Chewy “Turtles” Cookies

You know how sometimes in life, you’ll eat something that’ll mark you deeply, permanently…

Even years after having eaten said food, you’ll still remember how good it smelled, how exquisite it looked, how delicious it felt when your teeth initially sunk into it, when it first hit your tongue, your palate. The entire gustatory experience is forever engraved in your memory and every now and then, you get to think about it and would give just about anything to get your hands on that food once again.

Well, these Chewy Turtles Cookies definitely belong to that category.

As soon as I took the first bite, I knew that I would never, ever forget those cookies.

The cookie itself is impeccably dense, soft and intensely chocolate-y. The caramel has a perfect melt-in-your-mouth chewy consistency and a to-die-for sweet and salty flavor profile. The pecans, for their part, provide a splendid little crunch as well as a most welcomed hit of rich, nutty aroma. The dark chocolate drizzle seals the whole experience with absolute maestria. 

I’m telling you, if there is a cookie heaven, this is it. Good thing I happen to have the recipe, that way I’ll be able to make them again as often as I want.

And lucky for you, I’m sharing it with you, so you too can enjoy a moment of pure bliss when you bite into one of those.

Now I know that I have included a heck of a lot of pictures, which might lead you to think that these Chewy Turtles Cookies are extremely difficult to make, but believe me, they are not. I simply wanted you to get a visual on as many of the steps as possible. Hey, I’d have included even more, if only I’d had an extra pair of hands.

Besides, I absolutely, positively, genuinely guarantee that these cookies are worth every . single . second you’ll spend in the kitchen working on them.

Let’s get to it…

For starters, put the flours, tapioca starch, cacao powder and salt into a fine mesh flour sifter, then sift everything over a medium mixing bowl. You might be tempted to skip this step, but honestly, I strongly recommend that you don’t. It’s the best way to ensure that all the lumps get broken down (coconut flour is especially lumpy) and any potential larger pieces or unwanted debris get caught. Plus, it’ll make your flour that much lighter.

Then, add ghee and honey to a separate bowl and beat on high speed with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy

Add the egg, coconut milk and vanilla extract…

… and resume creaming on high speed until light and fluffy.

Don’t worry if your mixture breaks up a little bit, it’ll all bind together when you add the dry ingredients.

Which is what we are going to do just now!

Time to add your dry ingredients and mix on low speed until barely just combined, no more.

Finish mixing the dough by hand with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Transfer the cookie batter to the refrigerator, uncovered, and let it cool for at least 2 hours.

While the dough is chilling, start working on the chewy caramel.

In a medium saucepan, mix the coconut sugar and water listed under “Part I” and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Let the mixture boil for about 3 minutes, until it takes a really dark caramel color and starts getting thicker.

Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan set over medium heat, mix all the ingredients listed under “Part II” and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture barely starts to simmer then kill the heat. It is important that you do not let this come to a full boil.

As soon as the sugar mixture is ready, slowly pour in the warm sweetened coconut milk while constantly stirring with a wooden spoon

When putting your saucepan away, send it flying across the range with as much force as you possibly can, spilling loads of sticky, sugary coconut milk all over the place in the process.

Now this step is entirely optional and won’t do anything for your cookies, really… In fact, I strongly recommend that you skip it.

But, if you have plenty of time on your hands, feel free to leave it in…

Once all the milk has been added and completely incorporated, bring the caramel back to a boil and continue cooking for 3 full minutes while stirring constantly.

This is what your caramel should look like at this point. Thick, silky, luscious, shiny… oh so gorgeous!

Turn off the heat, transfer to a small bowl and set aside to cool for about 2 hours, or until it has the consistency of soft toffee.

When the caramel is ready to use, preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll the dough into 1” balls (roughly the size of a ping-pong ball) and place them at least 1” apart on the baking sheet. As always, a spring loaded ice cream scoop works wonders for this!

Sprinkle each cookie with chopped pecans then make an indentation in their center by pressing down on them gently with your finger.

Bake the cookies for 8 minutes, remove from the oven and immediately press the centers again to recreate the indent.

Cool for 5 minutes in the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack.

Now for that decadent chewy caramel center…

With wet hands, grab the equivalent of about a teaspoon of caramel from the bowl.

Shape that into some kind of a flat circle, roughly the size of your indentations.

Don’t worry about shaping the centers perfectly; the warmth of the cookies will take care of that for you in just a few minutes.

Place the flat circles right into the cookies’ indents.

Now, if you find that your caramel is too stiff and won’t flatten nicely, place it in the microwave for just a few seconds (really, a FEW, as in 5 to 10) to make it a tad more pliable, or place the cookies in the warm oven for a minute or two after having placed the caramel centers on all of them.

