Turtle Brownies — Super fudgy brownies loaded with chocolate, pecans, and caramel! An easy, no-mixer recipe for the most INCREDIBLE BROWNIES that are LOADED with all the good stuff! Rich, decadent, and amazing! To save time, use store-bought caramel sauce.
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Easy Turtle Brownies Recipe
Turtles. The chocolate-covered caramel and pecan clusters that I can eat five of in 5 minutes. I love those things. But turtle-inspired brownies are even better.
These are some of the best brownies I’ve ever had. The brownies are fudgy, not at all cakey, ridiculously rich, boldly chocolaty, and loaded with texture.
There’s a salted caramel and pecan filling that’s sandwiched inside dense brownies, and there’s chocolate chips and more pecans sprinkled on top.
It’s an easy, no-mixer recipe and all my brownie recipes are very fudgy, dense, and what varies is the pan size, ratio and amount of sugars, eggs, and whether I use melted chocolate, cocoa, or a combination.
These turtle brownies were show-stoppers and without a doubt, one of the best things I’ve made this year. I’ll never be satisfied with just a plain old turtle again.
Ingredients in Turtle Brownies
To make these caramel turtle brownies, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Bittersweet chocolate
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Brewed coffee
- Instant espresso granules
- All-purpose flour
- Salted caramel sauce
- Pecans
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Turtle Brownies
This is a quick and easy turtle brownie recipe, but you MUST let the brownies cool for a few hours before slicing and serving. The caramel inside the brownies will be molten hot when taken out of the oven, and it needs quite a while to firm up and become safe to eat. The wait is worth it, promise!
Here’s an overview of how the brownies are made:
- You’ll first need to whisk together the brownie batter, then pour about half into a foil-lined 8×8-inch baking dish.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, then remove from oven and top with a layer of caramel sauce and pecans.
- Pour the remaining brownie batter over the caramel layer, then sprinkle with additional pecans and chocolate chips.
- Return the turtle brownies to the oven and bake for another 25 minutes or so.
- Once out of the oven, these pecan brownies with caramel sauce need to cool in the pan for about 3 hours.
- Then, they need to chill in the fridge for an additional 2 hours. After that, you can finally slice into these babies!
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can double this turtle brownies recipe and bake them in a 9×13-inch pan instead. Your bake time may need to be adjusted slightly, so use your best judgement.
To achieve the classic turtle flavor, I made these as caramel and pecan brownies. However, you can use walnuts instead noting that you won’t be using the traditional turtles ingredients.
Absolutely! The brownies stay super fudge for up to 1 week, but I like storing them I the fridge and eating them slightly chilled. If serving to guests, I recommend making the brownies no more than 48 hours in advance for peak fudginess, however.
No, you need to use traditional caramel sauce in the turtle chocolate brownies, NOT caramel sundae sauce. Sundae sauce is runnier and thinner than regular caramel sauce.
Wow, these brownies were so yummy and pretty easy to make. I took your recommendation and made your salted caramel sauce, so glad I did too!! It totally made for perfect turtle brownies! Thank you, this is definitely a keeper :) And so is the carmel sauce!!
Danielle
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The Best Turtle Brownies
Ingredients
Brownies
- ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick
- 6 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (I used Trader Joe’s 72% Pound Plus Bar)
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon brewed coffee, leftover or cold coffee is okay, optional but recommended
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso granules, optional but recommended
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
Filling
- 8 ounces salted caramel sauce (use homemade, Trader Joe’s, or another favorite; plain is okay but I prefer salted caramel. Don’t use ice cream sundae sauce, it’s too thin)
- 1 heaping cup pecans, I use roasted, salted pecan halves; toast raw nuts for 5 to 10 minutes in a 400F oven to enhance flavor
Topping
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup pecans
Instructions
Make the brownies:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-inch square pan with high-quality aluminum foil such as Reynold’s Non-Stick (highly recommended so caramel doesn’t stick to pan) leaving overhang and spray with cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, add the butter, chocolate, and heat on high power to melt, about 2 minutes. Stop to check and stir after 1 minute. Heat in 15-second increments until chocolate has melted and mixture can be stirred smooth. Allow mixture to cool momentarily before adding the eggs so they don’t scramble.
- Add the eggs, sugar, vanilla, optional coffee, optional espresso granules (neither make brownies taste like coffee and both enhance and round out the chocolate flavor), optional salt, and whisk vigorously to combine.
- Add the flour and stir until smooth and combined.
- Turn half the batter out into prepared pan (I draw an imaginary line down the center of the batter with my spatula while it’s in the mixing bowl andeyeballing it, I pour half into pan); reserve remainder.
