TURTLE, TURTLE

My friends were having a Housewarming/ Memorial Day party last night and of course I offered up my baking skills to bring something to the party. I was trying to think of something to make and was having a hard time. So when I saw these I knew what I was going to do. So I did two takes on turtles. Who doesn't love a turtle it has a little bit of everything for everyone, chocolate, caramel, and pecans. The bar recipe I got from my boss they are really good and slightly addictive, ok really addictive. It was fun to use similar ingredients in 2 different ways and come up with something totally different. I had a lot of fun making these on a theme because I'm not really a theme baker. I would say personally the little cheesecakes hit the spot for me last night. But there were no leftovers so I would say that both recipes are pretty tasty.

Butter Pecan Turtle Cookies
Crust -

• 2 cups of AP Flour
• 1 cup of packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of softened butter

Caramel -

• 2/3 cup of butter
• 1/2 packed brown sugar
• 1 cup of whole pecan halves

Topping -

• 1 1/2 cups of milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl combine the crust ingredients and mix until well combined. It will look like fine crumbs. Press firmly into a 13x9 pan. Sprinkle the pecans over the crust. In a saucepan combine the brown sugar and butter and cook over medium heat. Stir it constantly until the entire surface of the mixture begins to boil and let it boil for 30 seconds to a minute. Pour over the crust and pecans. Bake for 17-21 minutes or until the entire caramel is bubbly and the crust is light golden brown. Once removed from the oven sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top and let melt. Let cool completely and then cut into bars.

Mini Turtle Cheesecakes

• 8 oz of cream cheese softened to room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 teaspoon AP Flour
• 4 oz dark chocolate, melted
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 egg
• Caramel dessert sauce and Pecans

Preheat oven to 325. Line mini muffin pan with paper cups. In a bowl combine the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until light and creamy. Add in the flour and blend until smooth. Pour in the chocolate and sour cream and mix to combine. Add in the egg and mix. Use a teaspoon size scoop to add the cheesecake batter to the muffin cups. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the center is almost set. Let cool to room temperature for at least 10 minutes then refrigerate for 8 hours to overnight. Before serving drizzle on some caramel sauce and top with a pecan.

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