Turtle Cookie Balls

Turtle Cookie Balls couldn’t be cuter as a make-ahead holiday treat. Homemade gifts are the best, and these babies prove it!

As soon as Thanksgiving is over, I start to think about the gift-giving season. Since we can’t get together in person with all of our family this year, I’m trying my very best to make sure I am ready with lots of homemade treats on hand to give to my loved ones.

Store-bought gifts are awesome, sure. (I’d never turn down some new candles from that smell-good place at the mall, after all!) But there’s something so lovely about giving your family homemade yummies.

Like these Turtle Cookie Balls. Let me just say that there’s something truly spectacular when chocolate, caramel, vanilla wafers, and pecans come together in one little morsel. And they’re SO easy to make!

CHOCOLATE, CARAMEL, AND PECAN COOKIE BALLS

Honestly, the hardest part of making these cookie balls is keeping yourself from eating the filling by the spoonful before you can enrobe each little ball with a decadent covering of chocolate.

For these Turtle Cookie Balls, you’ll need:

• Softened cream cheese
• Crushed vanilla wafers
• Caramel ice cream topping
• Semi-sweet baking chocolate
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

I’ve made a number of variations on this recipe over the years: Peppermint Oreo Cookie Balls, Peppermint Kahlua Oreo Cookie Balls, and Berry Oreo Cookie Balls. 

But this combination of chocolate, caramel, and pecans might be one of my favorites. If you’ve made my Caramel Pecan Clusters or my Turtle Pretzel Candy Clusters, you know how good that classic turtle combo is.

HOW TO MELT CHOCOLATE IN THE MICROWAVE

If you’ve ever watched shows like the Great British Bake Off, the idea of tempering chocolate might scare you. 

But melting chocolate for recipes like these Turtle Cookie Balls doesn’t need to be complicated! In fact, you can get perfectly smooth results using a microwave.

(And we know from my Microwave Lemon Curd that I’m a fan of microwave shortcuts that really work!)

Just make sure you’re using baking chocolate bars or couverture chocolate wafers. Chocolate chips have extra ingredients to hold their shape so they don’t melt as smooth.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Break the chocolate into equal-size pieces and place in a microwave-safe glass bowl. 
2. Microwave on high for 30 seconds and stir.
3. Repeat and stir.
4. Continue cooking and stirring in 10 second increments until completely melted and perfectly smooth.

HOW TO MAKE COOKIE BALLS

Remember how I said that the hardest part of making Turtle Cookie Balls is not eating the filling before you can coat them in chocolate?

It’s true! All you have to do is finely crush some vanilla wafer cookies and combine them with softened cream cheese.

To give this Turtle Cookie Balls recipe that key caramel component, you’ll also mix in a few tablespoons of caramel ice cream topping.

From there, it’s as easy as shaping the dough into balls – a perfect activity for kids! – letting them chill and then dipping them in the melted chocolate.

These Turtle Cookie Balls will store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to gift them out to everyone you love or indulge a little after a long day at work.

Think of the other combinations you could try too – chocolate sauce and peppermint chips, cherry sauce and lime zest – this cookie ball recipe is fully customizable!

HOW TO DIP TURTLE COOKIE BALLS

If dipping these little beauties seems like it could get really messy, don’t worry. I’ve got a simple method for you that will save you from making a mess!

Place one of the frozen “dough” balls on a fork over the bowl of melted chocolate. Use a spoon to pour the chocolate over the cookie ball, letting the excess drip back into the bowl.

Use a toothpick to gently push the chocolate-covered cookie ball off of the fork and onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. 

Don’t forget to sprinkle on the chopped pecans before the chocolate hardens!