matt is slicing pieces of caramel. Before he did that he worked the caramel into a defined shape to make the slicing more uniform.
He cuts the slices into squares 1 1/2″ x 5/8″ thick and then works the chunks in his hands to flatten. 3 pecan halves are placed in the candy cups. The amount will depend on the size of your pecans. A piece of caramel tops the pecans.
Now for the fun part. Matt came equipped with a Wilton Chocolate Melter . If you don’t have one, a double boiler works just fine. The chocolate was melting while he prepared the cups. You will see in the recipe instructions that vegetable oil was used to thin the chocolate. This does not affect the taste or the hardening process. You want the chocolate thin enough to run over the caramel and down the sides. A light sprinkling of sea salt was added. YUM!!!
Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed meeting Matt. I would like to add a note about his mom, Mary Beth (#1) who gave us this tradition years ago. You see, Mary Beth is the oldest of our group. Even though she left this world years ago she’s thought about daily and lives on through her 3 beautiful children that are now adults. She was a fabulous cook and the one word that comes to mind when thinking about Mary Beth’s creations is: perfection. Everything was perfect! She made every birthday and holiday special with her decorated cakes and cookies and when she’d bring them in we’d gather round to ooh and aah. There was nothing Mary Beth couldn’t make or wouldn’t try. Thank you, Mary, for leading the way, setting the standards and giving us an appreciation for food, family, fine things, and a good time. Your laughter will never be forgotten. Big Hugs!
Another recipe from Mary – Sour Cream Cake by Mary Beth
You can see Mary’s picture in the post The Story Behind The Box. She is standing next to dad in the pink dress. (vintage pic)
Don’t you think it’s great how my sister’s kids are continuing her traditions? What’s one thing you’ve carried on in your family? Please consider leaving a message for the community.
Thanks so much for stopping by, Rose
Matt Koerber and Me
- 1 pound of caramel. A 1 pound chunk of caramel was used and was bought at a cake decorating and candy shop.
- 2 pounds of milk chocolate. I use the disc-shaped milk chocolate, You will have a little left over depending on how much chocolate you put in the cups.
- 1 pound of pecan halves. Mine were large and I had pecans left over.
- Vegetable oil to thin chocolate.
- Confectionary candy cups 1¾" X ⅝" (the ⅝" is the wall/depth of cup)
- Sea salt - optional. Fleur de Sel Salt was used and bought at a local spice shop.
- Melt the chocolate while preparing the cups. A Wilton Chocolate Melter was used for this recipe. If you melt the chocolate on the stove it's best to use a double boiler.
- Shape the chunk of caramel into a rectangular shape for slicing.
- Cut slices of caramel off the block using a plastic spatula.
- Cut the slices into squares 1" X ⅛ " thick. Work the squares in your hands and flatten.
- You can even shape into circles if you like.
- Place 3 pecan halves in the bottom of the cups. In my post, you can see that some of the halves were large and 2 filled the bottom.
- Place a piece of caramel on top of the pecans.
- When the chocolate is melted, add approximately 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil per pound of chocolate. This thins the chocolate and makes for easy pouring. It will not affect the taste or the hardening process You want it thin enough to run over the caramel.
- Pour a heaping teaspoon plus of chocolate on top of the caramel and smooth the top. You might need to spread the chocolate to the sides helping it run down into the cups.
- If you like you can sprinkle some type of sea salt on top while the chocolate is still soft.
- The chocolate will harden just under an hour.
- Store in an airtight container.
- Wasn't that easy? This is a fun recipe to make with a friend.