December 30, 2015

Homemade Turtles

Whenever I’m in another city, I love to visit chocolate shops—the type where everything is made with human hands. I especially love the turtles, because the craft of candy making seems to be the most evident in them. I love how the chocolate was just plopped on top and allowed to cascade down the sides without much fuss for perfection. It’s just like in painting, when brushstrokes seem better under worked. I especially love that the bottoms are left uncovered, allowing you to peek at the original nuts and caramel hiding untouched underneath.

I first made these turtles when I had a bunch of my homemade caramels kicking around and I did not feel like individually wrapping them. When you make turtles, it’s amazing how drastically an ordinary caramel can change in both taste and texture. If you love turtles that are commercially made, then you are going to want to marry these homemade ones. They are noticeably better and if you are using homemade caramels, their flavor will be so much more intense you may never want to eat turtles from a box again.

I’m not going to lie, making homemade caramels will be the hard part about this recipe. The caramel recipe that appears on this site is slightly more time consuming than many other recipes floating around on the net, but so well worth it. Without going into too much detail (read more about it here), the cream and butter are added in separate stages which results in a smoother, creamier candy.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with using a commercial brand of caramels. It is a huge time saver, and what really makes these turtles special is the way they look. After all, your handiwork is showing, and whoever you give them to will appreciate your efforts. But using homemade caramels is so worth it, because anything homemade is usually better.

The point to stress most about making turtles is to use enough nuts. If you don’t have a good amount for the caramels to melt into, they will seep through as they melt and you will have turtles with some very sticky bottoms. Not a huge deal, but removing them from a plate they’ve been sitting on for a while might be a challenge.

Also, be sure to not over melt the caramels when they are in the oven. They keep melting when they come out, getting flatter and flatter. Only 2-3 minutes is all they need. Commercial caramels may vary in hardness, but if you are using the homemade recipe take them out when you think they are 50% melted—that should be just the right amount of time.

And lastly, take the time to temper the chocolate. This means simply bringing it back to a workable temperature after melting (about 90 degrees F) so the molecules are fully aligned and reincorporated. It’s very easy, and you can watch a video about it here. Covering and drizzling with chocolate that is simply melted and used hot will result in white swirls and a dull finish that melts in your fingers quickly.

Making these turtles is a great activity to do with kids, to kill a weekend afternoon or if you’re just not in the mood to wrap your homemade caramels haha! Make them as a gift for that person who seems to already have everything, because gifts for your belly usually never disappoint.