



I love it when I receive requests from you, super amazing readers and friends, about what you want to see over here–especially when whatever is on your mind is on mine as well. And I have been thinking a lot about Chocolate Turtles lately for some reason. It must have been because of all the chocolates I have been making. Oh, who knows why I think about half of things that I do. I swear the majority of my brain space is dominated by donuts (and that the honest-to-God truth!) With a close tie with potato chips, of course. I will have you know that I haven’t had a chip in a while though. I know. It’s a miracle.

Back to the chocolate, the Turles are something that I have yet to make so when Kat asked me to make my own version of Vegan Chocolate Turtles, I obeyed (as I usually do whenever she asks anything of me) 😉

I chose to go with a raw caramel sauce because well, honestly I’m waiting for a plumber to come fix my kitchen sink and I needed something quick to make with an easy clean up. My sink isn’t wanting to do its proper job and actually drain water that comes from the tap. That causes a big problem with doing dishes. Grrrrr. That is why real caramel sauce was out of the question however if you would like to use a heated sauce, either follow this recipe or melt store-bought vegan caramels like Cocomels. They are super good with the raw caramel sauce however–if you have never made it before let this be your excuse to get to it!

Please see this post on tips for melting chocolate and all things chocolate-making if you run into any troubles.

A little idea on how I was able to create their shapes:

To make these completely raw, use this chocolate recipe. Just be careful! This will cause the turtles to be ultra-melty which inevitably means you will just have to eat them all in one sitting. Ahhh, the silver lining appears…

Vegan Chocolate Turtles ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5 from 2 reviews Author: Fork & Beans

Yield: Yield: 12 1 x Print Pin Scale 1x 2x 3x Ingredients 1 c. non-dairy chocolate chips, divided in half

c. non-dairy chocolate chips, divided in half 1/2 c. pecans

c. pecans 1 recipe for raw caramel sauce (see below) For Raw Date Caramel: 4 Medjool dates, soaked in water for 1 hour and drained

Medjool dates, soaked in water for hour and drained 1 Tbsp . water

. water 1 tsp . maple syrup

. maple syrup 1 tsp . coconut oil, solid

. coconut oil, solid 1/4 tsp . vanilla extract Instructions In a high-speed blender, whip up all the ingredients for the raw caramel sauce until completely smooth. Allow to chill in the refrigerator to cool down. Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Melt 1/2 c. of the non-dairy chocolate chips. Place in a Ziploc bag with a slit cut out of the corner and drip 1 tsp. of chocolate onto the parchment paper, making circles (see picture above). You may want to use the back of a spoon to flatten down a little bit. For each chocolate circle, place 6 pecan slices on top of the chocolate in the position for the head, legs, and tail (see picture above). Fill in the remainder of the chocolate with smaller pecan pieces (as seen above). Place the baking sheet in the freezer for 5-10 minutes. Remove the sheet and pour the raw caramel sauce into a Ziploc baggie to pipe on top, about 1 tsp. worth. Freeze again while you melt the remainder 1/2 c. of chocolate. Pipe the remaining chocolate on top of the caramel. Smooth out with the back of a spoon to ensure it is evenly spread. PLEASE READ: Do this one at a time because the warm chocolate hitting the items that have been in the freezer will cause the chocolate to quickly harden. If you wait too long, your chocolate will be unworkable. Allow the turtles to fully set (either back in the freezer or if you keep them on the counter, they will harden as well). Nutrition Serving Size: 1 Turtle

Calories: 133

Sugar: 13.5g

Sodium: 13mg

Fat: 7.5g

Carbohydrates: 15.7g

Fiber: 1.4g

Protein: 1.7g

Makes me wonder whether or not plumbers can be paid in chocolate. If so, I have 12 turtles with his name on them in exchange for a working kitchen sink. Even swap. I will let you know if he buys into it…