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Turtle Brownies

This recipe for Turtle Brownies are not only scrumptious, they are incredibly easy to make with delicious layers of chocolate and caramel!

AN EASY AND DELICIOUS BROWNIE RECIPE

With the popularity of the Knock Ya Naked Brownies, I thought I would take that recipe and jazz it up a bit and make it into a turtle candy inspired brownie. It’s one of our favorites and it’s so simple to make. I promise, no one will have any clue that you used a boxed cake mix for this!

The Best Turtle Brownies, sliced and layered onto a white cake stand.

TIPS FOR MAKING TURTLE BROWNIES:

  • These brownies are rich so you’ll want to cut them into relatively small squares.
  • Use any chocolate cake mix you prefer. I personally think this tastes best with the German chocolate flavor.
  • Around the holidays, Kraft usually comes out with caramels that are already unwrapped that are perfect for baking!
The Best Turtle Brownies recipe from The Country Cook.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)

  • German chocolate cake mix
  • unsalted butter
  • chopped pecans
  • evaporated milk
  • Kraft caramels
  • semi-sweet chocolate chips
German chocolate cake mix, Kraft caramels, unsalted butter, semi-sweet chocolate chips, chopped pecans, evaporated milk.

HOW TO MAKE TURTLE BROWNIES:

Preheat oven to 350f degrees. Spray an 8×8-baking pan with non-stick spray or line the pan with parchment paper and spray the paper for easier removal of the bars.This will make it a bit easier to cut later too.

parchment paper-lined baking dish.

In a bowl, using a stand or hand mixer, mix together the cake mix, butter, 3/4 cup of the pecans (the other 1/4 cup will be used to top the brownies) and 3 oz. of the evaporated milk.

cake mix, butter, pecans and evaporated milk in a bowl.

Press half of the brownie batter into the bottom of the pan. Warning: Batter will be sticky. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.

spreading cake mix batter into the bottom of a baking dish.

While the bottom half of the brownies is baking, make the caramel sauce. In a small sauce pan, over low/medium heat. melt the caramels and 2 ounces of the evaporated milk and stir often to prevent burning. 

evaporated milk and caramels in the bottom of a saucepan.

Once melted, remove from the caramel from the heat and set aside.

melted caramel in saucepan with a spoon.

When the bottom is done baking, immediately sprinkle 4 oz. of the chocolate chips on the baked bottom layer and then spread about 3/4 of the caramel sauce on top. Save the remaining caramel sauce to drizzle on top when they are all baked.

cooked cake mix topped with semi sweet chocolate chips and caramel poured on top.

Crumble the remaining half of the brownie batter over the caramel layer as evenly as possible. It’s okay if some caramel is showing, since the batter will spread when baked. 

cake mix batter crumbled on top of caramel layer.

Sprinkle the remaining pecans over the top. Bake for another 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

pecans sprinkled on top of caramel mixture.

Allow the brownies to cool completely before cutting. When it’s time to cut, warm up the remaining caramel sauce and drizzle it all over the top of the brownies. 

fully baked Turtle Brownies in a baking pan.

Melt remaining chocolate chips and drizzle on top as well.

slices of Chocolate Caramel Bronwies on a white platter.

Store covered at room temperature.

Caramel Pecan Turtle Brownies, sliced.

CRAVING MORE RECIPES?

Turtle Brownies

Turtle Brownies

This recipe for Turtle Brownies are not only scrumptious, they are incredibly easy to make with delicious layers of chocolate and caramel!
5 from 17 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 16

Ingredients

  • 15.25 ounce box German chocolate cake mix
  • 1 ½ sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup chopped pecans (divided use)
  • 5 ounce can evaporated milk (divided use)
  • 11 ounce bag caramel candy or caramel bits
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips  (divided use)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray an 8×8 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Or line the pan with parchment paper and spray the paper. This will make it easier to remove and cut into bars later.
  • In a bowl, mix together the cake mix, softened butter, 3/4 cups of the chopped pecans (we'll use the rest for the topping later) and 3 ounces of evaporated milk.
  • Press half of the brownie batter into the bottom of the prepared pan. It might help to moisten your hands a bit to press it down since the batter will be a sticky.
  • Bake this bottom half for 10 minutes at 350f degrees.
  • In a small saucepan, over low to medium heat, melt the caramels and the rest of the evaporated milk. Whisk often to prevent burning. Once melted, remove from the stove and set aside.
  • When the bottom is done baking, immediately sprinkle half of the chocolate chips on the bottom layer and then spread 3/4 of the caramel sauce on to (the rest will be used as a topping.)
  • Crumble the remaining half of the brownie batter evenly over the caramel layer. Note: t’s okay if some caramel is showing since the batter will spread out as it bakes.
  • Sprinkle the remaining chopped pecans on top. Bake for another 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean .
  • Let the brownies cool completely.
  • When it’s time to cut, warm up the remaining caramel sauce and drizzle it all over the top of the finished brownies.
  • Finally, melt the remaining semi-sweet chocolate chips and drizzle that over the brownies as well. Slice and serve.

Notes

  • Stored covered at room temperature.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Calories: 260kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 19g | Sodium: 51mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 17g

Nutritional Disclaimer

“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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Recipe Rating




4 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    My kids made these for their Dad’s birthday since he loves those chocolate turtles. They did such a great job! Your site is so easy for them to follow along with all your pictures and notes. Thank you for your hard work in doing all of this. Their Dad absolutely loved them!

  2. 5 stars
    The first time they came out perfect. The second time, they were also delicious but the cake part was too moist and crumbly to cut so they are a mess and not uniform. I used a chocolate fudge cake mix as that was all they had. Would that be the reason? Is it ok to also use a brownie mix if I can’t find a cake mix?

  3. I wonder if the caramel sweetened condensed milk that you can buy in the 14oz can could be substituted for the melted caramel pieces. Guess one way to know is to do it 🙂