But boy, have I got a recipe to share with you all to make up for the delay!
I follow quite a few blogs on Facebook, including a blog called "Chocolate, Chocolate and More". As I'm sure you've all figured by my recipes, I'm a pretty big fan of chocolate, so when I first saw this blog I was straight on following and checking out recipes. I've been wanting to try a recipe from the blog for ages, but just haven't managed to, because I've had other recipes I wanted to make. But finally, the time came!
But then he came through with an alternate suggestion! He suggested Pascall Caramels, and quite conveniently they were on special when I went to purchase them! Winning! These are covered in chocolate too, so they added a little bit of extra chocolate. (Not that the recipe needed it, but you can never have more chocolate!)
While these were baking away in the oven and my kitchen was smelling amazing, I was wondering - why are these called Turtles? (I understood the magic bit once I tried some!) So off I went on the research trail (this time for real!) Apparently there is a brand of chocolate in the US called Turtles. They are made of peanuts, caramel and chocolate; when they were first made in 1918, they were produced by candy dippers on a rectangular marble board. One of the salesman brought a finished chocolate in to a dipper, who commented that it looked like a turtle. And the name stuck! Since then the production has obviously improved a whole lot and gotten a lot more sophisticated, and they are using all kinds of fancy moulds now, but they still use turtle moulds for some of the chocolates. I've never seen these Turtle chocolates at any of the USA Foods stores or the lolly shops that stock US chocolates, but I'm now keeping an eye out for them!
RECIPE - makes 21 bars of delicious
2 cups crushed vanilla biscuits (I used 2 packets of the Coles brand Vanilla cream wafers)
1/2 cup butter, melted (or 113 grams)
680 grams chocolate chips
680 grams Pascall's Caramels (just under 4 bags)
2 cups coarsley chopped pecans
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
2. Lightly spray and grease a 23cm x 33cm pan.
3. Combine crushed biscuits and butter till combined and biscuit crumbs are moist. Spread evenly into the bottom of the pan, pressing down to form a crust.
4. Start layering the rest of the ingredients. Half the chocolate, the caramel, pecans (save about 1/4 cup for the top), the rest of the chocolate and the remaining pecans.
5. Drizzle sweetened condensed milk over the entire pan, make sure to cover all the nooks and crannies.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, just until milk begins to turn golden. Let cool completely before cutting.
7. Store in airtight container. If you choose to refrigerate these bars, bring them back to room temperature before eating.
Source: Chocolate, Chocolate and More