As promised....

Okay, so I promised to post something with some actual content and I've decided to start with a real bang...a recipe for my homemade Turtles! I just picked up all my Christmas baking ingredients this afternoon and was anxious to get home and get started. I love this recipe because it's quick (I made these while the 7 month old was sleeping!), easy, and absolutely mouthwatering!

Homemade Turtles
yield: approx. 13

Ingredients:

-Butter, for wax paper

-24 soft caramels (approx. 1 1/4 cup)

-1 cup pecans

-4 oz. milk chocolate, chopped coarsely

Instructions:

-Line a baking sheet with wax paper and generously apply butter.

-Unwrap caramels and place them in a large, heatproof, bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until the caramels are completely melted and smooth (approx. 10-20 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in pecans.

-Spoon 1" mounds of the caramel mix onto the waxed paper. You may have to use your hands to coax the mix into clusters. Refrigerate the clusters until firm (approx. 15 minutes).

-Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring frequently until melted. Remove from heat.

-Dip the tops of the cooled caramel clusters into the melted chocolate and then replace onto cookie sheet. Return the turtles to the refrigerator to harden the chocolate (approx. 1 hour). Enjoy!

**Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Each turtles contains approx. 150 cals.

So there you go. A super fast recipe that doesn't take too much out of you and is certain to impress! Of course you can play around with this recipe, using different types of nuts (walnuts, cashews, almonds, etc.) or chocolate. I hope you enjoy them and, please, let me know if you try this recipe and how it turned out for you!