Homemade Turtle Clusters

Oh how I love Turtle Clusters and they are even better when they are homemade!  So I believe I’ll try these this Holiday season!

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 C pecans
• 1/2 C butter (I use salted)
• 1 C brown sugar
• 1/2 C light corn syrup
• 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk (1/2 of a 14 ounce can)
• 1/2 t vanilla
• 1 (12 ounce) package milk chocolate chips
• 1/2 t shortening

Instructions:

1. Toss 2 1/2 cups of pecans into a large skillet. Cook them over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until they have darkened just a bit and smell wonderful. Should only take a few minutes.
2. Use 2 large cookie sheets. Line them with parchment paper and spray it with cooking spray. Arrange your pecans into clusters, three to a group works well. You want to leave some space (about an inch) between each cluster.
3. Make your caramel (full tutorial with pictures found here). Place 1/2 C butter into a medium-sized sauce pan. Melt it over medium high heat. Add 1 C brown sugar, 1/2 C light corn syrup and 7 ounces sweetened condensed milk to the pan. Increase the heat just a bit and stir it continually. Cook and stir until it reaches 235-240 degrees. I generally remove it from the heat when it reaches about 234 degrees. It will continue to rise in temperature just a bit even without the direct heat, making the caramel just the right texture.
4. ...........................................

for full recipes please see : flavorite.net

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