Ingredients
- Vegetable oil cooking spray
- 1 cup (5 ounces) coarsely chopped smoked almonds
Caramel:
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 3/4 cup bittersweet (60 percent cacao) chocolate chips (recommended: Ghiradelli)
- Special equipment: a candy thermometer, a 12-count muffin pan
Directions
Spray a 12-count muffin pan, liberally, with vegetable oil cooking spray. Put the almonds in the bottom of each muffin cup and set aside.
For the caramel: In a 3-quart, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the cream, butter, sugar, and water. Stir over medium heat until the mixture is smooth. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 240 degrees F, about 5 to 7 minutes. Let the mixture cool for 30 seconds. Using a long-handled, metal spoon, carefully spoon the caramel over the nuts. Allow the caramel to harden, at room temperature, for 1 hour.
Put the chocolate chips in a medium stainless steel or glass bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water and stir occasionally until the chocolate has melted, about 4 minutes. Spoon the chocolate over the caramel and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Using a thin-bladed spatula, remove the turtles from the pan (caramel will be hard). Let the turtles stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour (to allow the caramel to soften) before serving.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
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By aggelikoula
Hadley, NY
on November 03, 2011
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I'm in New York like another reviewer. I really do believe that altitude plays a big role in cooking and baking. A friend made caramel at the recomended 240 degrees F and it never set--not even in the fridge. So that and a few of the comments encouraged me to boil the caramel to a higher temp. I upped mine to 250 degrees, the result was a chewy caramel that kept its shape even at room temperature. It was firm enough to pop out of the pan whole, but soft enough to chew. Very nice! I will definately make these again.
By NguyRain
San Francisco, CA
on October 30, 2011
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It's so depressing to not get the right texture, because the turtles are so perfectly sweet and buttery with the bittersweet chocolate and smoked almonds. My mistake was throwing the cold ingredients straight from the refridgerator and into the pot. I ended up stirring the caramel for much longer than intended to break down the butter, and the lovelies set grainy. Make sure you start with room temperature ingredients! Especially the butter, like the recipe says!
By debstudstill
Metlakatla, Alaska
on October 28, 2011
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You will def want to use MINI cupcake tins, this recipe you would need 48 count, I only have 24 count mini - so I had 2 use a few regular size which were very big, the caramel is super gooey, doesn't set as well as other caramel recipes i've made, you could substitute your fav recipe there tho, and I used a cookie dough scooper, perfect for the mini tins...DON'T TOUCH YOUR CARAMEL once you get it mixed, let it come to temp on 4 or 5 on an electric stove, if it's on low you will be there forever waiting to hit 240...all in all, very tasty recipe, smoked almonds were a twist for my, but OMG - melt in your mouth!
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