Chocolate Covered Turtles Food

CHOCOLATE TURTLES® (THE CANDY)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Arrange pecans on a baking sheet.
• Bake pecans in the preheated oven until fragrant and lightly browned, 7 minutes.
• Melt chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching.
• Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil; grease with butter.
• Combine caramels, water, and butter in a saucepan over low heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until caramels are melted and smooth. Fold in pecans.
• Drop caramel mixture by the spoonful onto the prepared baking sheet. Allow to cool and harden.
• Drizzle chocolate over caramel nut clusters. Refrigerate to set, about 1 hour.

CHOCOLATE TURTLES

Steps:

• In a double boiler or microwave, melt caramels and milk. Stir until smooth. Place pecan halves in groups of three on a greased baking sheet. Spoon melted caramel over pecans (1 scant tablespoon over each cluster). , Refrigerate. Melt chocolate chips and shortening; spread over clusters. Keep refrigerated.

CHOCOLATE CARAMEL PECAN TURTLES

Steps:

• Toast pecans at 300 degrees on a cookie sheet for 5 to 6 minutes until fragrant. Let cool.
• Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper and spray lightly with non stick cooking spray.
• Arrange the pecans on the sheet in small groups of 3.
• To make the caramel, melt butter in a medium sized sauce pan.
• Add brown sugar, corn syrup, 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk.
• Cook and stir over medium high heat until it reaches 235 degrees on your candy thermometer or the soft ball stage. (Clings together well when you drop 1/2 teaspoon of caramel in cold water).
• Then remove the caramel from heat and stir in vanilla. Carefully spoon caramel over each nut cluster covering all the nuts.
• For the chocolate topping melt the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl or big glass measuring cup. Heat for 30 seconds at a time stirring after each interval until all melted and smooth.
• Then add in 1/2 teaspoon shortening to the melted chocolate chips. Stir all together until its blended in.
• Spoon the melted chocolate over the caramel and spread around with the back of a spoon.
• Once they set up you can eat them or store them in an airtight container.
• Great for gift giving and holiday parties.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED TURTLES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast nuts on a baking pan for 10 minutes; remove from oven. Generously butter 5 baking pans. Arrange 5 pecan halves in a snowflake-shaped cluster, overlapping nuts in center. Repeat with remaining nuts, spacing clusters 2 inches apart.
• In a heavy saucepan, combine corn syrup, whole milk, and sugar. Place over medium-high heat; cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until syrup mixture comes to a boil, about 6 minutes. Stir in baking soda. Clip a candy thermometer to pan; add butter, stirring constantly until melted, keeping mixture at full boil. Slowly pour in evaporated milk; cook at a boil, stirring constantly, until temperature reaches 240 degrees (soft-ball stage), about 45 minutes. If pan starts to overflow, turn down heat for a few minutes; return to a boil.
• Remove caramel from heat; transfer to a medium metal bowl. Cool to 200 degrees. Caramel will have the consistency of thick honey.
• Using a spoon, gently mound 1 tablespoon caramel on top of each cluster. Allow caramel to harden. If caramel becomes too stiff, place bowl over low heat; stir constantly for several minutes until returned to proper consistency.
• To temper chocolate, cover a heating pad with a kitchen towel, and set pad to lowest setting. Line two baking pans with parchment paper, and set aside. Using a sharp knife, shave chocolate.
• In a medium glass bowl, heat two-thirds of the chocolate in microwave at 30 percent power for 1 minute. Stir chocolate, and continue heating at 30 percent power in 10-second intervals until an instant-read thermometer registers 120 degrees. Remove from microwave.
• Stir in remaining shaved chocolate with rubber spatula. Stir constantly, bringing chocolate up sides and back down into bowl until temperature reaches between 86 degrees and 89 degrees. To determine if tempered, drizzle a thin line onto a cool stainless-steel surface. The chocolate should dry to a matte finish in about 5 minutes. Place bowl on covered heating pad; stir occasionally to maintain temperature between 86 degrees and 89 degrees adjusting setting if necessary.
• Drizzle 1 tablespoon of tempered chocolate over each cluster; set aside in a cool place to harden.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED CARAMEL NUT TURTLES

Steps:

• Combine the sugars, syrup, butter and 1 cup of the evaporated milk, and bring to a boil. Add the other cup of evaporated milk slowly, stirring constantly, and cook until it reaches 255 degrees on a candy thermometer. Add the vanilla and pecans and mix well. Pour into a 9 by 11-inch greased pan and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature, cut into squares then dip in chocolate. If you'd like to make a turtle, spoon dollops of the caramel pecan mixture onto a greased sheet pan, with 5 pecans in each mound (4 legs and head). Refrigerate to set, then dip in chocolate.;

CHOCOLATE COVERED TURTLES

Steps:

• Generously butter 2 baking sheets.
• On the baking sheets, arrange the pecan halves in snowflake-shaped clusters of 5 pecans each, overlapping the nuts in the center, leaving 2 inches of space between each.
• In a medium saucepan, combine 1/2 cup of the evaporated milk, the corn syrup, and sugar and bring to a boil. Add the remaining 1/2 cup evaporated milk and the 4 tablespoons butter, and cook, stirring constantly, until it reaches the soft ball stage, 240 degrees F. Stir in the vanilla and remove from the heat. Let cool to 200 degrees F.
• Using a tablespoon, spoon caramel on top of each nut cluster and let harden. (If the caramel becomes too stiff to pour, return to low heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until it returns to the proper consistency.)
• To make the chocolate coating, in the top of a double boiler or in a metal bowl set over barely simmering water, combine 6 ounces of the chocolate and the shortening. Melt over low heat, stirring, until it reaches 116 to 118 degrees F, or feels fairly warm but not hot to the touch.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 2 ounces of chocolate. Continue stirring until the chocolate reaches 80 degrees F or feels cool to the touch. Return to low heat and cook, stirring, until the temperature rises to 85 to 87 degrees F, or feels barely cool. Remove from the heat.
• Drizzle 1 tablespoon of tempered chocolate over each cluster. Set aside in a cool place to harden. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, with waxed paper separating the layers to prevent sticking.

CHOCOLATE-COVERED BANANA TURTLE TORTE

Steps:

• Line 8-inch round pan with plastic wrap; set aside. Beat cream cheese and ice cream topping in large bowl with mixer until blended. Stir in 2 cups COOL WHIP.
• Spoon 3/4 cup cream cheese mixture into prepared pan; spread to within 1 inch of edge. Cover with 10 cookies, top sides down and overlapping cookies as necessary to form even layer. Repeat layers 4 times. Refrigerate 2 hours.
• Invert dessert onto serving plate just before serving. Remove plastic wrap. Spoon remaining COOL WHIP into medium microwaveable bowl; stir in semi-sweet chocolate. Microwave on HIGH 1 min.; stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended. Spread over dessert.
• Slice banana. Use to garnish dessert along with the nuts.