Turtle Shortbread Cookies are sure to be the talk of the party! Lightly sweet and delicately soft cookies get all dressed up with homemade caramel, roasted pecans, and melted chocolate. Of all the cookies I took to my mom’s yesterday, THESE were the favorite. Honestly, I am just glad I had some to share. I was shocked when I opened the container and they were more than half gone. I knew that the hubs kept saying how much he liked them but I had no idea how much he REALLY liked them!
These cookies look like I spent hours making them, right? Part of what makes me like these so much is that they are SUPER EASY to make! The dough is as easy to work with as Play Dough, it cooks in 10 minutes, and the decorating process only takes minutes. Of all the cookies I have made EVER, these cookies were my favorite to make and are hands down the most popular cookie I made this year.
You could use store bought caramel for this recipe if you want. BUT if you really want to make these cookies EPIC, whip up a quick batch of homemade caramel. The rich buttery caramel cooks up easily & quickly and really makes these cookies extra special.
Here is the true star of the show! This shortbread…..Oh how I love this shortbread! I outed the hubs for being a cookie bandit so I suppose it’s time for a little confession. I only dipped half of my batch in the turtle toppings when I made these. I planned to dip them right before I packaged them up for gifts. I’m glad “It’s the thought that counts” because the bag is slowly disappearing. I can’t blame anyone but myself for that one because I am hooked on these simple cookies. They are buttery and soft and absolutely EPIC.
Print Recipe
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Print Recipe
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| Servings | Prep Time | Cook Time |
| 64Cookies | 30Minutes | 10-12Minutes |
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 64Cookies | 30Minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 10-12Minutes |
- Shortbread Cookies
- 1 1/2 cups real butter Softened
- 1/2 cup raw honey OR your favorite baking sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon butter extract
- 4 cups all purpose gluten free flour OR your favorite baking flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Homemade Caramel
- 1/2 cup real butter
- 1 cup granulated coconut sugar OR brown sugar
- 1/2 cup raw honey OR corn syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla and/ or butter extract I used both
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Turtle Toppings
- 2 cups roasted pecans 1 cup finely chopped & 1 cup halves
- 1 cup 60% Cocoa Melted with 1 tablespoon coconut oil
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Ingredients
Servings: Cookies
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- Heat oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
- Use paddle attachment in mixer to cream butter, honey, and extracts until light and fluffy - about 5 minutes
- Mix baking powder with flour. Reduce speed to low and slowly add the flour - scrape sides of bowl with rubber spatula to make sure everything is incorporated into batter
- Roll batter into a big smooth ball. Use your hands to flatten dough ball to a flat circle apx 6- 8 inches wide. Cut dough into 8 wedges
- Roll each wedge into a ball and press into a circle apx 1 inch thick
- Cut each circle into 8 wedges - place 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets
- Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes - NO LONGER THAN 12 Minutes- rotating pans halfway thru
- Cool for 5 minutes before adding the turtle toppings
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat in a sauce pan
- Stir in the coconut sugar, honey, and salt
- Bring mixture to a boil - stirring frequently
- Once it begins boiling - stop stirring and continue boiling for 5 minutes
- Remove from heat and stir in vanilla & cream
- Transfer to a shallow dish for decorating
- Roast pecans for 10 minutes - finely chop 1 cup leaving the other cup whole for the tops of the cookies
- Melt chocolate with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in microwave for 3 minutes or until smooth - stiring every minute
- Dip each long side of cookie in caramel and then minced pecans - first one side then the other
- Place dipped cookies on parchment paper to cool
- Drop 1/2 teaspoon of melted chocolate onto center of cookie and press pecan halve into chocolate
- After all of the cookies have had the pecans added - Drizzle left over melted chocolate over cookies
- Let harden on the counter for about an hour before storing in an airtight container. Separate coookies with parchment paper. Store in the freezer after 3 days.
- Enjoy!!
Now that is some edible abstract art right there! What’s even better is that I had the entire decorating process finished in less than 10 minutes. And those beautiful chocolate accents...It looks like I spent forever artistically painting these until they were perfectly decorated. NOPE! This beautiful look was made by randomly swinging the chocolate laden spoon over the cookies for a few seconds. I love that no two cookies are exactly the same.
Here is how to make the Forking EPIC Turtle Shortbread Cookies...
Use paddle attachment in mixer to cream butter, honey, and extracts until light and fluffy - about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low and slowly add the flour - scrape sides of bowl with rubber spatula to make sure everything is incorporated into batter.
Roll batter into a big smooth ball. Dough is easy to work with and should not be sticky.
Use your hands to flatten dough ball to a flat circle apx 6- 8 inches wide. Cut dough into 8 wedges
Roll each wedge into a ball
Next, press each ball into a circle - apx 1 inch thick
Cut each circle into 8 wedges
Place cookies 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. DO NOT COOK LONGER THAN 12 MINUTES.
Roast pecans for 10 minutes - finely chop 1 cup leaving the other cup whole for the tops of the cookies
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat in a sauce pan
Stir in the coconut sugar, honey, and salt
Bring mixture to a boil - stirring frequently. Once it begins boiling - stop stirring and continue boiling for 5 minutes
Tip- Monitor the heat of your caramel. Make sure it doesn’t go above 300 degrees. It usually takes it about 5 minutes to get to 300 degrees but continues to get a bit hotter after you remove it from the heat. I usually cook it unitl it it 290 degrees or so and then remove it from the heat. If you let it get to hot, your caramel will have a burnt taste.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla & cream. Transfer to a shallow dish for decorating
Melt chocolate with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in microwave for 3 minutes or until smooth - stiring every minute. Line work surface with parchment paper and while the caramel and chocolate are still hot do the next steps. If it cools too much, soften them back up in the microwave for 30 seconds and give them a good stir.
Dip each long side of cookie in caramel
and then minced pecans 
first one side then the other
Drop 1/2 teaspoon of melted chocolate onto center of cookie and press pecan halve into chocolate
After all of the cookies have had the pecans added - Drizzle left over melted chocolate over cookies. Allow toppings to harden on the counter for about an hour before storing in an airtight container. Separate coookies with parchment paper. Store in the freezer after 3 days.
Of all the cookies I have made these past two weeks, these are my favorite. They are super easy to make, the dough is as easy to work with as Play Dough, these taste phenomenal, look like works of art, and are everyone’s favorite. They are also my favorite to eat - but I like them NAKED without any toppings.
Just the plain shortbread is so buttery and soft and just lightly sweetened with honey.... YUP. I need to pause a minute and go get a few of these Forking EPIC little triangles!
