Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Chocolate-Covered Turtles 3.4 (119) By Martha Stewart Editors Martha Stewart Editors Facebook Instagram Twitter Website An article attributed to "Martha Stewart Editors" indicates when several writers and editors have contributed to an article over the years. These collaborations allow us to provide you with the most accurate, up-to-date, and comprehensive information available.The Martha Stewart team aims to teach and inspire readers daily with tested-until-perfected recipes, creative DIY projects, and elevated home and entertaining ideas. They are experts in their fields who research, create, and test the best ways to help readers design the life they want. The joy is in the doing. Editorial Guidelines Updated on June 12, 2017 Print Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: VICTOR SCHRAGER Yield: 55 to 60 These turtles are topped with caramel and chocolate for a truly delightful candy that's perfect for gifting. Ingredients 1 ½ pounds pecan halves (about 7 ½ cups) 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up, plus more for pans 2 cups light corn syrup ½ cup whole milk 2 cups sugar Pinch of baking soda 1 twelve-ounce can evaporated milk 1 pound semisweet chocolate Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast nuts on a baking pan for 10 minutes; remove from oven. Generously butter 5 baking pans. Arrange 5 pecan halves in a snowflake-shaped cluster, overlapping nuts in center. Repeat with remaining nuts, spacing clusters 2 inches apart. In a heavy saucepan, combine corn syrup, whole milk, and sugar. Place over medium-high heat; cook, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until syrup mixture comes to a boil, about 6 minutes. Stir in baking soda. Clip a candy thermometer to pan; add butter, stirring constantly until melted, keeping mixture at full boil. Slowly pour in evaporated milk; cook at a boil, stirring constantly, until temperature reaches 240 degrees (soft-ball stage), about 45 minutes. If pan starts to overflow, turn down heat for a few minutes; return to a boil. Remove caramel from heat; transfer to a medium metal bowl. Cool to 200 degrees. Caramel will have the consistency of thick honey. Using a spoon, gently mound 1 tablespoon caramel on top of each cluster. Allow caramel to harden. If caramel becomes too stiff, place bowl over low heat; stir constantly for several minutes until returned to proper consistency. To temper chocolate, cover a heating pad with a kitchen towel, and set pad to lowest setting. Line two baking pans with parchment paper, and set aside. Using a sharp knife, shave chocolate. In a medium glass bowl, heat two-thirds of the chocolate in microwave at 30 percent power for 1 minute. Stir chocolate, and continue heating at 30 percent power in 10-second intervals until an instant-read thermometer registers 120 degrees. Remove from microwave. Stir in remaining shaved chocolate with rubber spatula. Stir constantly, bringing chocolate up sides and back down into bowl until temperature reaches between 86 degrees and 89 degrees. To determine if tempered, drizzle a thin line onto a cool stainless-steel surface. The chocolate should dry to a matte finish in about 5 minutes. Place bowl on covered heating pad; stir occasionally to maintain temperature between 86 degrees and 89 degrees adjusting setting if necessary. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of tempered chocolate over each cluster; set aside in a cool place to harden. Cook's Notes If you don't want to temper chocolate, cover the nut clusters in melted chocolate and freeze them. Then serve directly from the freezer. Print