Flourless Chocolate Turtle Cookies are crisp and chocolatey with plenty of chewy caramel throughout each bite. The original Flourless Chocolate Brownie Cookies are awesome cookies that can be stirred together in just a few minutes.
When I saw the caramel bits at the store, I couldn’t resist picking them up to see if I could create a turtle cookie. The additional caramel and pecans in this recipe turned out to be a fun variation that my whole crew voted two thumbs up.
I chopped up some of the remaining Chocolate Turtle Cookies and added them to a batch of vanilla ice cream. Turtle Cookie Ice Cream might have been my best idea this week. (Although, I won’t be recreating that dangerous combination again any time soon!)
Check out all of the Gluten Free Dessert Recipes on this website!
Flourless Chocolate Turtle Cookies
Ingredients
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- ¾ cups dutch process or special dark cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 large egg whites
- 1 large egg
- ⅔ cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup caramel bits
- ½ cup chopped pecans plus a few more for topping if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F degrees. Whisk together the powdered sugar, cocoa, and salt. Add the eggs. Whisk again until smooth. (Using an electric mixer will make this even easier, but it's quite simple by hand.) Stir in the chocolate chips, caramel bits, and pecans.
- Drop by tablespoons onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Top each cookies with a few extra pecan pieces, if desired. Bake 12 minutes, until the cookies are just set. They should be puffy and cracked across the top. Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack. Let cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Julie Nichols says
These look fantastic! Since the recipe does not include flour, are these cookies gluten-free?
Mary says
Yes, they are naturally gluten free!
tickleslordchaos says
Not necessarily, actually. You have to check the caramel – it is commonly made with wheat. Find a gf one and you'll be fine.
Mary says
As with all GF foods, it depends on whether the individual is choosing to avoid gluten for their own health and/or personal reasons, or if there is a full allergy involved. If the person for whom you are baking is celiac or truly allergic to gluten, check ALL labels, for the chocolate chips and cocoa powder as well as the caramels. The amount of gluten in those things does not bother our family at all, but it would certainly bother a person with a more serious allergy. We avoid "wheat" specifically, because it affects my son, however the trace amounts of gluten in everything else don't bother him. So, as always, check labels carefully!
BecHeflin says
These cookies look absolutely delicious, Mary!
Anonymous says
Does the asterisk by the caramel bits refer to the comment above that tells where to find them?
Denise in Kentucky.
Mary says
Whoops! Yes. I had a note at the bottom with an asterisk and I moved it into the notes above the recipe. Thanks for catching that!
Melissa @ Bless This Mess says
Yay!!! I love gluten-free finds for my father-in-law that no one will know are "GF". This looks awesome Mary! Are YOU going to ChoppedCon in Kansas City?!
Mary says
I'm glad you like them, Melissa! Hopefully your FIL will as well. I soooo wish I could be there. The lineup of speakers looks fantastic. Enjoy it for me!!
Susan Andrews says
Do the caramel bits soften while baking? They can be break your teeth hard!
Mary says
The caramel bits I used were little round balls, soft enough to squeeze with your fingers. After baking, they were gooey caramel. I hope that helps!
not entirely sweet says
These look really good, but I am afraid they may be incredibly sweet. Reading the ingredients, it seems like where there would have been flour, there is sugar instead. I can see there is a meringue, which lightens these up, but even without the caramel pieces and chocolate chips, these almost seem frosting-sweet. Please tell me I am wrong. They look so very good, and chewy, and chocolatey….
Mary says
Yes, they are sweet cookies, but the amount of cocoa powder almost balances it. They aren't overly sweet, but they are rich.
Kathleen Risa says
I just found this recipe and am anxious to try it! In gathering the ingredients, have been unable to find the caramel bits (and that is after calling 3 or 4 specialty places, and looking at 2 grocery stores.) Can I substitute chopped up square caramels in this recipe?
Mary says
Yes, you should be able to chop up caramels very small for these cookies. However, I am really surprised the caramel bits weren't in the baking aisle at your stores. They are standard in every grocery store here! They're made by Kraft and they're usually with the chocolate chips. Sorry it's been such a hassle for you!
Joanna says
Hi! I have tried the recipe, but i am probably doing something wrong. It it very liquid and it doesn't keep the shape of the tablespoon. I used the exact listed ingredients. What could i possibly be doing wrong? Also, do you whisk all ggs together or separately the egg whites?
The taste was incredible!
Mary says
I simply add the ingredients as listed in the instructions above. Did you try baking them? This isn't a stiff cookie dough, it's closer to the consistency of a brownie batter. I've also heard that different altitudes affect these cookies, but I haven't tested that myself.
Dawn says
How many cookies does this recipe make?
Sadie says
The recipe says 24 cookies, but I am sure it highly depends on the size of the cookie.
Linda says
Love these cookies! Used recipe exactly and they came out just as expected. Needed a cookie that was gluten free for my granddaughter’s birthday and something she hasn’t tried baking herself. Thank you so much!
Mary Younkin says
I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the cookies, Linda!