- Bake for 15 to 16 minutes, or until top has just set in the center; don’t overbake because pan is going back into oven. While brownies bake, prepare the filling.
Make the Filling:
- In a medium bowl, add caramel (microwave it for 10 seconds if your is very thick or hard to get out of the jar), pecans, and stir to combine; set aside.
- After brownies have baked for about 15 minutes, remove pan from oven and using a spatula carefully and evenly spread the filling mixture over the brownies, taking care to not let the filling plop down in one spot because it will be difficult to spread without disturbing the brownie layer.
- Evenly top with reserved brownie batter, smoothing it lightly with a spatula. It’s normal for it to have thickened up some.
For the Topping:
- Evenly sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.
- Evenly sprinkle the pecans.
- Bake for about 24 to 25 minutes, or until center has just set and is no longer glossy. It’s a bit hard to tell when done because center is buried under chocolate chips and pecans, but if you look closely you’ll be able to determine if you’re looking at raw brownie batter or just melted chocolate chips. The toothpick test is unreliable because you’re going to hit melted chocolate chips and then gooey caramel sauce so it’s better to just eyeball it.
- Allow brownies to cool in pan on top of a wire rack for at least 3 hours.
- Cover with a sheet of foil to prevent fridge smells, and place pan in fridge for another 2 hours, or until sufficiently chilled for slicing.
- Lift brownies out using foil overhang, slice, and serve.
Notes
- Brownies will keep airtight at room temp for up to 1 week, in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 6 months. I prefer these brownies slightly chilled and store them in the fridge.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Originally posted July 12, 2014 and reposted with updated text March 1, 2024
omg these look amazing!!! I have a party coming up and I’m thinking these need to be on that table!!! :) Awesome recipe!
*squee* Look at that fudgy texture!! I’m not a huge nut fan either but turtles are in a league of their own; pecans are allowed!
I know I used to be anti nuts but lately have been loving them in chocolate, rich desserts. May as well just make it richer and add a pound of nuts, right :)
Ok you just took turtles to another level! These look absolutely loaded to the brim with turtle goodies! I don’t normally like nuts in brownies, but I think the fact that they are on top as well with chocolate chips and caramel would give the brownie a great texture that I’d be totally into :)
I used to be anti nuts but lately have been loving them in chocolaty, rich desserts. May as well just make it richer and add a pound of nuts! :)
Wow! This look like the most EPIC brownies ever!!! I would love to gobble one of these up right now.
Oh my goodness these turtle brownies have me drooling! I’m making these for my very own birthday treat next month with a tall glass of milk :-)
Happy early Bday & enjoy!
Gorgeous, these look like brownie heaven. Pinned!
Made these last night for a world cup party, and they are indescribably delicious. I normally dislike fudge-y brownies compared to more dry, chewy ones, but these changed my mind. I used only 1/2 c of sugar (my family likes things less sweet), and the brownies turned out perfect. I really like the pecan and dark chocolate additions because they make the brownies buttery and rich tasting. I have to say mine turned out a little less pretty than yours (pshh who needs 5 hours of cooling time when they can have instant brownie gratification), but nobody minded after taking a bite.
So glad these changed your mind about fudgy brownies!
they make the brownies buttery and rich tasting. = agreed!
instant brownie gratification = love that :) And if you’re not taking pictures of them for a food blog, who cares if they don’t look totally pristine. It matters how they taste! Thanks for trying them on the same weekend I posted them!
I would be having portion control issues with a pan of these! I would eat them all!
Get in my belly now! Anything turtle rocks, then put it in brownie form and OMG!
Love how intense the fudge factor is in these brownies! They look amazing! Pinned. :)
Thanks for pinning!
Turtle brownies are the best, and yours look amazing, Averie! Your pictures definitely capture the chocolatey-caramely goodness!
Thanks for the compliments, Gayle!
You are my dessert idle! Absolutely worth a longer run! But, I have to disagree with one point, no way could I wait for them to cool. I know me and I’d have a fork in them as soon as they wouldn’t burn a layer of skin off of my mouth!… Pardon me while I drool a few minutes longer!
(Pinned)
Thanks for pinning and the dessert idol compliment :) Totally worth long runs. Even no runs, these were so worth it!
These brownies look so super chewy and moist and those pecans and chocolate chips on top are making them extra special!! Averie you surprise me everytime with your amazing recipes!!
Thanks for the nice compliments, Ami!
Omg Averie, these definitely DO look like the best. Like you, I can down (way too many) Turtles in no time…these look sooooo much better!
How about some love for those of us who do like cakey brownies? Not really fond of the fiudgy kind. I know it’s heresy but there can be something too chocolatey for some people.
Pretty irresistible! I need a couple of these right now!