These amazingly Super Easy recipe for Turtle bars come together in minutes and are reminiscent of a Twix bar and a Turtle candy. Keep reading to see how easy they are to make!
I had a hard time coming up with a name for this recipe because it resembles two different loves in my life: Twix Bars and Turtles. In the end, I decided to keep my life easier and not name it after a copyrighted candy bar :). So Turtle Bars, it is!
Make It More Affordable – No Nuts Necessary…
If you have anyone who is allergic to nuts or if you’d like to make this recipe WAY more affordable, feel free to leave those out. I usually do, mainly due to the expense (for the price of a bag of pecans I could cook an entire supper for my family).
Ingredients you will need in this recipe for Turtle Bars are:
- A roll of sugar cookie dough
- Chocolate Chips
- Dulce de Leche
- Pecans.
As always the complete recipe is in printable format at the bottom of this post.
How to Make This Recipe for Turtle Bars
Line a 9×13 baking dish with foil, being sure to leave an overhang so that you can easily pull the bars out after they are done. Spray the foil with cooking spray. Pat cookie dough out evenly into the pan and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned*.
Keep in mind…
Ovens vary in how fast and hot they cook. That is why you often see bake for __minutes OR until ____ in instructions. The good thing is we usually get to know our ovens and know what to expect if we use them on a regular basis but I just wanted to give you a little heads up since that came to mind.
What is Dulce de Leche?
Look at this can of love and wonder! That is canned caramel and it is divine from start to finish. I used to only find it on the Mexican foods aisle but now it is often in the baking section with all of the other canned milk products as well. This is a wonderful shortcut. If you haven’t tried it in my Samoa Brownies recipe, make sure you hop over there after you’re done with this post!
You can make Dulce de Leche yourself. Use a can of sweetened condensed milk, open the can and pour it into a bowl and microwave it at 1-2 minute intervals, stirring after each, until it turns brown and caramelizes.
My recommendation:
Give yourself permission to do things the easy way sometimes. Bee bop on over to the Mexican foods section of your grocery store and pick up a can or two of this instead.
- Pour the can of caramel in a microwave safe bowl and microwave it for 1-2 minutes until it is soft and spreadable. Spread it over your entire pan of cookie bars.
- Sprinkle the entire bag of chocolate chips over this and then place pan back in the oven for about five minutes to melt the chips. Remove from oven and spread the chips until the entire top is covered with chocolate. Sprinkle with nuts, if desired.
- Allow them to cool slightly and then score lines across the entire pan with a knife before allowing them to harden completely. I usually pop mine in the fridge to speed up this process.
- Once completely hardened, remove the cookies from the pan by pulling up on the aluminum foil and cut them all the way.
These make excellent gifts, are great to make for the holidays or bake sales, and they are sure to be appreciated by your family as well.
No matter what you celebrate this season, I hope you take time to slow down and cherish as many moments as you can with your family. The real present from our families is their presence.
Ingredients
- 16.5 ounce roll Pillsbury cookie dough doesn't have to be Pillsbury but that is what I used
- 12 ounce package semi sweet chocolate chips
- 13.4 ounce can Dulce de Leche
- 1 cup chopped pecans optional
Instructions
- Line a 9x13 baking dish with heavy duty aluminum foil, making sure it comes up and overhangs a bit so you can easily pull it out later. Spray this lightly with baking spray. Pat cookie dough out into the bottom of the pan to cover it.
- Bake at 350 for about twenty minutes, or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely.
- Empty caramel into a bowl and microwave it at thirty second intervals, stirring after each, until soft and spreadable, about 1-2 minutes. Pour on top of cooled cookie crust and spread to edges.
- Sprinkle entire bag of chocolate chips evenly over the top of this and place it in a 350 oven until chips become soft, 3-4 minutes. Remove from oven and gently spread the chocolate so that it covers the caramel. Sprinkle pecans over the top, if desired.
- Allow to cool until almost hardened and then score the bars into little squares with a knife before it hardens completely. Cover and refrigerate to harden all the way. Remove bars from pan by using aluminum foil. Cut along the scored lines into little squares. Enjoy!
Nutrition
If you get tired, learn to rest, not quit.
~Unknown
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Lemon Bars Recipe and Video Tutorial
Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies AKA Cloud Cookies
Oh. My. Goodness. These are soooo good. This is the first time I have ever used Dulce de leche, actually the first time I’ve ever heard of it. Geez, I live in a small town not a cave! The first one I found was a squeeze bottle and after chugging it right from the bottle I knew I had to find the cans. Wal-mart (24 miles away) had it in cans. I came home and got right on these cookies and I only ate 4 when they cooled off. Quality control doncha know? I just rearranged them and was going to keep quiet, but, that dang chocolate on my lip gave me away. Love these and can’t wait to gift them. Thank you so much for changing my baking life with that wonderful little can of caramel. Looks like we might get snow this Friday in South Mississippi so, I’ll be a baking. Have a great evening.
I am so glad to hear you liked them Pamela!! I hope you are having a great day, blessings to you and yours!
Hi, me again. My nephew came in from his Naval base last weekend and my sister called and of course we all went to her house for a potluck for this child (when do we stop calling them children),. He loves cheesecake! So, I made this topping for the cookies on a cheesecake and oh-la-la, good thing I brought three! YUM Thanks again for making our lives so easy and so yummy.
Oh my goodness, what a great idea!! I hope you had a wonderful visit, please tell him thank you so much for his service from me and my family!!
How many squares did you get from this pan?
It just depends on the size of your squares. You can work out how many you want and then cut a grid to match that. Ie: if you want 24, cut 8 slices across the long side and three across the top. If you want twelve, cut four across the long side and three across the top, etc.
Thank you for this recipe, they look great. Do you need to store these in the refrigerator? Merry Christmas and Happy new year
They don’t have to be stored in the fridge unless you’re going to keep them for more than a few days, it might be a good idea in that case. Merry Christmas!
These are super easy. I didn’t have pecans but I remembered your faux pecan pie recipe and usd chopped pretzels and they turned out great.
I don’t suppose these can’t be made gluten free. Thanks. Be waiting for a comment.
Ada
I’ve never made them gluten free myself but I am sure there is a way to do so, you’ll just have to commit yourself to some experimenting time in the kitchen. 🙂
I am going to surely make these Turtle Bars….they look like they would be so delicioso.
Kate
I hope you like them Kathryn, can’t wait to hear!!
One or two cans of that caramel yum??? You must be joking!! Okay, I’ll admit it, I am a hoarder of Dulce de Leche and have been known to exit the store with a dozen or so cans!! Hey, a girl doesn’t want to run out or not have any available when she just has to make something containing caramel!!! Thanks for this recipe (already shared on FB)…I know I’ll be making it this Christmas!!
I think we were separated at birth 🙂
I just love the stuffing out of you!