Chocolate Turtles

Valentine's Day is tomorrow, so I had to get started on the treats. Not only do I plan to give these to my kids, but the rest will be packaged up and handed out to my family members. Very easy, affordable, and delicious. I did do one thing unusual for this blog though.... I used pre-made caramel squares. Gasp! :) The reason I did, was because I found them in my pantry. I have no idea why I bought them, but they were there, so I used them. Pay close attention to the instructions, I included a good tip on how to keep the caramel off your fingers.

Turtles
Serving Size = About 50

• 8 oz of caramel
• 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream
• 10 oz of chocolate (I used 60% cacao)
• Roughly 10 oz of Pecan Halves (this is the bag size I bought, but I used a little over half)
• Parchment or wax paper, cooking spray, and some teaspoons

1. Over a double boiler, melt the caramel with the heavy cream. 
2. Place two pecans halves a few inches apart on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment or wax paper, and then sprayed with oil (I needed 3 cookie sheets). 
3. Once the caramel has melted, take one measuring teaspoon and scoop out the caramel, then take one of the two pecan halves and scoop the caramel out of the teaspoon and then stick it to the other pecan half. This keeps the caramel off your fingers. Do that with each pair of pecans. Keep doing this until all of the caramel is gone.
4. Leave them at room temperature for about 15 minutes, until they set up.
5. In the meantime, melt the chocolate (gently) over a double boiler. When done, scoop 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of chocolate, and pour over each turtle.
6. When done, place in refrigerator to harden (takes a few hours).
7. Eat, or gift give..... or both. :)

PS: You could make these in the shape of a turtle, like they are traditionally done, but that's just too much turtle for me. I prefer them bite size.

Linking to: Hearth and Soul