These Scrumptious Turtle Bars are a great homemade dessert for everyone. Perfect for gifting as an edible gift during the festive season. From children to adults, no one can resist them. They don’t take long to pull together and are a beloved treat for the holiday.
I adore Christmas baking and always like to try something new. There are old standbys that my family would revolt if I didn’t make, but I like to sneak some new ones in too! We give away lots of our baking as gifts, and everyone has always been grateful to receive it.
Turtles at the holidays are my favorites; who doesn’t love chocolate and caramel together!! So we make these Homemade Chocolate Turtles every year. Another one of our favorites is the One Pan Magic Cookie Bars which are similar to the recipe that we have for you today or try our new Millionaire Shortbread bars, they will amaze you with how delicious they are.

Helpful Items For This Recipe
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small portion from qualifying purchases at no extra charge for you.
Pyrex 2 Quart Glass Oblong Baking Dish, Clear 7 x 11 inch (Pack of 2)
WHAT ARE IN TURTLE BARS?

Very simple ingredients go into this bar recipe. All are found easily at your local grocery store except for maybe caramel bits as they are a newer product. You can substitute other chips that you may easily find, like butterscotch chips or Skor bars crushed, but if you can find them, they make a perfect caramel layer.
Caramel bits may only be found in grocery stores for the holidays. They are found on Amazon, and a link is provided above. They are just like square caramels that you traditionally see but are made the size of chocolate chips for easy baking.
Ingredients
Unsalted butter softened at room temperature
Light brown sugar, packed
All-purpose flour
Fine sea salt
Semi-sweet chocolate chips (I find it is too sweet with milk chocolate)
Chopped pecans
Caramel bits
Sweetened condensed milk
HOW ARE TURTLE BARS MADE




I like the cookie bottom that these bars have as opposed to a graham cracker crust. After the cookie layer then the recipe gets very simple as you just add one layer at a time after that. No standing over a hot stove stirring constantly making caramel. This recipe you will love as it is so easy. Let’s dive in.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 7×11 baking dish with foil and spray with cooking spray, set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the 1/3 cup brown sugar and the 1/2 cup butter until smooth with an electric hand mixer. Next, stir in, and continuously, the flour and sea salt until well combined.
Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes until lightly golden brown.




Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the crust, followed by the pecans, then the caramel bits.
Pour the sweetened condensed milk over everything, trying to cover the top as best you can. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown on top.
Remove from oven and let the bars cool in the pan completely. Once they are cooled completely, cut them into bars and serve.

NOTES
These bars are addictive, chewy, and soft! Chocolate is the predominant flavor. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips since we added even more sweet ingredients, but use the variety of chocolate chips you prefer.
You can even mix up the chocolate chips or other toppings, as long as you keep the same ratio. Feel free to make them your own.
ARE THESE LIKE MAGIC BARS?

This turtle bar is a delicious recipe ideal for the holidays and festive season. It goes well with other desserts on your dessert platter. The squares can be cut into much smaller pieces and served as a much smaller treat too, or as shown, which would be a full dessert. Turtle bars are, of course, named after the very popular turtle chocolates that everyone loves at the holidays.
These turtle bars are a combination of homemade cookies and candies. It’s a multi-layer of ingredients put together in one pan.
Magic cookie bars are similar and are just as quick and easy to make. These bars are generally layers of various ingredients stacked together to provide a delicious bite. There are a few alterations to the classic recipe, i.e., 5 or 7 layer Magic bars.
The bars usually consist of the cracker crust with a topping of chocolate chips, nuts, etc. Magic cookie bars are baked until perfectly light brown. Both magic bars and turtle bars have sweetened condensed milk that holds all the ingredients together.
So are turtle bars similar to Magic Bars? Both of them are tasty layered delicacies that make for a great dessert. Although the recipe and ingredients may vary, both are amazing treats for the holiday season.

