Turtle Cookies

I am the only girl that works in my office. My boss is a dude; the guys in the factory are all, well, guys. So when the time came for us employees to put together a Christmas present for our boss last month, I was called upon.

I think many men assume that females have that magical present-creating touch, so on a Tuesday I was told in no uncertain terms to come up with a present by Thursday. I knew there was no wiggling out of this, so I quickly concoted a plan that has generally pleasing results and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg either: baking. Everyone appreciates a homemade gift, and what do you give to the man who has it all?

Well, chocolate is a start.

Add some pecans and caramel bits, and even better.

Wrap them up in pretty tissue paper, stick them in some cute packaging, and you have a winning gift that everyone is happy with, givers and receiver alike.

Hence, from this recipe by the lovely baking wonder Veronica, an appropriate gift was created, a card was signed, and much happiness reigned. I think I’ll just pop in a quote from Veronica’s blog which accurately describes how great these cookies are: “Soft, crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, gooey with caramel and studded with chocolate & pecans.” Thank you for summing it up so concisely, my dear.

And now let’s make ’em!

Ingredients

(Makes 36 cookies)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1TBS vanilla extract
½ tsp white vinegar
2 large eggs
1 ½ tsp baking soda
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup caramel bits
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 F and cover the baking sheets with parchment paper (if not, the caramel bits will stick to the bottom).

Spread the pecans on a microwave-safe plate and microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring with your fingers in between, for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant and toasted.

Chop up the nuts.

In a stand mixer, cream together the softened butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and vinegar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs and baking soda, and beat until combined.

Add the flour, mixing until just combined.

Like so!

Feel free to lick your fingers at this point, unless raw eggs wig you out.

Stir in the chocolate chips, pecans, and caramel bits, until evenly mixed.

If you seek perfection in sugared confection . . .

Portion the dough in balls onto the baking sheets, leaving an inch between the cookies.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the cookies are just starting to get golden brown around the edges. Remove the sheets from the oven, and let the cookies sit for 5 minutes.

Remove the cookies to a cooling rack.

And that is that, mes amis!

Consume, or give them to your boss for maximum boss-pleasing. Chances are he/she’ll offer you one anyway–and maybe even a raise in the rush of sugar-induced euphoria that’s bound to follow.

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23 thoughts on “Turtle Cookies

  1. TheKitchenWitch

    I love turtles, so I know this recipe has got to be a winner! And I think I’d rather work with an office full of dudes than an office full of women…all that catty stuff, you know?

    1. Jenna Post author

      You know what, I’m in total agreement. I’ve always preferred working for male bosses, because my experience with female bosses has been less than stellar. =(

  2. Suzie

    I’ve never seen those little caramel bits, they’re cute! I wonder how these would survive shipping. My son’s birthday is next month and I’d like to make him some cookies and these look great, coming from Veronica I know they would be 🙂 I wish we would do that for our boss instead of spending lots of money that I don’t have each Christmas.

    1. Jenna Post author

      I think they’d survive shipping well! If I remember correctly, these were from Veronica’s cookie exchange (and were shipped to her . . . maybe? Am I remembering right?).

      1. tammy

        how far were these shipped? i am looking for a good cookie recipe to ship to my brother in the armed forces. i am in the southeast USA and he is in the middle east.

      2. Veronica Miller

        Hi Tammy! I only shipped them to addresses within the US. These would word for overseas, but would suggest wrapping each cookie individually in plastic wrap and packaging well. The best cookies for shipping overseas are macaroons and shortbread, which get better with age and stay very moist.

  3. Veronica Miller

    OK, being the bodaciously beautiful woman that you are, in a high testosterone environment, do you ever get looksies you’d rather not get? It would be hard to imagine they’re not oggling you at every turn-lol. Gosh, or maybe I’m just really sexist in some ways! lol! Then again, like you said about your history with female bosses, even if you do get a few looks, that’s probably better than having an office full of women. We take things WAY too seriously and are WAY too dramatic. Yup, I’m totally stereotyping but I think it’s pretty true generally. ANYWAY, I’m totally surprised that you made these. I had to go back to my blog to see if you told me, and you said you planned to but I just never take any one seriously who tells me that b/c it usually isn’t true (guilty-best made plans, right?). I’m so glad you were able to use these for gifting! Makes me happy that I was able to help in some small way. 🙂

    1. Jenna Post author

      Yeah, I do plan on making a lot of recipes that I encounter on blogs . . . many of which I don’t make in the end! I’ve definitely been guilty of commenting “I plan on making this soon” and then dropping the ball. But these were PERFECT for the boss-gift thing (without which I may not have made them, being slightly averse to baking =).
      And I get zero unwelcome attention here–which is great (I can’t say the same about my previous jobs). The staff is really small here (my boss, his brother-in-law, our Logistics Manager, and 4 Ecuadorian guys in the plant who are SUPER family oriented and the most polite human beings I’ve ever encountered), which helps, and they’ve all worked together for years and years. I’ve worked here for 2 1/2 years now and I’m the only new hire since the company started.
      By the way, I love your use of the word “bodaciously”–are you by chance a fan of “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure” (and the sequel “Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey”)??

      1. Veronica Miller

        Well, that’s lovely! As for the movie, I wouldn’t say I’m a “fan” but I remember loving the movie (I only saw one and can’t remember which) when I was a little girl. I’m mostly a fan of the word “bodacious.” hehe

  4. Julie M.

    You can never, ever, go wrong with chocolate caramel and nuts. I’d have a hard time getting them all the way to work without eating them! How’d he like them?

    1. Jenna Post author

      Aw, hi Megan! I’m glad you came by! (and maybe if you make a batch you could send me one? =)

  5. Erin

    MMMM…..Anne Reilly made these and brought some to our Bible study last night! Amazing! So so yummy. 🙂 Pinning these to make later!

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