Homemade Turtle Clusters

Recipe for Homemade Turtle Clusters


Oh how I love Turtle Clusters and they are even better when they are homemade!  So I believe I’ll try these this Holiday season!

Oh how I love Turtle Clusters and they are even better when they are homemade!  So I believe I’ll try these this Holiday season!



Recipe for Homemade Turtle Clusters

Homemade Turtle Clusters

Yield: about 36 clusters
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Oh how I love Turtle Clusters and they are even better when they are homemade! So I believe I’ll try these this Holiday season!

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 C pecans
  • 1/2 C butter (I use salted)
  • 1 C brown sugar
  • 1/2 C light corn syrup
  • 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk (1/2 of a 14 ounce can)
  • 1/2 t vanilla
  • 1 (12 ounce) package milk chocolate chips
  • 1/2 t shortening


Instructions

  1. Toss 2 1/2 cups of pecans into a large skillet. Cook them over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until they have darkened just a bit and smell wonderful. Should only take a few minutes.
  2. Use 2 large cookie sheets. Line them with parchment paper and spray it with cooking spray. Arrange your pecans into clusters, three to a group works well. You want to leave some space (about an inch) between each cluster.
  3. Make your caramel (full tutorial with pictures found here). Place 1/2 C butter into a medium-sized sauce pan. Melt it over medium high heat. Add 1 C brown sugar, 1/2 C light corn syrup and 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk to the pan. Increase the heat just a bit and stir it continually. Cook and stir until it reaches 235-240 degrees. I generally remove it from the heat when it reaches about 234 degrees. It will continue to rise in temperature just a bit even without the direct heat, making the caramel just the right texture.
  4. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla.
  5. Carefully drizzle about 1 1/2 teaspoons of caramel over each nut cluster. You’ll need to work quickly as the caramel will begin to set up. Be sure there is caramel touching all of the nuts in your cluster. The caramel works like glue, sticking the nuts together.
  6. In a microwave safe bowl pour 12 ounces of milk chocolate chips. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring after each cooking interval.
  7. Add 1/2 teaspoon of shortening to the melted chocolate. Allow it to sit for a minute or two (so it can melt and make the chocolate chips more spreadable). Stir it all together.
  8. Spoon about 1 1/2 teaspoons of melted chocolate over the top of the caramel and nuts. Swirl it around along the top making a pretty swoop with your spoon.
  9. Allow the chocolate to set up. Once it has hardened and cooled you can serve them immediately, or transfer them to an air tight container.
Nutrition Information
Yield 36 Serving Size 1 cluster
Amount Per Serving Calories 154Total Fat 10gSaturated Fat 3gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 10mgSodium 38mgCarbohydrates 16gFiber 1gSugar 15gProtein 2g

Nutrition data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix, and should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate.



Recipe and Photo Courtesy of Into the Front Door

Homemade Turtle Clusters
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Article Categories:
Candy · Dessert

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