Popularized by Traeger’s bakery in Demopolis, Alabama, turtlebacks are a spiced pecan cookie topped with a swirl of brown sugar frosting.
Their name comes from the visual effect of the frosting, which is cooked and hardens as it cools. As it crackles, it bears a subtle, charming resemblance to turtle shells. As far as iced cookies go, these are some of the best—serve up this regional favorite at your next dinner party.
Ingredients For Turtleback Cookies
There are actually more ingredients in the frosting than in the cookies for this recipe—that’s thanks to the boxed cake mix! Some of the ingredients, like the butter and vanilla extract, are used for both the cookies and the frosting. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Eggs: Start with room temperature eggs. This helps the dough take shape and fully meld without having to overwork it.
- Boxed spice cake mix: It helps to sift the boxes spice mix to get rid of any pesky clumps—shelved mixes aren’t always as stable as they claim to be. While that may be OK for cakes, sifting helps ensure a good structure of the cookie.
- Canola oil: Provides the fat of the cookie recipe, ensures a tender cookie; it’s likely the box of spice mix calls for a neutral oil, anyway.
- Unsalted butter: Butter forms the base of the frosting, but a little melted butter also helps with the flavor of the cookie base.
- Vanilla extract: Enhances the flavor of the cookie and adds some depth to the frosting, too.
- Chopped pecans: Toasted pecans lend a toasty, smoky taste to the cookie, and make sure they’re chopped so they incorporate easily into the dough.
- Dark brown sugar: Dark brown sugar has a higher molasses content, and it’s responsible for the brown sugar-like flavor in the frosting. You could use light brown sugar if you’re in a pinch, but we recommend dark brown sugar for that unique, yet sweet, bitter taste.
- Table salt: Enhances the frosting to really balance all the flavors, bringing them together.
- Powdered sugar: Sweetens and thickens the frosting topping.
- Whipping cream: Just a bit of whipping cream lifts and brightens the frosting, making it more of a whipped glaze frosting than a pure, dense buttercream. It’s also responsible for the “turtle” effect where the frosting hardens over just slightly.
- Ground cinnamon: Spices the frosting to compliment the cookie.
Brittney Cottrell; Food Stylist: Jennifer Wendorf; Prop Stylist: Phoebe Hausser
What Do Turtleback Cookies Taste Like?
Turtleback cookies are spice cookies, punctuated with the texture of toasty, chopped pecans. The edges crisp up slightly, framing a tender, moist interior crumb. The frosting is reminiscent of caramel, with a little bit of extra. Once the frosting sets, it gets a fudgy texture and look. Turtleback cookies are an incredible combo—and they’re simply made for folks with a sweet tooth!
What Size Cake Mix Box Should I Use For Turtleback Cookies?
It’s a bit of a quirk to use boxed cake mix for a cookie recipe, which is why it’s important to make sure you’re using the right amount of cake mix—not all boxes are the same size these days. Be sure to read the boxes and the weight listed. For this recipe we used a 15.25 oz. box.
Recipe Tips From The Southern Living Test Kitchen
- While sifting the cake mix, use a large fine-mesh sieve and a whisk to help work out any pesky crumbles.
- Set out your ingredients the day before for faster assembly the day of. Refrigerate perishable items.
- Store turtleback cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.
