Healthy Vegan Chocolate Turtles (Refined Sugar Free Candy)
These Healthy Vegan Chocolate Turtles are sooo delicious. Flavours of dark chocolate, caramel, and toasted pecan come together beautifully in this healthy version of the classic candy Turtles. These vegan turtles require few ingredients to make and come together really quickly. In this recipe medjool dates are used to replace the caramel in the traditional candies. This makes these vegan chocolate turtles SO much healthier. These Healthy Vegan Chocolate Turtles are refined sugar free, gluten free, dairy free so almost anyone can enjoy these decadent treats! This is a perfect recipe for any of the upcoming holiday gatherings, I mean look how cute they are!! Or of course just for a satisfying treat at home!
Fresh medjool dates have a really rich, caramel like flavour which makes them absolutely perfect for this chocolate recipe. I blended medjool dates with vanilla and a touch of sea salt to elevate their flavour to have a really indulgent caramel flavour. I added a bit of oat milk to make the dates really creamy and not so thick, and to achieve a lighter and chewy caramel texture.
Medjool dates are full of nutritional benefits, as are the pecans. Even dark chocolate in moderation provides healthy properties like antioxidants. So with toasted pecans as the base, then the caramel and top it all of with dark vegan chocolate, can it get any better?? So go ahead and make some of these indulgent yet healthy vegan sweets!
Healthy Vegan Chocolate Turtles
Ingredients
- 80 g dark vegan chocolate
- 50 roasted pecan halves *
Caramel Filling
- 1 cup fresh medjool dates, pitted **
- 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp oat cream
- pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Start off by roasting the pecans if you are roasting them yourself. Make sure to keep an eye on them in the oven so they don't burn! Let cool completely.
- Mix the caramel together in a food processor. Add the pitted medjool dates, vanilla, salt, and oat cream. Mix until it becomes completely creamy and smooth. If you're having trouble mixing the ingredients properly, add a couple of teaspoons of water to get it going. Start small with the water and add a bit more as needed. The caramel mixture should be completely smooth when it's done.
- Place the pecan halves on baking sheets and group them in clusters of 5. Form the pecans into shapes that look like little turtles. Then spoon caramel onto the back of each turtle and form it into a nice little oval shape. Place the trays in the freezer to set while you melt the chocolate.
- Carefully melt the chocolate in a water bath on the stove or in the microwave. Stir well.
- Take the turtles out of the freezer. Carefully spoon chocolate onto each turtle over the caramel, to form a chocolate shell for each turtle.
- Sprinkle sea salt on top. Then let the chocolate set completely before tasting the chocolate cuties.
- Store in the fridge if there are any leftovers. Enjoy! 🙂