Turtle Pancakes

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Chock full of gooey caramel, melting chocolate, and freshly toasted pecans, these turtle pancakes are sweet, tender, and absolutely delicious!

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Breakfast and Brunch, Pancakes & Waffles

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Toast pecans: Chop the pecan halves into smaller pieces with either a knife or with a few pulses in a mini food processor. Place the pecan pieces in a dry frying pan. Heat over medium heat, stirring frequently. Pecans are done once you can smell the pecans toasting and they start to turn golden brown. Watch carefully as they can burn easily. Remove the pecans from the pan immediately; transfer to a plate to cool. If you leave them in the pan, they will continue to toast and may burn.
⅔ cup pecan halves
Unwrap the caramel squares and cut into quarters. Set aside.
16 wrapped caramel squares
Start preheating a nonstick griddle to medium low heat or an electric griddle to 375°F.
Heat the milk in the microwave until the milk is warm (about 30 to 60 seconds). Microwave the butter until melted.
2 ½ cups buttermilk, ¼ cup unsalted butter
Whisk together the milk, butter, and eggs.
2 large eggs
Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
2 cups all-purpose flour, 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 5 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoons salt
Whisk the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients.
Stir in the toasted pecans, cut caramels, and chocolate chips.
⅔ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Drop ¼ cup of batter for each pancake onto the preheated griddle pan. Flip once the edges look dry. Be careful of melted caramel that may leak out; it becomes very hot and could burn you.

Yield: This recipe makes a large batch of pancakes but it can easily be cut in half if desired.
Buttermilk: Regular milk can be substituted for buttermilk but the pancakes won’t be quite as fluffy. If you feel that the pancake batter is too thick, stir in a small amount of regular milk until the batter is the right consistency.
Storage & reheating: Turtle pancakes are best eaten right away. If you have leftovers, cool the pancakes completely before covering. They'll keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, I recommend heating them briefly in the microwave just until they're warm. Be careful of the melted caramel.

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