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Turtle Shortbread Bars

Posted by: Karyn Granrud / Bars

Wanna know something??
I’m kinda jealous of the Mom’s who have kids in school now. You’re back to a schedule. Back into a routine. As much as you hate it, I know you secretly love it! 
I sooooo desperately need to get back into a “routine”. 
I’ve already got my day routine for when my daughter starts school on SEPTEMBER 6th!
7:30 wake up
8:30 leave house
9:00 drop off kid and head over to Park
Walk / Run / Bike for an hour
Home to garden, shower, shop, (bake?)
3:00 head back out to pick up kid
5:30 make dinner
7:30 get kid ready for bed
9:00 lights out for kid
BLOG TIME!!
11:00 lights out for me
Here’s hoping I can stick to it! 
This past summer it’s been more like:
9- ish… maybe later, wake up
Maybe brush my teeth and put on bra at some point…
Surf Internet, Pintrest, Blogs, games, etc…
Oh, is it lunch time already?
Do “Stuff”
Crap, where did the day go? Dinner time??
Whew, it was a long day! Time to chill out with the laptop.
Wait a second, it’s 10 pm? Why is the kid still up?
Crap, tomorrow, you’r going to bed at 8!
Darn it! Another day lost.
At least it wasn’t a complete loss the day I made these Turtle Bars!

Turtle Shortbread Bars – Adapted from BH&G Cookie Classics

Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

For the Shortbread Crust
1 C flour
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C butter

Mix together to form a crumble mixture. Press into 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake for 15 minutes

For the Turtle Filling
1 14-oz can  sweetened condensed mild
2 tea vanilla
1 C chopped pecans
1 C coconut
1 C chopped pretzels

Combine Condensed Milk and vanilla. Once crust is done, add pecans, coconut, and pretzels on top. Drizzle milk mixture over fulling and bake for 25 – 30 minutes until filling is set.
Cool 10 minutes.

For the Topping
20 vanilla caramels
2 Tbls milk
1 C chocolate chips

In a small saucepan combine caramels and milk and cook over med-low heat until caramels are melted. Sprinkle 1/2 of the chips in the pan then drizzle caramels over the bars. Add remainder of chips. Cool completely and then cut into 48 (36) bars.

These little bars were sweet and salty with the added pretzels. (The original recipe called for 2 cups of pecans.) Also, I used three different sized chocolate chips – mini and regular chocolate chips and mini Hershey Kisses. 
And with these buggers around, it’s no wonder why I don’t get anything done.



Turtle Shortbread Bars

by Karyn Granrud
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Keywords: bake coconut caramel shortbread bars
Ingredients (24 bars)

    For the Shortbread Crust

    • 1 C flour
    • 1/2 C packed brown sugar
    • 1/2 C butter

    For the Turtle Filling

    • 1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
    • 2 tsp vanilla
    • 1 C chopped pecans
    • 1 C coconut
    • 1 C chopped pretzels

    For the Topping

    • 20 vanilla caramels
    • 2 Tbls milk
    • 1 C chocolate chips
    Instructions
    Preheat oven to 350 deg F.

    For the Shortbread Crust

    Mix together to form a crumble mixture. Press into 13 x 9 inch pan. Bake for 15 minutes

    For the Turtle Filling

    Combine Condensed Milk and vanilla. Once crust is done, add pecans, coconut, and pretzels on top. Drizzle milk mixture over filling and bake for 25 – 30 minutes until filling is set.
    Cool 10 minutes.

    For the Topping

    In a small saucepan combine caramels and milk and cook over med-low heat until caramels are melted. Sprinkle 1/2 of the chips in the pan then drizzle caramels over the bars. Add remainder of chips. Cool completely and then cut into 48 (36) bars.
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    2. Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel says

      August 27, 2012 at 4:33 am

      Karyn, these bars are not only gorgeous, but so perfectly gooey and delish-looking, too! I could easily forgo my daily plans and sit with a pan of these all day 🙂 but seriously, I know what you mean! I HATE not having a set schedule, even on my days off. I feel like if I don't have concrete plans (even if my only plans are walk my dog and relax) I need to have them blocked off in like, "time zones", you know? Ugh, the perks of being neurotic! Hopefully you can stand a few more days until your routine starts again 🙂 and there's nothing wrong with a day eating these with a spoon!!

      Reply

    7. Erin Alldredge says

      August 29, 2012 at 5:14 am

      You're summer day routine sound an awful lot like mine, but I probably shouldn't admit that the my not quite 2 year old stays up until 10 sometimes. Unfortunately, he's not old enough for school so I don't have anything forcing me into a routine. By the way, these shortbread bars look delicious, but you can't go wrong with shortbread covered in ooey-gooey caramely goodness. I'd l0ve it if you stopped by my link party to share these. http://acraftycook.blogspot.com/2012/08/1-month-of-fun-august-link-party.html

      Reply

    11. Kristin Whitehead says

      August 31, 2012 at 2:46 pm

      These sound delicious! I can't wait to try them. And I love your "routine" post…sounds like me! I had a great routine planned for summer. I think I stuck to it the first day and that was all. Now that the kids are back in school, I'm hoping to get back in a good routine!

      Reply

    13. Miz Helen says

      August 31, 2012 at 4:40 pm

      Hi Karyn,
      Turtle Bars what an awesome treat. Hope you have a great holiday weekend and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
      Come Back Soon!
      Miz Helen

      Reply

    15. Ericka Breedlove says

      September 1, 2012 at 4:59 am

      I know what you mean! Summer vacation schedule was definitely laid back for all of us…it was tough getting back to school time schedules! And this recipe looks sooo good! Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday!

      Reply

    17. Nici - Posed Perfection says

      September 1, 2012 at 5:07 pm

      Oh, my goodness… these look sooo good. I loved this post. Your summer time schedule sounds a lot like mine. I'm trying to get into the swing of things, but it is a challenge balancing it all. I'm pinning these puppies for sure. Have a great weekend!
      Blessings,
      Nici

      Reply

    19. Ashley Calder says

      September 2, 2012 at 12:19 am

      These look fantastic. I really love the idea of including pretzels in the bottom layer. Adding to my must-try list!
      Found you from kitchenfunwithmy3sons.blogspot link party! So glad I did!

      Reply

    20. Marlys-thisandthat says

      September 3, 2012 at 6:35 am

      Although I have no kids, I can't wait for my husband to be back in school (he going to University) as then we can get back into a routine of such…We have been sleeping in… not getting anything accomplished…. etc.etc. these bars looks spectacular. Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday and hope you will join us next week with more great recipes.
      http://marlys-thisandthat.blogspot.com

      Reply