Rolo TURTLES. (Not the bastard holiday M&M kind)

I make these Rolo Turtle Candies every year, usually multiple times, but always at Christmas. They're a huge favorite with our peeps and they are SUPER easy to make. There is also a bastardized version made with a holiday m&m, but if I ditched the pecans, I'd have an angry mob on my hands.  Don't let anyone talk you into making those.

Without further ado, here is the recipe:

1. Put the pretzels on a baking sheet, you can line with parchment if you want, but I don't find it necessary.

The key here is to put them pretty evenly spaced in rows, it will make the pecan step MUCH easier. You can use the circle pretzels, or the small twisty ones, but I prefer the square shaped that they call Snaps, it gives an even surface to place the rest of the stuff and gives the perfect ratio of crunch to chocolate.

2. Then you will place one Rolo candy on each pretzel.

3. Pop them in the oven at 350 {or slightly lower} for 4-5 minutes. They will look slightly shiny, but they will still look like a Rolo... in other words, they shouldn't melt all over the place.

4. Take them out of the oven {get a helper for this part if you are doing a lot of them} and place a pecan on top of each Rolo candy. Be careful not to burn yourself on the hot caramel or the sides of the baking sheet.

**There have been some fantastic reader comments about toasting the pecan first for a few minutes in the oven.  This is an excellent idea and the toasting adds a great flavor to the candies if you've got a few extra minutes, do it.

5. Then, gently push down squishing the Rolo. You do need a light touch on this part because if you squish them too much the Rolo gets everywhere and they're hard to remove from the pan when cooled.  I mean, they're still good to eat, but if you're gifting them, they don't look as pretty.

6. Let them cool at room temp, then pop them in the fridge or freezer to cool completely.  Wasn't this the hardest recipe you've ever encountered?

I store in the fridge to keep them longer, but remove them an hour or so before eating so the caramel softens up a bit. You can also store in a covered Tupperware container at room temp if you plan on eating them within a few days.

Oh, and one last thing, a REALLY helpful hint... Buy the Rolos at the checkout counter, not the bagged ones. I always forget and buy the bagged ones because we need so many of them, but then you spend more time unwrapping each individual one than you do for the whole rest of the recipe.  Or you can alternatively con your kids into unwrapping them, but then you'll likely be missing more than a couple.

Want another ridiculously easy and fancy little treat?  Make the Sea Salt Chocolate Covered Oreos!