No Bake Chocolate Turtle Cookies (Vegan)

GFGluten Free

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These Chocolate Turtle Cookies are gluten, dairy, and egg free, PLUS you don’t need to turn on your oven to make them! Perfect for an indulgent – yet healthy – sweet treat.

If I’m being honest, I think these cookies are so sexy that they don’t even need a catchy intro.

Chocolate Turtle Cookies on wood cutting board

I’ve known that “Chocolate Turtle” involves the combination of Chocolate, Caramel, and Pecans…but where the heck does that come from? Well, a quick Google search informs me (as I type this) that the original “Turtle” was a Pecan, covered, in Caramel, covered in Chocolate. Kind of shaped like a Turtle. 

Chocolate Turtle Cookies on wood cutting board

Ahhh..now that makes sense. However, I think I’ll be sticking to these cookies. Not only because they’re vegan (while most caramel is not), but ALSO because they taste absolutely AMAZING. They’re definitely more on the “indulgent” side, but they are also pretty good for you too! No hydrogenated oils, refined sugars, or preservatives to be seen here.

Chocolate Turtle Cookies on wood cutting board

Another thing I love about these cookies is that you don’t need to bake them. Which makes the total “cook” time a whole lot faster! And, you now officially have an excuse to make these cookies year round. They won’t overheat your house in the summer, but they also won’t be significantly adding to your electricity bills in the winter 😉

These Vegan No Bake Chocolate Turtle Cookies are SUCH a treat; whether you choose to share them with a loved one or keep them all to yourself, I sincerely hope you enjoy them.

Chocolate Turtle Cookies on wood cutting board

A Few Final Thoughts:

  • You can use any Nut or Seed butter you’d like in both the cookies and caramel, but keep in mind that it will affect the final flavor. I used Tahini because I think it goes well with caramel, but I would also recommend Cashew or Almond Butter! If you happen to have Pecan Butter, even better.
  • These cookies are best kept in the fridge, or the Caramel Sauce will get a bit runny. You can leave them out of the fridge for a few minutes though if you would prefer to not eat them cold.
  • If you’d like to make this recipe even faster, you can skip the Caramel. It definitely adds a lot to the cookie, but I’d rather you make half the recipe than none of it at all 😉

If you’re looking for more Vegan Cookie recipes, you’ll also love these Cashew Butter Snickerdoodles and these Double Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl –  I love seeing your delicious recreations!

Print

No Bake Chocolate Turtle Cookies (Vegan)

These Chocolate Turtle Cookies are gluten, dairy, and egg free, PLUS you don’t need to turn on your oven to make them! Perfect for an indulgent – yet healthy – sweet treat.

  • Author: Caitlin Shoemaker
  • Prep Time: 20 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 10 Minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 12 Cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale

For the Cookies:

  • 1 cup Pecans
  • ½ cup Quick or Rolled Oats
  • ⅓ cup Cacao Powder
  • 3 tbsp Nut or Seed Butter (I used Tahini)
  • 1 packed cup Medjool Dates, pitted
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • ½ tsp Salt

For the Caramel:

  • ½ cup Coconut Sugar
  • ¼ cup Unsweetened Plant Milk
  • 1 tbsp Nut or Seed Butter (I used Tahini)
  • Pinch of salt

Extras:

  • 12 whole Pecans, to place on top of each cookie
  • ½ of a bar of Chocolate, melted (to drizzle on top!)

Instructions

Instructions:

  1. First, make the cookies. Add the Pecans, Oats, Cacao Powder, and Salt into a food processor or high speed blender and process until a fine “flour” forms.
  2. Next, add in the remaining ingredients and blend until everything is well incorporated. The cookie “dough” should be pretty smooth.
  3. Transfer the dough into a bowl, then use your hands to form cookies, using 2 tbsp of dough per cookie. Shape the cookies so they have a “thumbprint” indentation in the center and raised sides, so they can easily hold the caramel.
  4. Place the cookies on a lined plate or baking tray, and refrigerate while you make the Caramel Sauce.
  5. Next, prepare the Caramel Sauce. Add all of the ingredients in a medium pot over medium heat.
  6. Once simmering, let cook for 2 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium low and continue to cook for another 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened. Whisk the mixture frequently, so the sauce does not burn. (Note: the caramel sauce will continue to thicken at it cools, but should still be relatively thick)
  7. Remove the cookies from the fridge, and add ½ tbsp of the Caramel Sauce to the center of each cookie.
  8. Place a whole Pecan into the center of each Caramel, then drizzle with melted Chocolate.
  9. Place the cookies in the fridge for 10-15 Minutes, to allow the chocolate to harden. Leftovers will keep well in the fridge, in a sealed container, for up to one week.

