Cooking with Bourbon - Sweet Nothings

As we continue with our cooking with Bourbon fest (in an attempt to finish an ancient bottle given to us by my mother-in-law) I wanted to create a confection to have on hand during the holiday season – something to nibble on in small bites or give as a hostess gift. A little something sweet and salty with a dash of the unexpected; a combination of chocolate, toasted pecans, caramel and bourbon. Enjoy this easy DIY chocolate, pecan and bourbon turtle recipe.

Chocolate, Pecans, Caramel & Bourbon Turtles

Yield: About 70 pieces

4 cups pecan halves

2 cup caramel candies, (about 50 unwrapped candies)

2 tablespoons bourbon

3 teaspoons heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 pounds semisweet chocolate, finely chopped or grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread pecans on large shallow baking sheet and toast until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Transfer to large plate to cool. Line baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
2. In medium bowl set over saucepan of simmering water, melt half chocolate, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add remaining chocolate, and stir until smooth. Pour half melted chocolate into small bowl and reserve.
3. Spread half the chocolate in an even layer in the lined baking sheet (1/4  – to 1/2  inch thickness). Sprinkle the pecans over the chocolate layer.
   
   
4. In small microwaveable bowl, combine caramels, liquor, cream, and salt. Microwave uncovered at medium power for 2 minutes. Stir with fork. Microwave at medium power for 1 additional minute. Stir until smooth and set aside.
5. Pour and spoon caramel over chocolate/pecan layers. Drizzle with reserved chocolate. Let cool at room temperature until set, about 2 hours. Do not chill.
   
   
6. Chop finished bark into irregular 1 1/2-inch chunks.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to one month, with wax paper separating the layers to prevent sticking.

Inspiration: epicurious.com and myrecipes.com

Other recipes in the Mama Says cooking with bourbon series:

1. Bourbon-glazed salmon
2. Bourbon-glazed duck

Note from the Cook: I wish I could report that we’ve finished the ancient bottle of bourbon – but that is not the case. Stay tuned for another bourbon recipe in the future. I foresee a bourbon bundt cake or a decadent cake/pie.

Enjoyed this post? See these:

1. Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies - the ultimate in baking
2. Happy Holidays from Mama Says
3. Thrifty Thursday - Caramel-Pecan Sticky Buns

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Tags: bourbon, candy recipe, how to make turtles

This entry was posted on Monday, December 7th, 2009 at 7:02 am and is filed under Our Favorite Things, Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.