WANT MORE CHRISTMAS TREATS?
We have loads of holiday treats for you now, here at Noshing With The Nolands. Basically, if you have a sweet tooth or not, you will find something to love and to enjoy making and sharing. Here are a few of our favorites from over the years.
Christmas Sugar Cookies – Sugar Cookies are fantastic for making ahead and freezing for later. It makes for a fun and playful activity for children to help with these Sugar cookies. Bake and decorate as you like! Add some sprinkles, colored sugars, and other exciting decorations to jazz it up. Being creative is the key here; other than that, no rules here.
Cookie Cutter Christmas Fudge – A great holiday treat and gift that is super easy to make. Perfect for beginners too. This Cookie Cutter Fudge recipe is luscious, chocolatey, and creamy. Gift it for Christmas and even Valentine’s Day. The added bonus is that the recipient gets to keep the cookie cutter too!
Reindeer Cookies – Reindeer Cookies are another yummy Christmas treat. These are made with a standard gingerbread cookie cutter but turned upside down. Now that is a good repurpose!! Add on some ears, antlers, eyes, mouth, and of course a red nose!!
Copycat Almond Roca – This is is one of my ultimate favorites. Rich caramel with crunchy almonds and both white and semi-sweet chocolate makes this the perfect confection for the holidays.
Cream Cheese Spritz Cookies – These cookies are the perfect buttery bite-sized morsels! They dress up any cookie platter and are the most fun cookies to customize and decorate. I’ve tried a lot of Spritz cookie recipes, but this one is my most favorite!
Holiday Mini Butter Tarts – With simple ingredients and pre-made tart shells, this recipe is whipped up in no time. It makes lots to feed a crowd or to give as gifts. This will be your new go-to recipe for the holidays.
30 Cute Christmas Desserts and More – Do you like making cute Christmas desserts? We have done many over the years, and they are fun to make. We have lots to show you and have also added in a few fun crafts too!!

Pin it HERE!!

Pin it HERE!!


