Homemade brownies topped with gooey caramel, chocolate chips and pecans. Turtle Brownies are a decadent dessert the whole family will love!
These Turtle Brownies are every bit as decadent as a brownie sundae or a Turtle Cheesecake except you can eat them with your hands! Try our Turtle Fudge for another gooey caramel treat.
Turtle Brownie Recipe from Scratch
You know what often gets lost in turtle candies and desserts? The chocolate.
I mean, there’s chocolate in some form.
But too often, the chocolatiness of it all is overtaken by the caramel or the pecans. Don’t get me wrong, I am ALL ABOUT caramel and pecans on my chocolate desserts. I just also want to TASTE the chocolate!
Enter: this recipe.
This recipe uses cocoa powder AND semi-sweet chocolate chips in the brownies. It’s based off my favorite brownie recipe!
The result is a Turtle Brownie where the rich chocolate exist in harmony with the sweet caramel and nutty pecans. In short, this is the very best Turtle Brownie recipe you will ever make.
You can thank me later.
Ingredients Needed
- Chocolate – You’ll need semi-seet chocolate chips as well as unsweetened cocoa powder in this brownie recipe. I choose Ghirardelli for both!
- Eggs. This recipe calls for FOUR eggs. THAT is how you achieve gooey brownies with a chewy center and crispy crust.
- Pecans – Nut pieces are baked right into the batter to give them an irresistible crunch in every bite. Toast the pecans for best flavor.
- Caramel bits – The Kraft baking bits are my pick for topping turtle brownies. Larger caramel candies can work too, if you unwrap them first and chop them into small pieces. You can also use your own caramel sauce if you prefer.
- Baking powder- while most brownie recipes don’t include a leavener, we love how it helps these thick and chewy brownies get a little lift WITHOUT making them cake-like in texture.
How to Make Turtle Brownies
- Make the brownie batter. Pour the batter into a square baking dish lined with parchment paper.
- Add Caramel. Drizzle over brownie batter, using a knife to swirl.
- Add toppings. Add additional pecans and chocolate chips on top.
- Bake. Remove the baked brownies from the oven and cool completely before slicing.
More Brownies
Making thick and fudgy brownies is my specialty (well, in addition to making the perfect rice krispies treat recipe)!
Here are a few of our favorite flavors!
- Walnut Brownies– fudgy with nutty bites of walnuts. Could swap for pecans too!
- Oreo Brownies– thick brownies with chunks of Oreo Cookies…the perfect combo!
- Chocolate Mint Brownies– brownies topped with mint buttercream and chocolate ganache!
- M&M Brownies– the classic brownie recipe with candy pieces! Try it with Reese’s Pieces too!
- Peanut Butter Brownies– swirls of peanut butter in thick, fudgy brownies.
- Caramel Brownies– gooey swirls of caramel sauce in rich brownies. A delicious dessert!
- Cheesecake Brownies– with swirls of cream cheese in our classic fudgy brownie recipe.
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Ingredients
For the brownies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup pecans chopped
For the topping:
- 11 ounce caramel bits
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup pecans chopped
- ½ cup semi-sweet morsels
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium sized saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Remove from heat and add in chocolate chips and sugar.
- Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add in eggs, one at a time, stirring completely after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
- Add the cocoa powder, flour, salt, and baking powder. Using big strokes, stir in JUST until mixed and no longer see dry ingredients. DO NOT BEAT OR OVER STIR. Gently fold in pecans.
- Pour batter into dish.
- In a small glass microwave safe bowl, add caramel bits with heavy whipping cream. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring between each set, until smooth. Drizzle melted caramel over brownies, using a knife to swirl into the batter. Top with additional pecans and chocolate chips.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, allowing to cool COMPLETELY before cutting.
Notes
Nutrition
Turtle Brownies take a a delicious dessert (brownies) and make them even better by adding caramel and pecans! No one can resist this delicious and indulgent dessert filled with chocolate and nuts.
I made this in a 9” square pan and it was a gooey mess. The edges were going to burn and the middle was soup. Can you update the recipe as I believe it should be a 9×13 pan. I will give it a try again as the edges were delicious.
Imake this often in a 9″ square pan. If you prefer to bake in a 9×13 you can bake it for 23-25 minutes.
I plan on making these brownies for my future daughter in law’s Birthday in January as she is a brownie connoisseur, In the toppings it says 1/4 heavy cream, there is no measurement as to if its 1/4th cup or 1/4th box? I am gonna go on it’s 1/4th cup, I’m just guessing here but others must of went on the same thought. I can’t wait to try this recipe as it sounds very delicious.!
1/4 cup. Not sure why that measurement got dropped. ENJOY 🙂
Thanks a lot for sharing this amazing recipe! Super easy to make and it tasted really delicious! Will surely have this again! Highly recommended!
So rich, gooey and sweet. WE HAD to eat them when they were still a bit warm. For us, there’s no other way to have a brownie. And these hit the spot!
Simply the best! Can’t wait to make to make these again!
I made the chocolate cake w/coffee for my moms 96th birthday and she ate the whole slice. She has dementia so her eating is erratic. But both my husband and sister loved the taste and moistness of it
And I too was pleased with it.
Okay that layer of caramel is making my mouth water just looking at these!! YUM!!
Oh my goodness! These look amazing! 😀
I think my heart just skipped a beat, this looks incredible!
Pecans are my new favorite.
Yum! What a great way to top a brownie!