Historically, turtles were my holiday chocolate of choice. What’s not to love? Pecans wrapped in caramel wrapped in chocolate. Delicious… except that I recently had one had practically spat it out because it was too sweet! I realized my tastes had changed and now they taste sickly sweet to me. But I still wanted the joy that I associated with them. As such, I decided to make my own less sweet version of the recipe using keto-friendly sweeteners. Tempering chocolate and making caramel from scratch requires a fine tough, but this year, I finally nailed down my methods for making these, so now I’m ready to share my recipe for sugar-free, low-carb turtles!
Base Ingredients:
- 1¼ cup pecans, roughly chopped
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons gold erithrytol monk fruit sweetener or Swerve Brown
- 2 Tbsp keto maple syrup (or preferred maple-flavoured sweetener)
- ½ teaspoon blackstrap molasses (*optional, but recommended)
- ½ cup full fat coconut cream or heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon glucomannan (*May sub xanthum gum, but glucomannan is healthier.)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon water
- Flaky sea salt (like Maldon or Fleur de sel, optional garnish
Chocolate Coating Ingredients:
- 2 oz unsweetened baker’s chocolate, chopped into smaller pieces
- 1½ teaspoons extra virgin coconut oil
- 1½ teaspoons Lakanto granulated monk fruit sweetener, powdered in a spice/coffee grinder
- 1 teaspoon coconut cream powder or heavy cream powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla-flavoured whey isolate
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 5-10 drops vanilla-flavoured liquid stevia (*Or to taste.)
Directions:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat and put into the freezer to chill while you prepare everything else. In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat until melted. Turn heat down to a low simmer and simmer 5 minutes, or until a deep golden brown. Stir occasionally and be careful not to let it burn!
Stir in the sweetener, keto maple syrup, and molasses. Return to a low simmer. Then, simmer 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Watch it carefully to keep it from burning.
Add the coconut cream and lightly sprinkle in the glucomannan. Stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in the pure vanilla, water, sea salt, and pecans. Allow to cool 3-5 minutes to allow the caramel to thicken slightly.
Drop tablespoon-sized amounts of the caramel pecan mixture onto chilled baking sheet. Put into the freezer while you prepare the chocolate coating.
Add the chocolate pieces with the coconut oil into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 20-second increments, stirring in between until the chocolate is fully melted and shiny. Stir in powdered sweetener and salt. Allow the chocolate to cool to 110F then whisk in the cream powder and vanilla whey isolate.
Remove the baking tray from the freezer. Drizzle the chocolate over the caramel pecans, around 1-2 teaspoons per cluster. Put in the freezer overnight, or until the caramel and chocolate are set. Store tightly covered in the fridge for up to 1 month or in the freezer up to 3 months.
Did you make this vegetarian keto sugar-free turtles recipe? Please let me know how it turned out in the comments. Or if you share pics of your creations on Instagram, please tag me so I can see them. Enjoy! :)
