Homemade chocolate turtles are the cutest holiday treat and a great conversation starter. Ready in 25 minutes, no baking required, and full of that pecan/caramel/chocolate flavour of the traditional Turtles chocolates!
Ready in less than 30 minutes
No baking required
Nutty
Caramel-y
Chocolatey
And made with pantry staples!
What Are Turtles Chocolates
I grew up always seeing Turtles chocolates lining the grocery store shelves around the holidays but that may be because I’ve recently learned they are Canadian. If you are unfamiliar with Turtles, they are a cluster of:
Pecans
And soft caramel
Dunked in a chocolate coating
These differ from the traditional chocolates in that the “caramel” is not soft and stringy. I may create a version with a softer caramel in the future but for now… I love that the only sugar in this version comes from the chocolate coating and the “caramel” is sweetened naturally by date fruit!
The caramel patty in my version is made from:
- Pitted dates
- Oats
- And a pinch of sea salt
Adding the oats makes this date “caramel” dough very easy to work with and keeps this treat incredibly quick to make.
- Simply scoop little bits of the dough,
- Form them into patties with your fingers,
- And press them onto the pecans.
- Top with melted chocolate and your turtles are done!
Ingredients For Homemade Chocolate Turtles
These homemade chocolate turtles are made with just 6 pantry friendly ingredients! Make sure to take a look at our Pantry & Freezer Tips page to see what we always keep on hand to make our cooking delicious and convenient!
- 1 ⅓ cup pecan halves
- ½ cup oat flour (or whole oats)
- 1 cup pitted deglet noor dates (about 20)
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup dairy-free dark chocolate chips
- And 1 teaspoon coconut oil to thin the chocolate (optional)
To Toast The Pecans Or Not To Toast
I am a big advocate for toasting your nuts! But… for this recipe I actually prefer these homemade turtles chocolates when the pecans are not toasted.
If I toast the pecans I find that the pecan flavour overpowers the date caramel and the chocolate. By keeping the pecans raw, each of the flavours shine through and compliment each other.
That being said, if you prefer to toast the pecans you absolutely can! I like to toast my nuts at:
350 degrees F for about 6-8 minutes until fragrant.
Jump over to my post on How To Toast Walnuts for some more detail on toasting nuts and how to use them!
Building Homemade Chocolate Turtles
Another great thing about this recipe is how creative you can be with designing your turtles!
If you want to make homemade turtles chocolates that most closely resemble the traditional chocolates you can:
- Lay two pecans side by side, press a date caramel patty on top, and press one more pecan on top of the date caramel. Dunk the entire turtle in chocolate so it’s fully covered in a chocolate coating.
- You could also crush your pecans but I find that keeping them whole makes this recipe quicker and easier.
For cute homemade turtles chocolates that mimic the look of actual reptile turtles:
- Place three pecans in a “Y” shape to resemble the head and two legs of a turtle, press the caramel patty on top, and then drizzle a chocolate “shell” onto your turtle.
- You can, of course, use more pecans if you would like to accurately represent the number of legs a turtle has!
And for the quickest, thriftiest, and easiest to eat version:
- Build the turtles as you would to entirely dunk them in chocolate… two pecans side by side, a caramel patty pressed on top, and a third pecan pressed on top of the caramel. But then just swirl chocolate on top instead of completely dunking the turtles.
- The more I make these, I find that this version is the easiest to store (because you don’t have turtle legs and heads sticking out everywhere). It’s the easiest to eat. And this version keeps the cost on the lower spectrum just like the version that is meant to look like turtle reptiles.
Recipe Cost
This fun recipe makes 24 turtles (about 475 grams) and costs us:
Approximately CAD $5.00.
If we were to buy the traditional turtles chocolates they would cost us approximately $2.57/100g on sale! And this homemade version costs us roughly $1.05/100g.
That means that is homemade chocolate turtles recipe is not only easy, tasty, and super cute… it’s also a thriftier option.
Let me know in the comments below if you try this recipe and how you design your turtles!
If you like this combination of nuts, dates, and chocolate then you absolutely HAVE to try our Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Filled Dates! I am a big fan of “no bake” treats and these No Bake Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars are one of my go tos!
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Date Chocolate Turtles – An Easy At Home Recipe
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 24 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Quick homemade chocolate turtles similar to the classic Canadian treat! Crunchy pecans, date caramel, a chocolate coating & ready in minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cup pecan halves (raw or roasted, 72 pieces)
- 1 cup pitted deglet noor dates (about 20, softened in warm water for 5 minutes if needed)
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- ½ cup oat flour (or whole quick or rolled oats)
- ½ cup non-dairy chocolate chips (use 1 cup if coating the entire candy in chocolate)
- 1 tsp melted coconut oil
*All the ingredients for this recipe are from our pantry and freezer tips!
Instructions
- Add soft dates, oat flour or whole oats, and sea salt to your food processor. Blend until a smooth, sticky dough forms.
- Arrange your pecan halves into groups of three on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Scoop a teaspoon size of date caramel “dough” and form it into a flat patty.
- If making turtles where you want the pecans exposed, arrange the pecans in a “Y” shape and press the date caramel patty on top. If making turtles that will be completely covered in chocolate; lay two pecan halves side by side, press the date caramel patty on top and add one more pecan halve on top of the caramel to sandwich the caramel between the pecans. (I actually like organizing the pecans and caramel this second way and then just drizzling chocolate on top… it can be a little easier to store the chocolates and slightly easier to eat than having the turtles “legs” sticking out).
- Continue forming your turtles until all the date caramel has been used. Store the turtles in your freezer to harden for a few minutes while you melt your chocolate.
- Add coconut oil or another neutral oil to the chocolate chips (this is not absolutely necessary but it will thin the chocolate and make it easier to work with. If you are melting more chocolate and dunking the entire turtle, use 2 teaspoon coconut oil). Melt the chocolate using a double boiler method or in the microwave. If using the microwave, heat the chocolate chips for 30 seconds, take them out and stir them. Heat in increments of 10 seconds more (stirring in between) until melted.
- With the chocolate melted, remove the turtles from the freezer and drizzle a teaspoon or so of chocolate over the body of each turtle. Alternatively, dunk each turtle into the melted chocolate, use a fork to lift the turtle out, tap off the excess chocolate, and lay the chocolate covered turtle back on the baking tray.
- When all the turtles have their chocolate coating, return the baking tray to the fridge or freezer for at least 10 minutes until the chocolate has hardened.
- Store the turtles in the fridge or freezer if they are not gobbled up immediately! These will store well in the fridge for 1 week and up to 1 month in the freezer.
Notes
Approximate Cost: CAD $5.00 ($0.21/each if 24 are made). This recipe makes approximately 475g which is about $1.05/100g vs. at least $2.57/100g for the traditional store-bought turtles chocolates.
A trick to avoiding a white swirl through your hardened chocolate; as can sometimes happen when the chocolate is not very high quality, is to stir a few unmelted chocolate chips into your melted chocolate. Stir vigorously to melt those additional chips. The cold chips will help lower the temperature of the melted chocolate which can prevent the chocolate from overheating and prevent that white swirl from forming when the chocolate hardens.
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Raw
- Cuisine: Canadian
Maria
I made these for Christmas! Very quick, easy and FUN to make. They are beyond delicious. I will be making them regularly. This recipe is a 5*+++
Kathryn Alexandre
Oh great! I’m so glad you had fun making them! They are one of my Christmas favourites. Enjoy!