Christmas Turtle Candy

New Year is soon arriving and the entertaining continues. Let’s add some sweet treats to the fun time mix.

You will need:

2 1/2 cups pecans

1/2 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup{{more}}

7 ounces sweetened condensed milk (1/2 of a 14 ounce can)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 (12 ounce) package milk chocolate chips

1/2 tbsp shortening

Method.

Line two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Arrange your pecans into clusters; three to a group works well. You want to leave some space (about an inch) between each cluster. Make your caramel. Place 1/2 cup butter into a medium-sized saucepan. Melt it over medium high heat. Add 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup light corn syrup and 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk to the pan. Increase the heat just a bit and stir it continually. Cook and stir until it reaches 235-240 degrees or is very gooey. Remember when it cools it will be a bit firmer, so don’t leave it too long. Stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla. Carefully drizzle about 1 1/2 tsp of caramel over each nut cluster. You’ll want to work quickly, as the caramel will begin to set. Be sure there is caramel touching all of the nuts in your cluster. In a small pot on low, heat 12 ounces of milk chocolate chips and add 1/2 tsp of shortening to the melted chocolate. Stir until chocolate is melted. Spoon about 1 1/2 tsp of melted chocolate over the top of the caramel and nuts. Swirl it around along the top, making sure it’s covered. Allow the chocolate to set. Once it has hardened and cooled, you can serve them immediately, or transfer them to an air tight container.

Tip – If you don’t want to make the caramel yourself, then buy one (8 oz) package caramels, melt in a pot at low heat with 2 tbsp heavy cream and then use as directed above.