Inspired to try these candies (because I just loooove Turtles), I took the plunge. Was it worth it? These are really, really good. Just work intensive. If you like to make candy and spend time stirring, dipping, shaping, then it's a recipe for you! The original recipe is from Company's Coming Holiday Entertaining
1 lb of pecans
1 1/2 cups corn syrup
1 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 cups chocolate chips
1/4 cup of butter
1/2 bar of Parowax
*here is where I tweaked it. I suppose that the wax allows the chocolate to set better, but I didn't like the idea of wax in the chocolate. So instead I used:
350 g semi sweet chocolate squares
350 g bittersweet chocolate squares
1/4 cup of butter
And then when I ran out of that....
300 g semi sweet chocolate chips
6 oz unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup butter
Spread the pecans over the bottom of a greased 9x13 inch and an 8x8 inch pan.
In a heavy saucepan, combine the first amount of butter, sugar, and condensed milk. Bring to a boil. A candy thermometer is handy here, although even with one I found that I made the caramel a bit too chewy. It's better to be a bit on the softer side. Once the mixture boils, stand and stir, turning the heat down and allow it to bubble gently for about 25 minutes or until it reaches 250 F to the medium hard ball stage (if a small amount is placed in ice water it will hold it's shape but can be easily flattened).
Pour the mixture over the pecans. Let it set.
Spoon out pecan mixture into small clumps and set them on a wax paper lined cookie sheet. Freeze for easy dipping.
Melt the chocolate and second amount of butter over hot, not boiling water in a double boiler, stirring, until smooth. Remove from heat.
Dip the caramel/pecan clumps into the chocolate, tap against the side of the pot to get rid of the excess chocolate, and set back onto the waxed paper.
These will seem to take forever to set. Be patient! I even left them overnight and they were perfect by morning.
The original recipe says it makes 5 dozen, but I ended up with double that.