Notes

  • You may use any Nut or Seed Butter of your choice. I would recommend Tahini, Almond Butter, or Cashew Butter.
  • Coconut Sugar may be substituted for Brown Sugar
  • I used this chocolate made from Coconut Sugar to keep these Cookies refined sugar free!

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Chocolate Turtle Cookies on wood cutting board

About the Author

Hey there, I’m Caitlin! I make easy-to-follow, wholesome, and budget-friendly vegan recipes that are mostly gluten-free and refined sugar-free. I’m also an avid yogi, love the great outdoors, am chocolate-obsessed, and enjoy eating almond butter straight off of the spoon.

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Comments

  1. I love no bake vegan recipes and this one was definitely a hit 😀
    I made these first time to bring to morning tea for work. They were gone in a flash!
    I made two batches and I noticed in my first batch, the dough was crumbly. I realised you have to really make use of the oil in the tahini to hold the cookie together. Otherwise you’ll have much more difficulty shaping the cookie mixture. I love how this has lots of protein and not just sweet, so you feel totally satiated after eating one! Thank you again for such a great recipe, will be trying out more ^_^

  2. Hello !

    There were absolutely delicious!! ????

    Do you know how many calories there is in one portion ?

    Thank you

    1. Thanks so much! Out of personal philosophy we don’t calculate calories but you can use something like Cronometer to help figure that out for any recipe!

  3. I made these last night and they were sooo good! I kind of just want to eat all of the caramel with a spoon ????????. Instead of pecans (i don’t like how they taste) I used a mixture of tigernut flour and almond flour and it worked out really well. Thanks for the recipe!

  4. Just made these last night- and i wanted to drink that caramel sauce ????????. I used a little under one cup of a mixture of tigernut flour and almond flour in place of the pecans (i don’t love the taste of pecans) and it worked really well!! Great recipe!

  5. These were so amazing. Incredibly rich and delicious! I added some flaked sea salt ontop for a little extra touch. Can’t wait to make them again and inevitably eat them all.

  6. If we substitute brown sugar for coconut sugar should the 1/2 C of brown sugar be packed or unpacked?

  7. Caitlin – Thank you SO much for this recipe! I recently cut gluten, dairy, eggs, sugar… and it has been so tough to find good recipes! I made these cookies over the weekend and they were well loved! I can’t wait to try out some of your other recipes!

    1. It depends on the size of the dates, so I can’t say for certain! Just make sure the cup is packed well 🙂

  8. These are absolutely delicious!!! I wish I could eat all of them at once ???? but they are so rich in flavour that you really only need one to be satisfied. It’s not your typical cookie but it’s so amazing! They do take a bit longer than I expected to set down though, but I don’t mind it!

  9. These were AMAZING! The only thing I wish was added to the recipe was noting how fast the caramel hardens! By the time I transferred it out of the saucepan and into a bowl, it was hardening up and stuck to the saucepan. So the sauce was a disaster to say the least, even though it was delicious (I had to try while it was cooking). Next time I’ll have to move faster. Other than that, everything was so yummy 🙂

  10. Hey Caitlin, I absolutely love your recipes (as well as my family) and I want to make theses cookies but dont have dates. I know they would no longer be refined sugar free but would sugar or maple syrup be ok.

    1. Hi Ashley, unfortunately you need the fiber from the dates to help hold these cookies together! You can substitute with another form of dried fruit, but I don’t think Maple Syrup would work.

    1. These are so yummy! Made them a few times now! Even made them once with walnuts instead of pecans! Oh, and that caramel sauce is ????????????another awesome recipe! Thanks for all your hard work to bring us alllll these amazing recipes!

  11. These look so good! Do you think there’s any flour or combination of ingredients I could sub for the oats? I have a friend who’s paleo and I want to make these for them, but they can’t do oats (or any grains either). Thanks!

    1. Hi Arin! I have not tested the recipe without oats, so I cannot guarantee results. However, I imagine this would work ok with a mix of Coconut and/or Almond Flour

  12. These look soooo good. It’s been difficult for me to find vegan dessert recipes that are also gluten free and actually appetizing so I was so excited to see this one! Can’t wait to try these cookies out for Galentine’s day! 😀 thanks Caitlin!

  13. I love how your recipes dont ask for weird or hard to get hold of ingredients and are still so delish!!
    I’m going to try these and let you know how it went ????