Chocolate Caramel Cookie Sandwiches – Pecan Turtle Styled Cookies Made Easy
Rich chocolate and nutty toasted pecan cookies filled with caramel frosting. An elevated fun twist on the classic pecan turtle cookie for the holidays.
Servings: 9 Cookie Sandwiches
Ingredients
Chocolate Pecan Cookie:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (113 g)
- ¾ cup white granulated sugar (150 g)
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cup all purpose flour, spooned and leveled (95 g)
- ⅓ cup + 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, (37 g)
- ½ tsp baking soda 2.5 g
- ¼ tsp salt 1.5 g
- ½ cup toasted pecans chopped (55 g)
Caramel Filling:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature (56 g)
- ¼ cup caramel sauce, (75 g)
- 1 cup powdered sugar, (120 g)
- 1-2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- Drizzle of caramel
Instructions
Toasted Pecans:
- First, toast the pecans. Preheat the oven to 400°F, spread chopped pecans on a lined baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, keeping an eye on them so they don't burn (this can happen very quickly). Once toasted, set aside to allow to cool slightly while you make the dough.
Chocolate Cookies:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside.
- Using a stand mixer or a large bowl with a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then mix in the egg and vanilla extract, scraping down the sides as needed.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, then fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined. Stir in the toasted chopped pecans.
- Scoop 18 equal size cookie dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet (I recommend 6 per cookie sheet as for these cookies will spread).
- Bake for 9–11 minutes, once removed from the oven, swirl using a round object to create the perfect round cookie and leave on the baking sheet for an additional 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to allow the cookies to cool completely before assembling.
Caramel Filling:
- For the caramel filling, in a medium sized bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Blend in the caramel sauce, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt until creamy. Add heavy cream in slowly until desired consistency.
- Pipe or spread the caramel filling onto half of the cooled cookies, top with the remaining cookies, and gently press to create sandwich cookies.
- Optional: Drizzle with extra caramel sauce if desired.