Snickerdoodle Turtle Dessert

Whenever I ask my guys what dessert they think I should make for a particular occasion, this is always what they say they want.  The most recent time was for my youngest son's birthday.  They can't seem to get enough of this one!  This dessert will satisfy anyone's sweet tooth for sure!

My sister got this recipe from her mother-in-law, Sina Gage, and quickly shared it with me close to 30 years ago.  It has to sit for 24 hours before serving, so I don't ever make it on a whim.  If my guys ever gave out 10's for anything I make, this for sure would get that score, but it definitely gets high 9's from all of them.

To begin, I preheat the oven to 350°F.  Then, in a large bowl, I place the German chocolate cake mix and 1/2 cup of the evaporated milk.  It's important that you use evaporated milk as opposed to sweetened condensed milk.  I begin to stir these ingredients together . . .

. . . before adding the melted butter so that the milk doesn't react in any way to the hot, melted butter. 

I continue to mix until the ingredients are fully incorporated.

I then spread and press half of the cake mixture into a 9- x 13-inch baking dish and place it in the oven to bake at 350°F for 7 minutes.  I set the remaining cake mixture aside to use later.

When done, it should not resemble a baked cake, but it will have puffed up during the baking time.  I leave this to cool a bit while starting the caramel layer.

After unwrapping the caramels, I place them in a medium saucepan and combine them with 1/3 cup of the evaporated milk.  I melt these together over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.

As the caramels melt, at first it looks as though they are just coloring the milk, but after a couple of minutes, you'll see that they are actually melting into the milk.  At this point, I start to stir more frequently.

The result should be a completely smooth caramel mixture.

I pour the caramel mixture directly on top of the cake mixture.  

I usually have to spread it a little bit to get it to the edges of the pan.  I learned the hard way not to start melting the caramels before the cake comes out of the oven.  It was too soft to spread the caramel to the edges and started lifting and making a mess when I tried.  That's why I always wait until the cake comes out of the oven before melting the caramels to allow it to cool enough before adding the carmel mixture.

I sprinkle 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips directly on top of the caramel layer, trying to add them as evenly as possible.

Then, I add the chopped pecans in the same manner.

The reserved cake mix becomes a bit stiffer as it sits, which makes it easier to handle for this next step.  Taking a small amount of the dough, I roll it into about a 1-inch ball, using my hands.

I then flatten it out on my hand.

I remove it from my hand and place it on top of the pecan layer.

I repeat this until the top of the dish is covered with the flattened dough balls.  Back into the oven the dish goes for an additional 10 minutes at 350°F.

As with the first layer of the cake mix, this layer puffs up during baking.  The dish needs to sit out on the counter for at least 24 hours before serving.  This allows time for the caramel layer to set, otherwise it will ooze when the dessert is cut into pieces.  After it cools completely, I cover it with plastic wrap until I serve it.  This dessert is pretty rich, so I don't cut the pieces very big.  I figure people can always take a second serving, if they can't live without it!  That is the case with most people!  Enjoy!

Snickerdoodle Turtle Dessert

1 German chocolate cake mix

1 (12 oz.) can Carnation evaporated milk, divided

¾ stick (6 tablespoons) butter, melted

14 oz. package Kraft caramels

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.  In a medium bowl, mix the cake mix, ½ of the evaporated milk, and melted butter together.  Spread half of this mixture in a 9- x 13-inch baking dish, setting the other half aside.  Bake at 350°F  for 7 minutes.

Unwrap caramels and combine them in a medium saucepan with 1/3 cup of the evaporated milk over medium-low heat.  Stir often until all caramels are melted and mixture is smooth.  Spread over cake layer.

Sprinkle pecans and chocolate chips evenly over caramel layer.  Form remaining cake mixture into 1-inch balls and flatten them out.  Place on top of pecans and chocolate chips.  Bake an additional 10 minutes at 350°F.  Cool completely and let stand for 24 hours before serving to let caramel set.