{"id":223799,"date":"2025-05-05T00:21:19","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T00:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/recipes\/category-a-b\/baking-category-a-b\/jewel-turtle-cookies-recipe-cookie-madness\/"},"modified":"2025-05-05T00:21:19","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T00:21:19","slug":"jewel-turtle-cookies-recipe-cookie-madness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=223799","title":{"rendered":"Jewel Turtle Cookies Recipe – Cookie Madness"},"content":{"rendered":"


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There’s a grocery store in Chicago called Jewel, and they have the best chocolate turtle cookies. They go by Gourmet Turtle Cookies, or sometimes Turtle Brownie Cookies. The cookies are packed 4 to a clamshell and sold in the bakery area. Kroger, which owns Jewel, has a similar cookie called Private Selection Turtle Cookies. I haven’t tried Kroger’s, but Jewel’s are fantastic. Here’s a picture of one.<\/p>\n

\"Jewel<\/figure>\n

Grocery Store Bakery Chewy Texture<\/h2>\n

The cookies weigh about 2 oz each and are loaded<\/em> with toasted pecans and caramel bits. They do not skimp. And not only do the cookies taste sweet and chocolaty, but they have a chewy, fall-apart texture. This could be due to underbaking, a special ingredient, or maybe something entirely different. Whatever the case, they are one of the best grocery store cookies — though I think Jewel might get the dough from a wholesale bakery.<\/p>\n

\"Texture<\/figure>\n

Homemade Copycats<\/h2>\n

Well, you know where this is going. I wanted to try making some here in Raleigh since I miss the ones in Chicago. Before I made my copycat, I tried some of the other copycats out there and they were all very tasty too. The only problem was the caramel bits. <\/p>\n

\"Texture<\/figure>\n

Caramel Bits<\/h2>\n

Good caramel is key in the Jewel cookies. The Jewel cookies have loads of caramel bits, some of which are melted and some that still hold their shape yet stay chewy and soft. Most USA home cooks have easy access to Kraft caramel bits. Unfortunately, sometimes Kraft caramel bits dry up during baking, so I had to find a way to keep them melty and soft. First, I melted them with a little cream, re-solidified in the freezer, then cut into chunks. Not only does it help the caramels to stay soft and melty, the creamy caramel causes the cookies themselves to spread more. This worked beautifully, but I also wanted to try getting the caramel bits to hold their shape without having to melt them.<\/p>\n

\"Jewel<\/figure>\n

Butter Barrier for Caramel Bits<\/h2>\n

For a second experiment, I tried tossing caramel bits in melted butter, then freezing the butter coated caramel bits so they’d have a frozen butter barrier. I then added the frozen butter coated caramel bits to the dough. Since the recipe calls for freezing the dough balls before baking, the caramel bits with their frozen butter coating bake harmoniously with the chocolate dough and don’t dry out. They’ll be a little chewy, but not hard as rocks. Yay! <\/p>\n

Chopped Up Sander’s Brand<\/h2>\n

If you don’t want to deal with melting and setting the Kraft caramel bits, you can use a creamier or softer brand of caramel such as Sander’s<\/a>. The caramel is just a little darker, but they melt just right and give the cookies extra chewiness. But alas, the Sander’s caramels are coated in chocolate, so boo hoo, you’ll have to deal with extra chocolate in the cookies. So sad. Just kidding. The Sanders caramels work SO well,though it makes them less like Jewel’s…and that is fine. Werther’s <\/a>soft caramels work too. Just unwrap, tear or chop into bits and freeze.<\/p>\n