Lightly press half a pecan over each of the caramel centers

…and then add the final touch: drizzle the melted dark chocolate all over the cookies.

Place the finished cookies in the refrigerator to cool completely and then store them in a single layer in a cool, dry place for up to a week. Yeah. Like they’re gonna last that long…

I’m telling you, these would make for an excellent hostess gift, (you’ll be invited again, I can guarantee that!) Christmas present for your friends, neighbors, co-workers, teachers, hairdresser or even UPS delivery guy.

Bring a plateful to your next Christmas party and you will be regarded as a hero. I swear.

In fact, if I can give you a piece of advice, I say you should definitely make a double batch.

Take my word for it, you won’t regret it…

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Chewy “Turtles” Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cooling time (caramel): 2 hours hours

These Chewy "Turtles" Cookies are more than just a cookie... they're a memorable gustatory experience. One that you will not soon forget!

Servings: 18 cookies

Ingredients

Cookie Dough

Dry Ingredients

• 3/4 cup almond flour
• 2 tbsp coconut flour
• 2 tbsp tapioca flour
• 1/2 cup organic cacao powder
• 3/4 tsp Himalayan salt

Wet Ingredients

• 1/2 cup ghee
• 1/2 cup raw honey
• 1 large egg
• 1 tbsp full fat coconut milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (or make your own

Chewy Caramel

Part I

• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup water

Part II

• 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 3 tbsp ghee, or make your own
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
• 1 tsp Himalayan salt

Garnish

• Chewy caramel, you'll need about 3/4 of the above recipe
• 1/4 cup raw pecans, chopped
• 18 pecan halves
• 50 g dark chocolate, melted

Instructions

• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flours, tapioca starch, cacao powder and salt together, then sift. For best results, I strongly recommend that you do not skip this step. It's the best way to ensure that all the lumps get broken down (coconut flour is especially lumpy) and any potential larger pieces or unwanted debris get caught.
• Add ghee and honey to a separate bowl and beat on high speed with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add egg, coconut milk and vanilla extract, cream some more until light and fluffy.
• Add dry ingredients and mix on low speed until barely just combined, no more. Finish mixing the batter by hand with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Transfer the cookie batter to the refrigerator, uncovered, and let it cool for at least 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, start working on the chewy caramel: in a medium saucepan, mix the coconut sugar and water listed under “Part I” and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Let the mixture boil for about 3 minutes, until it takes a really dark caramel color and starts getting thicker.
• Meanwhile, in a separate saucepan set over medium heat, mix all the ingredients listed under “Part II” and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture just barely starts to simmer then kill the heat. It is important that you do not let this come to a full boil.
• As soon as Part I is ready, slowly pour in the warm coconut milk mixture while constantly stirring with a wooden spoon.
• Once all the milk has been added and completely incorporated, bring the caramel to a boil and continue cooking for 3 full minutes while stirring constantly, then turn off the heat, transfer to a small bowl and set aside to cool.
• When the caramel is cool enough and has the consistency of soft toffee, preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roll the dough into 1” balls (roughly the size of a ping-pong ball) and place them at least 1” apart on the baking sheet. A spring loaded ice cream scoop works wonders for this!
• Sprinkle each cookie with chopped pecans then make an indentation in their center by pressing down gently with your finger.
• Bake the cookies for 8 minutes and remove from oven. Immediately press centers again to recreate the indent. Cool for 5 minutes in the baking sheet and then transfer to a wire rack.
• With wet hands, grab about a teaspoon of caramel from the bowl and shape it into some kind of a flat circle. Place that flat circles right into the cookies’ indents. Don’t worry about shaping the centers perfectly; the warmth of the cookies will take care of that for you in just a few minutes. If you find that your caramel is too stiff and won’t flatten nicely, place it in the microwave for just a few seconds (really, a FEW, as in 5 to 10) to make it a tad more pliable, or place the cookies in the warm oven for a minute or two after having placed the caramel centers on all of them.
• Lightly press half a pecan over each of the caramel centers and then drizzle with the melted dark chocolate.
• Place the cookies in the refrigerator to cool completely and then store in a single layer in a cool, dry place for up to a week.

Notes

*You will have leftover caramel, but by all means, don't throw it out. This will keep for quite a while in an airtight container kept in a cool dry place. I'm absolutely certain that you'll find some way to use it up!

Nutrition

Calories: 209kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 28mg, Sodium: 260mg, Potassium: 61mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 21g, Vitamin A: 13IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 16mg, Iron: 1mg

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

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