Scrumptious Turtle Bars
Scrumptious Turtle Bars are a holiday treat that you will want to add to your baking this year!! They can be served as a large bar or cut down into smaller bites to be added to your cookie platters. Layers of chocolate, pecans, and caramel are always a hit for the Christmas season.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- pinch of fine sea salt
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 & 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 & 1/2 cups caramel bits
- 12 ounces sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 7x11 baking dish with foil and spray with cooking
spray, set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter with the brown sugar until smooth with an electric
hand mixer. Slowly stir in the flour and sea salt until combined. Press the
mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes until
lightly golden brown.
Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the crust, followed by the pecans, then the
caramel bits. Pour the sweetened condensed milk over everything trying to cover
the top as best you can. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown on top.
Let the bars cool in the pan completely. Once they are completely cool, cut them
into bars and serve.
Notes
These bars are addictive, chewy, and soft! Chocolate is the predominant flavor. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips since we added even more sweet ingredients, but use the variety of chocolate chips you prefer.
You can even mix up the chocolate chips or other toppings, as long as you keep the same ratio.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 15 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 356Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 90mgCarbohydrates: 48gFiber: 2gSugar: 39gProtein: 5g
Recipe calculation was provided by Nutritionix and is an estimation only. If you need nutritional calculations for medical reasons, please use a source that you trust.
Comments & Reviews
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
coooookies! Those are my fave 🙂
Janis says
My favourite holiday treat is pumpkin pie 🙂
Pauline says
My favorite holiday treat is anything with peppermint chocolate.
Debbie Lind says
I make cookies, cupcakes and cheesecake! Cheesecake is my favorite!
Heather Brown says
Cookies!!
Debi @ Life Currents says
These bars look so yummy! I could go for some today! Pinning!
Anita at Hungry Couple says
The holidays definitely put me in the mood for gingerbread.
Jenna @ A Savory Feast says
My favorite holiday treat is homemade apple pie!
Nicky @ Little Family Adventure says
My grandmother used to make these Sour Cream Twist cookies that I absolutely love. I have her recipe now and make them often.
Marie Poulin says
My favorite treat! Pumpkin Bars!
BlackAsphodel says
I just love Tiramisu and cheesecake!
Alexey Petrov says
My favourite holiday treat is cheescake.
Marjie @ Home Again Jiggety-jig! says
I remember my mom making turtle cookies to look like turtles. They were fun but a TON of work. This looks uber cool!
Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen says
My fave holiday treat is anything pumpkin!!
Valerie Theberge says
Gingerbread Cookie!
Janice Robinson says
I cannot believe all the great recipes you have together here! I get your email and have found so many great recipes already there. Thanks for all the time you put into this!
Noshing with the Nolands says
Thank you so much Janice!!
Kari says
cookies! Gingersnap!
Nettie Moore says
I love Magic Bars, but I have to try your Turtle Bars Tara! Thank you for the offering this great giveaway! Nettie
beverley schneider says
butter tarts
Lynn Rickman says
These look scrumptious, can’t wait to try them! Thanks for this awesome giveaway!!
Amanda Ballard says
My favorite is all the Holiday cookies, especially the warm molasses cookies and a nice big mug of cocoa or apple cider!!
Kelly @ TastingPage says
My favorite looks to be your recipe. Looks fabulous!
Alison H. says
My favorite holiday treat is pumpkin cheesecake!
Cynthia L. Gray says
Homemade pecan pie and fudge!
Joanne T Ferguson says
G’day! What a great giveaway Tara and wish I could try each one!
Cheers! Joanne
Reggie Cornelius says
Love the recipes!
Angie | Big Bear's Wife says
I don’t know if I have a favorite! Does Peppermint Hot coco count? Pumpkin pie… no wait! Pumpkin Rolls…. no no.. homemade FUDGE!! YES
Arra says
blueberry cheesecake!! my fave!
jeannine glen says
my favorite is magic bars
Clint Odeza says
nothing beats pumpkin pie 🙂
Edmond says
Re: OMG, my fave is magic bars. To die for. Wow, $150 Amazon gc is fab. & splendid. 2 fingers snap. It is tight, fly & off the chain. Thank you for the awesomeness, the contest, and generosity. Dear Santa: I’ve been nice. My X-Mas wish this year is to win this contest. Starving artist here desperately needs the Amazon gc to shop and eat again.
Diane says
Pumpkin pie is my absolute favorite!
Tabitha Klucking says
I love pecan pie and gingerbread.
Megan says
Truffles are my absolute favorite. But really, any dessert is fine with me!
Patricia says
I love pecan pie! Blueberry cheesecake is a close second.
Sarah Reid, CNP (@jo_jo_ba) says
Mom’s shortbreads 🙂
Syd says
My fav is peppermint bark 🙂
Maruca Massimiliano says
Pumpkin pie is my absolute favorite!
ALESSANDRA LORA RONCO says
Apple pie!
Ilaria carraro says
Pecan pie
NADIA PREGNOLATO says
Apple pie is my absolute favorite
Diana Corlett says
I love Christmas fruitcake!
April says
Pumpkin pie and pralines. Yummy!
Jenny says
I like sweet potato casserole!
Katherines Corner says
my favorite holiday treat is anything with peppermint yummm. xo
karen says
butter spritz cookies
Lisa Savage says
Can’t wait to try these!
Irene Newstead says
My favorite is Cherry Globe cookies.
Jill says
yummm!! I love holiday pies 🙂
Carrie M says
Anything turtle!
Ron Bowman says
short bread cookies
Patricia @ Grab a Plate says
I’m loving both the recipe (yum!!) and giveaway 🙂
Kris ~ Big Rigs 'n Lil Cookies says
Your Turtle Bars are going on my holiday baking list! I really have so many favorites, I can’t pick one. My childhood favorite that I loved for my mom to make was Divinity.
Kecia says
Cookies are my favorites… especially around the holidays when everyone make a special effort to make them so special.
Susie Gall says
I love iced butter cookies and my mom’s Riscotti’s.
Michelle @ A Dish of Daily Life says
Those turtle bars look delicious! Just about any holiday cookie makes me happy! 🙂
Brenda Lacourciere says
shortbread
Tarn A. says
My favorite holiday treat is pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. They have been my favorite for as long as I can remember!
Judy Thomas says
My fave holiday treat is my berry cheesecake:)
kimberly drodge says
Peanut Butter Balls, we have them every christmas:)
Josie says
I love shortbread
Emiliya Petkova says
I love chocolate cookies!
Tina Howe says
These look amazing!
Chris Martinez says
I prefer snickerdoodles!
Marilynn Burkey says
My mother also made turtle cookies that was made with a brown sugar cookie dough and Pecans cut for legs ,head and tail pressed in the dough and baked and cooled and than chocolate frosting on top for shell. I have the old small cook book they was in with picture of them in
Tara Noland says
That sounds like a treasured recipe and so very cute!!
Molly says
Oh my goodness, these turned out great. They are gooey and delicious and foul-proof!!
Tara Noland says
So glad you loved them.