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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:
- Break the chocolate into equal-size pieces and place in a microwave-safe glass bowl.
- Microwave on high for 30 seconds and stir.
- Repeat and stir.
- 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!
Turtle Cookie Balls
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 70 vanilla wafer cookies finely crushed (about 2-1/3 cups)
- 3 tablespoons caramel ice cream topping
- 16 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate broken into pieces, melted
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Mix first 3 ingredients until blended.
- Shape into 42 (1-inch) balls. Freeze for 10 minutes.
- Dip balls in melted chocolate and place in a single layer in a shallow waxed paper-lined pan.
- Sprinkle with nuts. Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love every recipe of yours I have ever made! I always know they will be great. Thanks a bunch
And I love your kind words! Thank you!
Could you substitute the vanilla wafers for almond meal?
Hi, Nova! I’m not sure almond meal would work, but you could try substituting shortbread cookies for the vanilla wafers. Let me know how it goes!
These look amazing! Super excited to try them out!
I think these would be wonderful dipped in white chocolate also. Also, I read a trick for dipping the balls. Take a plastic fork and break the two middle tines out, leaving the two outside one. Wonderful for dipping> Thanks for the recipe.
Very pleased with the recipe, but disappointed I cannot enjoy the Baker’s savings mentioned. The terms of Ibotta rebates require downloading an app to a smartphone, scanning barcodes, submitting photos of receipts, and performing some other tasks (unnamed in the How It Works steps) to unlock the cash rewards. I realize more people are opting for smartphones as often their only access to the Internet , and rely on them more and more for shopping, as well as for entertainment and social interaction. Of course that influences spending habits, and advertised rebates that target smartphone users do offer some savings, but hardly a bonanza, especially considering that not everyone has a truly justifiable need for a smartphone. I already maintain broadband service for a desktop computer at home and also need to keep a dependable landline for several reasons. A simple cell phone is sufficient for me outside the home if I have to make any brief, necessary communications. At this point, I’ve no need to waste money to “save” money with a superfluous data plan and a smartphone. I’ve purchased Baker’s chocolate products for years and likely will continue to do so, but I wish their maker would consider that their offer shuts me out (as well as others) who have seen it through mybakingaddiction.com. Your sponsor would do well at least to offer a simple alternative to those purchasers made aware of the offer online but who cannot jump through Ibotta’s hoops because they don’t use smartphones.
hello! was wondering about how many balls this recipe makes. have a lot of people to bake for this year and wondered if this would be a good option . love that there’s no oven involved
It makes about 42 cookie balls. Thanks!
Is there a way to sub the cream cheese with something else so that these can be stored at room temp? Making goodie bags for coworkers, I don’t know when they will eat them so the cream cheese part is kinda iffy.
Hi, Niti! I’m not sure of a substitute for the cream cheese in this recipe. I’m sorry! I hope your goodie bags worked out and that your coworkers enjoyed them.
These are so cute! If they turn out well for me I might give them as a little gift!
thank for those awesome recipes. I just followed you on facebook. i posted few of your cookies recipes on my pinterest. twitter and facebook. I wish also to post your recipes on my blog at Tumblr, but you do not show icon”Button” for that. How i can post such fantastic recipes on my blog?Tumblr .
Thanks and regards
Yum! I know what I’m making for our annual cookie swap!