16 turtle recipes

Three-ingredient pretzel turtles with mini pretzels, Rolo or chocolate caramel candies, and toasted pecan halves. Easy no-fail sweet-and-salty holiday treat ready in 15 minutes.

Homemade caramel turtle candies with pecan halves, melted caramels thinned with whipped topping, and a semi-sweet chocolate shell. Three ingredients, no thermometer.

Well, I hope this recipe helps in the use of turtles, though I suspect you will have to have a very large family or like turtle soup a lot, or scale the recipe to a more manageable quantity.

Traditional turtle and ham soup simmered with cloves, bay leaf, thyme, garlic, and chopped lemon. A hearty Cajun-style wild game soup with deep, savory flavor.

Brown sugar cookie dough balls pressed onto pecan halves arranged like tiny turtle legs, then baked and topped with glossy chocolate frosting. Adorable, crunchy, and completely addictive holiday cookies.

Turtle shells are a novelty edible-insect snack: cooked cicadas dipped in warm chocolate glaze and cooled into crunchy, chocolate-topped morsels. A bold entry into entomophagy for the adventurous.

Pecan turtle bars with a buttery shortbread crust, bubbly brown sugar caramel layer, whole pecans, and swirled milk chocolate on top. Addictively rich cookie bars.

Frozen turtle pie with an Oreo crust layered with vanilla and chocolate ice cream, caramel sauce, and nuts. A no-bake freezer dessert that slices clean.

Turtle pie deluxe, a no-bake frozen ice cream pie with chocolate cookie crust, fudge layer, pecan-praline ice cream, butterscotch sauce, and toasted pecans. A make-ahead dessert showpiece.

These rich chocolate-toffee bars from Mary Lueke of Menasha were our top pick in the bar category.

A buttery oat crust topped with gooey melted caramel, a layer of melted chocolate chips, and crunchy pecans, then chilled and cut into bars. Turtle candy in bar form that takes just 30 minutes to make.

Easy chocolate turtle pie: graham cracker crust layered with caramel, pecans, fudge pudding, and whipped topping. A no-bake five-ingredient dessert for busy weeknights.

Divine Southern decadence cake: chocolate wafer and toasted coconut crust, dense fudgy chocolate-cashew filling with espresso and hazelnut liqueur, finished with whipped cream and chocolate curls.

Classic Philadelphia snapper soup made with snapping turtle meat, veal knuckles, dry sherry, and tomatoes. A rich, old-school Pennsylvania tradition simmered for hours.

Chocolate caramel pecan cheesecake with a vanilla wafer crust, melted caramel and toasted pecan layer, and a rich semisweet chocolate cream cheese filling. A turtle-style cheesecake.

Turtle cookies with pecan halves, caramel candy centers wrapped in brown sugar shortbread, and a chocolate glaze dip. Adorable candy-shop cookies from scratch.