Turtles

- original recipe from Gale Gand
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 cup butter
2 cups evaporated milk, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups pecan halves
8-12 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
Combine the sugars, syrup, butter and 1 cup of the evaporated milk, and bring to a boil. Add the other cup of evaporated milk slowly, stirring constantly, and cook until it reaches 245 - 255 degrees on a candy thermometer.*** Add the vanilla and pecans and mix well. Pour into a 9 by 11-inch greased pan and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature, cut into squares then dip in chocolate. If you'd like to make a turtle, spoon dollops of the caramel pecan mixture onto a greased sheet pan, with 5 pecans in each mound (4 legs and head). Refrigerate to set, then dip in chocolate.

*** bring the caramel to “soft ball” stage – I like to use a bowl of ice water to help test the pliability of the caramel