Speedy Turtles

Chocolate and caramel are two of my favorite things. So naturally, combining them is my goal in life.

The Epicurious recipe for Turtle Brownies* has a total prep time of five and half hours. Um, what? Who has the patience and self-restraint, while the sweet aroma of baking brownies wafts through the house, to not eat said brownies, let alone brownie turtles? Not I. Admittedly, four of those hours are to be spent cooling in the fridge. But brownies are better warm and gooey.

So here's my Speedy Turtle recipe. Use brownie mix. I like Ghirardelli best, but there are many excellent choices, including some tasty gluten-free options (those have definitely gotten better over the years!). When the brownies come out of the oven, start making the caramel layer:

Bring 3/4 cup sugar, 1/3 cup corn syrup, and 3 tablespoons of water to a boil.

The recipe says the will be caramel colored within 10 minutes, but I have experienced it happening much quicker. While it's bubbling, mix 1/2 cup cream (or substituted half and half or whole milk) with a dollop of vanilla in a little mixing bowl, and place the pecans on top of the cooling brownies. When the caramel is done, get it off the burner quickly, dump the cream and vanilla in, and whisk until it stops fizzing so feverishly.

Then pour on top of the brownies.

Skip the semi-sweet chocolate glaze, they are PLENTY sweet without it. Stick the pan in the fridge until you can't bear to wait any more. Cut and eat.