This easy pecan turtle candy is a quick and tasty munchie that your whole family will gobble up!

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Today I’m going to share something fun I made this past weekend as a little treat for my family. Well, maybe it was mostly a treat for me. I did eat almost all of them, after all. 

The fun part is that my young son was able to help me make these. He loves helping out around the kitchen, but let’s face it, a 4-year-old’s version of “helping” often doesn’t actually help. With these treats though, he can do the entire prep!

But back to what we’re making. It’s sweet. It’s salty. It’s chocolaty. It’s nutty. It’s caramel-ly. OK, it’s EVERYTHING. (Spoiler alert: It’s candy!)

Watch How to Make Pecan Turtle Candy

A Treat for Any Occasion

Friends, you’ve had turtles candy, right? The box of chocolate turtles you received for Christmas that one year when you were really, really good? They’re delicious. But they’re not just a holiday treat, especially when they’re so easy to whip up. The salty/sweet combo makes these an irresistible snack on any day. So that’s the candy we’ll be making today – homemade turtle candy. 

What makes turtle candy Southern? Why it’s the pecan, of course! Each turtle is topped with one, and it’s the Southern pecan that has really made turtle candy famous around the world. 

Put away your sugar and butter, because this pecan turtle recipe is really simple. And if you have children, they’re also going to have a lot of fun helping with (and eating) this one. 

This recipe doesn’t call for roasting the pecans, but if you want to spend a little more time on this candy, we have a wonderful Roasted Pecans recipe that you can incorporate into these caramel chocolate turtles. 

I guarantee you’ll be happy with the toasted pecan flavor. But either way, you’re in for a treat with this yummy chocolate turtle candy.

This pecan turtle candy recipe requires only 3 ingredients:

Pretzels. The pretzels you use should be the standard size (1 inch or so) that comes in snack bags. Either square or round shapes will both work fine.

Chocolate-covered caramels. Rolos are perfect for this recipe. Some folks use the Dove chocolate caramels, which will make for a richer treat. You can try your favorite type of chocolate — milk chocolate, semisweet chocolate, or dark chocolate-covered caramel candies all work well.

And most importantly…whole pecan halves.

Prep Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line your cookie sheet with parchment paper.
3. Place the pretzels on the parchment paper.
4. Place a chocolate caramel candy on each pretzel. 
5. Optional: If you didn’t roast your pecans, you can place your unroasted pecans on top of each candy now, to give them a bit of a toasted flavor in the oven.

Voila! Pretzel turtle prep is complete. That was fast.

Baking Instructions

1. Carefully place your cookie sheet into the oven, making sure none of the candy stacks topple. 
2. Let bake for about 4 minutes and then remove from the oven. 
3. Press each pecan half gently into each candy. 
4. Let cool.

Melted chocolate…chewy caramel…crunchy pecan & pretzel…mmm. 

Decorating Your Turtles

If you can wait a few more minutes before diving in, here’s where you can get fancy if you’d like to decorate your homemade turtles. Grab a handful of extra chocolate caramel candy and place them into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave them for a minute and stir them up. Drizzle over your turtles. 

Alternatively, you can drizzle either caramel sauce (by just melting caramel squares candy) or chocolate (by melting dark, semi-sweet, milk, or white chocolate chips). If you sufficiently heat your candy but your melted caramel or chocolate doesn’t look thin enough to drizzle, stirring in a little heavy cream will thin out the sauce.

The caramel pretzel combination in this homemade turtle candy is amazing. The salt is the perfect complement to the caramel. If you’re using preztels that aren’t particularly salty, you may add a sprinkle of sea salt on top right after baking or after topping with drizzle, to ensure you get that savory salted caramel flavor. 

These homemade turtles candy make a great party snack, holiday gift, or an easy any-day treat.

We hope you’ll enjoy our Pecan Turtle Candy recipe!

If you enjoy our pecan turtle candy, or if you want a sugar free treat, you’ll also love our pecan praline candy!

Low Carb Pecan Praline