Turtle Cookie Cups
These salty, sweet, and chocolatey Turtle Cookie Cups are ready in about a half hour and are the perfect, indulgent handheld treat!
TURTLE CANDY MEETS SUGAR COOKIE
If you love turtle candies, you will love these Turtle Cookie Cups. Sugar cookie cups filled with creamy, chocolate, caramel topping with crunchy nuts drizzled on top. It’s the perfect combination of sweet and salty and slightly crunchy all in one bite! Plus, they’re pretty to easy to whip up!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
It’s really important not to overmix the dough or you’ll have stiff cookies. So, knowing when your dough is ready is crucial. You’ll know it’s ready to go when you can squeeze some of the dough and it still holds together and holds its shape. You can mix this dough by hand if you want to, instead of using an electric mixer. It just may take a little longer.
Sure thing! This is a time saver and helps make this dessert even easier and faster to do! Instead of making your own sugar cookie dough, feel free to grab some from the store.
Absolutely. If you aren’t feeling the sugar cookie dough, try making these with other flavors. Snickerdoodle or chocolate chips would be be yummy with these cookie cups.
This will usually happen if you try to remove them from the dish before they have a chance to finish setting. Be sure to give them the proper time to set. Also, you could have measured out too much flour (see my tips below in the ingredient listing.)
These cookie cups should be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 5 to 7 days. If storing in layers, use a piece of wax paper or parchment paper in between the layers. Additionally, you can freeze these by placing them in a freezer-safe container or bag with wax paper or parchment paper in between the layers. Frozen cookie cups will last up to 3 months.
Yep! I have reheated these for a quick 10-15 second burst in the microwave and it made the cookie a little softer and the chocolate and caramel nice and gooey again.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- unsalted butter – make sure to use softened to room temperature butter (not melted). If using salted butter, don’t add the additional salt in the recipe.
- granulated and powdered sugars – using a combination of both helps these cookies to hold their shape a bit better. You wouldn’t want to add more flour because that would make them dry.
- all-purpose flour – do not measure flour directly from the flour bag. You’ll get too much flour and your cookies will turn out dry and crumbly. Put the flour in a larger bowl and stir it. Then dip in your measuring cup and scoop some out then take the back of a butter knife and slide it straight across to remove the excess flour.
- kosher salt – if you don’t have kosher salt, just use regular salt.
- milk chocolate chips or chocolate melting wafers – Melting wafers tend to be a little easier to melt but chocolate chips also work fine. Melting wafers are usually near the cake decorating section or you can sometimes find them at craft stores like Michael’s.
- caramel bits – if you don’t have caramel bits, grab the Kraft caramels, unwrap them, then heat them to mix with the heavy cream.
- heavy cream – when you’re making the caramel drizzle with this heavy cream, it gets firm fairly quickly. If you are looking for more of a softer set, try the caramel sauce from the store. Just know that it may run off the cookies rather than sit on it like this mixture will.
- chopped pecans – if you don’t like pecans, just leave them of for substitute with a different nut you enjoy.
HOW TO MAKE TURTLE COOKIE CUPS
Preheat oven to 350℉. Spray a regular-sized muffin pan with nonstick baking spray. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, with an electric hand mixer, mix the butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together for approximately 1- 2 minutes.
Next, add in the flour and mix just until combined. The mixture may still be a little crumbly. Do not over mix or the dough may become tough. Using a spring loaded cookie scoop (or a spoon or your hands), add about 2 Tablespoons of dough to each muffin well.
Press into the bottom and about halfway up the sides. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until lightly browned. Immediately after baking, very lightly press the centers of the cookies down. The bottom of a spice jar, a drink muddler or a shot glass can be used to do this. This creates a small indentation for the chocolate filling to go into.
Let the cookies cool for about 5-10 minutes in the muffin pan. Next, carefully remove them by using a butter knife to help lift them out of the wells. Transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate chips for 30 seconds, then stir. Return to the microwave for 20 seconds, then stir. If the chocolate isn’t smooth, continue heating for 10-15 second intervals until completely melted. Note: sometimes the chocolate won’t initially look melted when you pull it out of the microwave but once you stir it, you’ll know if it has actually melted or not.
Spoon about 1 Tablespoon of the melted chocolate into each cookie cup and then top with about 1 Tablespoon of the pecans. Press down lightly on the nuts. In a microwave safe bowl, heat the caramel bits with the heavy cream using the same melting method as the chocolate chips from above. Drizzle the caramel over the pecans.
Serve and enjoy.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Turtle Cookie Cups
Ingredients
For the cookie
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
For the filling
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- ¾ cup caramel bits
- 1 Tablespoon heavy cream (see notes)
- ¾ cup chopped pecans
- flaky sea salt (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Spray a regular-sized muffin pan with nonstick baking spray. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, with an electric hand mixer, mix the butter, granulated sugar, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract together for approximately 1- 2 minutes.
- Next, add in the flour and mix just until combined. The mixture may still be a little crumbly. Do not over mix or the dough may become tough.
- Using a spring loaded cookie scoop or a Tablespoon, add about 2 Tablespoons of dough to each muffin well. Press into the bottom and about halfway up the sides.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Immediately after baking, very lightly press the centers of the cookies down. The bottom of a spice jar, a drink muddler or a shot glass can be used to do this. This creates a small indentation for the chocolate filling to go into.
- Let the cookies cool for about 5-10 minutes in the muffin pan.
- Next, carefully remove them by using a butter knife to help lift them out of the wells. Transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the chocolate chips for 30 seconds, then stir. Return to the microwave for 20 seconds, then stir. If the chocolate isn’t smooth, continue heating for 10-15 second intervals until completely melted. Note: sometimes the chocolate won’t initially look melted when you pull it out of the microwave but once you stir it, you’ll know if it has actually melted or not.
- Spoon about 1 Tablespoon of the melted chocolate into each cookie cup
- Then top with about 1 Tablespoon of the pecans. Press down lightly on the nuts.
- In a microwave safe bowl, heat the caramel bits with the heavy cream using the same melting method as the chocolate chips from above. Drizzle the caramel over the pecans. Then enjoy!
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- Leftover cookies should be stored at room temp in an airtight container for up to 5-7 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- When greasing the tin, try using the butter wrappers to easily wipe it around. I also suggest using butter and flour rather than the spray with the flour, but if you go for that route, just know that that tends to brown the cookies faster. So keep an eye on them.
Nutrition
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.
Can this be made dairy free
Hi Joan! I’m not familiar with dairy free baking. I’m sorry! Perhaps one of the readers on here can give guidance!