Homemade Cashew Turtles
From what I have observed, people either love Valentine’s Day or hate it. Which category do you fall into?
Lucky for you, I’ve got a recipe that Valentine’s Day lovers and haters alike can get behind. Caramel turtles: Salty cashews, honey-sweetened caramel, and rich dark chocolate. All together in one perfect expression of food love.
About The Recipe
Caramel turtles are something that I typically only indulge in on vacation. But that is going to change now that I know how easy they are to make at home. If you’ve ever made homemade caramels, you can make these. As far as special equipment goes, you’ll need a candy thermometer.
To save money, I bought a bag of cashew pieces (instead of whole cashews) from Trader Joe’s. It really doesn’t matter if the cashews or whole or broken up, so I opted for the less expensive option.
Also worth noting: A lot of caramel recipes call for corn syrup. I always make mine with honey, because I prefer the taste and try to avoid high fructose corn syrup when I can. I think you’ll enjoy the taste of honey-sweetened caramels. Give them a try and see for yourself.
Free Recipe Card Download
As a happy Valentine’s Day to you, I’m giving you a free recipe card download! If you are giving a batch of caramel turtles away to your Valentine, you might want to print off this card too. Click here to download the file.
Thoughts about Valentine’s Day: Whether you’re single, dating, married or none of the above, I encourage you to make something homemade this Valentine’s Day and give it to someone who means something to you. Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be all about romantic love. It can be about friendship too. Here’s to good friends and yummy treats!
Homemade Caramel Turtles Recipe
Ingredients
For caramel:
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup honey
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Other ingredients:
- 2 cups salted cashew pieces
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Assemble 10 or so cashews per turtle in a circular pattern on parchment paper. Continue until you have used all of the cashews.
- Spray a large saucepan with cooking spray. Add butter and melt over medium-high heat. Stir in honey, cream, and brown sugar. Stirring constantly, boil mixture until it reaches 250F (121C). Immediately remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Let caramel cool for a couple of minutes before pouring onto cashews.
- Pour 1 or 2 tablespoons of warm caramel over each cashew cluster. Continue until all the caramel is used. Place baking sheets in fridge for caramel to cool.
- Melt chocolate chips and coconut oil in microwave. Stir until smooth. Pour a large spoonful of chocolate over each caramel cluster. Once finished, place baking sheets in fridge to cool until chocolate is set. Store for up to 2 weeks refrigerated.
I definitely fall into the anti-v-day category, but that won’t stop me from eating plenty of treats! I love the idea of replacing the traditional turtle pecan with cashews. Yay!
I like that you saved some money with the cashew pieces. I included this in my Christmas in July roundup. I thought this was a good way to get some Christmas cheer with a minimum of kitchen heating.