Turtle Pancakes

The Best Turtle Pancakes

Turtle pancakes are packed with amazing flavor! Think classic turtle chocolate candies, filled with caramel and pecans and coated with smooth, creamy chocolate. Now imagine all that goodness layered right into a stack of fluffy buttermilk pancakes. The flavor combination of this breakfast treat is truly out of this world!

If you’re not familiar with chocolate turtles, they are a popular choice at candy shops. If you live near a lakeshore or a popular travel destination, you are probably familiar with downtown areas lined with souvenir and candy shops. If you stop into one of those little shops, chances are you”ll find fresh turtle candies piled high in a glass display case.

Turtle pancakes bring the specialty shop taste right to your own kitchen. These unique pancakes dotted with chocolate, caramel, and pecans will transport you to your own little vacation, even if it’s just for a few minutes at home before you start your day.

Ingredient Notes

• Wet Ingredients: You’ll need the basic pancake ingredients here: buttermilk, unsalted butter, and eggs.
• Dry Ingredients: Again, pretty basic ingredients: all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. You’ll also need unsweetened cocoa powder because turtle pancakes are chocolate pancakes!
• The good stuff: Turtle pancakes are packed with all the goodies of turtle chocolates including pecans, wrapped individual caramels, and chocolate chips. You can use semi-sweet chips, mini chocolate chips, or milk chocolate chips. 

How to Make Turtle Pancakes

Toast the pecans. Begin by chopping the pecan halves into smaller pieces with a knife or with a few pulses in a mini food processor. In a medium-sized skillet, toast the pecan pieces over medium heat, stirring frequently, until they smell great and are golden brown. Watch the pecans closely because they burn quickly! Immediately transfer the pecans to a plate to cool. If you leave them in the hot skillet, they will continue to brown and may burn.

Prep caramels. Unwrap the caramels and cut each one into quarters. Set aside.

Mix wet ingredients. Start by warming up the buttermilk in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds. It should be slightly warm, but not hot or boiling. In small microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Add the melted butter and eggs to the buttermilk; whisk vigorously until completely combined.

Mix dry ingredients. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt until blended.

Combine. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl containing the flour mixture. Whisk until the mixture is completely blended.

Stir in the goodies. Fold in the toasted pecans, caramel pieces, and chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

Fry pancakes. Preheat a griddle or large skillet over medium low heat (375°F if you’re using an electric griddle). Add the batter to the pan in ¼ cupfuls. Flip the pancakes when the edges look dry. Be careful of the melted caramel when you flip the pancakes because it gets really hot!

Serve. The pancakes should be served immediately with your choice of toppings.

Topping Ideas and Variations

• Toppings: Add a drizzle of warm caramel sauce, hot fudge, or chocolate syrup. Add chocolate sprinkles or mini chocolate chips for extra chocolate in every bite. Turtle pancakes definitely have a dessert vibe so they taste great with a dollop of whipped cream or a small scoop of vanilla or caramel ice cream.
• Pancakes that look like a turtle. If you want to make your turtle pancakes actually look like a turtle, you can set a Rolo, a pecan half, or even banana slices on four sides to look like feet. Criss-cross caramel and chocolate sauce over the top to make a geometric pattern that resembles a turtle shell.
• Possible substitutions: Feel free to make your turtle pancakes based on what you have in your pantry. For example, use chopped walnuts instead of pecans or pieces of dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet chips. Just don’t skip the caramel if you’re going for that true turtle candy taste!

Get a head start: You can toast the pecans a day or two ahead of time, cool completely, and store in an airtight container. The caramels can be unwrapped and cut into pieces. Spread the pieces out in a container before covering them so they don’t stick together. You can also measure and pre-mix the dry ingredients. 

Refrigerate: Turtle pancakes are best eaten right away. If you have leftovers, cool the pancakes completely before covering. They’ll keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Reheat: You definitely don’t want to put turtle pancakes in your toaster! You may end up with a messy toaster. I recommend heating them briefly in the microwave just until they’re warm. Be careful of the melted caramel.

• Toast pecans: Chop the pecan halves into smaller pieces with either a knife or with a few pulses in a mini food processor. Place the pecan pieces in a dry frying pan. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently. Pecans are done once you can smell the pecans toasting and they start to turn golden brown. Watch carefully as they can burn easily. Remove the pecans from the pan immediately; transfer to a plate to cool. If you leave them in the pan, they will continue to toast and may burn.

  ⅔ cup pecan halves

• Unwrap the caramel squares and cut into quarters. Set aside.

  16 wrapped caramel squares

• Start preheating a nonstick griddle to medium low heat or an electric griddle to 375°F.

• Heat the milk in the microwave until the milk is warm (about 30 to 60 seconds). Microwave the butter until melted.

  2 ½ cups buttermilk, ¼ cup unsalted butter

• Whisk together the milk, butter, and eggs.

  2 large eggs

• Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

  2 cups all-purpose flour, 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 5 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoons salt

• Whisk the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients.

• Stir in the toasted pecans, cut caramels, and chocolate chips.

  ⅔ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

• Drop ¼ cup of batter for each pancake onto the preheated griddle pan. Flip once the edges look dry. Be careful of melted caramel that may leak out; it becomes very hot and could burn you.

• Yield: This recipe makes a large batch of pancakes but it can easily be cut in half if desired.
• Buttermilk: Regular milk can be substituted for buttermilk but the pancakes won’t be quite as fluffy. If you feel that the pancake batter is too thick, stir in a small amount of regular milk until the batter is the right consistency.
• Storage & reheating: Turtle pancakes are best eaten right away. If you have leftovers, cool the pancakes completely before covering. They’ll keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, I recommend heating them briefly in the microwave just until they’re warm. Be careful of the melted caramel.

Serving: 3pancakes, Calories: 471kcal, Carbohydrates: 58g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 72mg, Sodium: 488mg, Potassium: 377mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 26g, Vitamin A: 389IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 297mg, Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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