Now that is some edible abstract art right there! What’s even better is that I had the entire decorating process finished in less than 10 minutes. And those beautiful chocolate accents…It looks like I spent forever artistically painting these until they were perfectly decorated. NOPE! This beautiful look was made by randomly swinging the chocolate laden spoon over the cookies for a few seconds. I love that no two cookies are exactly the same. 

Here is how to make the Forking EPIC Turtle Shortbread Cookies… 

Use paddle attachment in mixer to cream butter, honey, and extracts until light and fluffy – about 5 minutes.  Reduce speed to low and slowly add the flour – scrape sides of bowl with rubber spatula to make sure everything is incorporated into batter. 

Roll batter into a big smooth ball.  Dough is easy to work with and should not be sticky. 

Use your hands to flatten dough ball to a flat circle apx 6- 8 inches wide. Cut dough into 8 wedges

Roll each wedge into a ball

 Next, press each ball into a circle –  apx 1 inch thick

Cut each circle into 8 wedges

Place cookies 1 inch apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. DO NOT COOK LONGER THAN 12 MINUTES. 

Roast pecans for 10 minutes – finely chop 1 cup leaving the other cup whole for the tops of the cookies

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat in a sauce pan

Stir in the coconut sugar, honey, and salt

Bring mixture to a boil – stirring frequently.  Once it begins boiling – stop stirring and continue boiling for 5 minutes

Tip- Monitor the heat of your caramel. Make sure it doesn’t go above 300 degrees. It usually takes it about 5 minutes to get to 300 degrees but continues to get a bit hotter after you remove it from the heat. I usually cook it unitl it it 290 degrees or so and then remove it from the heat. If you let it get to hot, your caramel will have a burnt taste. 

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla & cream.  Transfer to a shallow dish for decorating

Melt chocolate with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in microwave for 3 minutes or until smooth – stiring every minute. Line work surface with parchment paper and while the caramel and chocolate are still hot do the next steps.  If it cools too much, soften them back up in the microwave for 30 seconds and give them a good stir.

Dip each long side of cookie in caramel 

and then minced pecans 

first one side then the other

Drop 1/2 teaspoon of melted chocolate onto center of cookie and press pecan halve into chocolate

After all of the cookies have had the pecans added – Drizzle left over melted chocolate over cookies. Allow toppings to harden on the counter for about an hour before storing in an airtight container. Separate coookies with parchment paper. Store in the freezer after 3 days.

Of all the cookies I have made these past two weeks, these are my favorite. They are super easy to make, the dough is as easy to work with as Play Dough, these taste phenomenal, look like works of art, and are everyone’s favorite.  They are also my favorite to eat – but I like them NAKED without any toppings. 

Just the plain shortbread is so buttery and soft and just lightly sweetened with honey…. YUP. I need to pause a minute and go get a few of these Forking EPIC little triangles!