Let me fill you in on a little secret—I have a huge sweet tooth. OK, so maybe that’s not such a secret.
I didn’t always used to be like this. As a kid, I was like any other kid and downed just about anything with sugar I could get my hands on. But once high school hit, I really tamed down on the sweets.
In the last couple of years, I’ve had more cravings for sweet and salty combinations. If you follow me on Pinterest, you know I’m all about salted caramel anything. I’ve done salted caramel apple dippers, candy canes, cake, cupcakes, muffins—you name something with salted caramel in front of it, I’ve probably tried it.
But one thing I never thought to try were salted caramel turtle bites. And on my drive home this weekend from picking up my new car (!!!), the idea came to me.
I deliberately made these in way where I couldn’t eat them all at once. Instead of making a few, large candies, I made them bite size so I could make a lot of them and then share them at work. I’ve eaten a few (OK, maybe, like, eight) and the rest are in a big baggie ready to go to work with me tomorrow.
I hope you enjoy these. They’re really easy to make. From start to finish, I think I had these done in about 25 minutes. You’ll notice I have a few turtle bites that have white chocolate. That may or may not be because I burnt some of the milk chocolate. Oops!
Salted Caramel Turtle Bites
Ingredients
- Mini pretzels (I used Old Dutch fat free thins)
- Individually-wrapped caramel squares, unwrapped
- Kosher salt
- Pecan halves
- 16oz milk chocolate chips
Steps
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Lay mini pretzels in rows on parchment paper, leaving about an inch in between each.
- Place a caramel square on top of each pretzel. Place baking sheets in oven for about six minutes, or until the caramels have have softened but are not melting. Remove from oven.
- Sprinkle the top of each caramel with a pinch kosher salt.
- Place a pecan half on each caramel and press until the caramel has filled the pretzel holes but has not overflowed. Let caramel cool completely. You can expedite this process by placing baking sheets in the freezer or fridge for about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, heating for 20 seconds and then stirring until soft and runny.
- When caramels are cooled, remove from baking sheet. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of melted chocolate onto the parchment paper, followed by a pinch of salt. Place a pretzel on top and press gently. Repeat until all pretzels have been used.
- Let cool completely. Again, you can expedite this process by placing the baking sheets in a freezer or fridge. But be careful—caramel will be too firm to chew when you initially remove from the cold if using this method.
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