My mom was a terrible cook but a passable baker, and every now and then around this time of year she’d get a wild hair up her ass and make a batch of cookies. One year she found a recipe for Turtle Shortbreads in some random magazine. The cookies consisted of a round shortbread ball, in the center of which was one of those little square caramels that you generally find wrapped in cellophane. She pressed pecan halves into the bottom, and then after they were baked, they were topped with chocolate icing. And damn, they were DELICIOUS, and of course she immediately lost the recipe, couldn’t remember what magazine they came out of, and never could make them again. My guess is that they were way too labor intensive, but I’d love to find the recipe so I could make them. Alas, while I can find many different turtle shortbread recipes on the interwebs, none of them have the particular construction that I’m remembering, and I’ve tried every google permutation of “caramel center” that I can think of without any luck. Any idea what this recipe might be?
Why can’t you just find the recipe for the cookie part and do the rest yourself. You know how they were constructed, right? You don’t need a recipe to tell you to unwrap the caramels and put a pecan on top then drizzle with chocolate icing. You know that part.
Concentrate your search on a shortbread cookie that has the texture you want and make the cookie the way you remember it. Roll them in a ball. Squish it so there’s a dip in the center. Put in a caramel. bake. Top with pecan. drizzle with chocolate. Done! 
I’ve no idea about your recipe (sorry), but I do have one that’s kind of similar (to me, anyway) and super easy. I call these “crack;” you can come up with your own name.
Windowpane pretzel crack
Bag of windowpane pretzels
Bag of Rolo caramel/chocolate candy
Large bag of whole pecan halves (the 2ish cup bags)
On a cookie sheet, lay down whatever you use for a nonstick surface & easy cleanup - silpat, parchment paper, waxed paper, any of these’ll work. (I think. Maybe not the waxed paper.) Lay down some rows of windowpane pretzels, top each one with a Rolo. Pop the whole thing into a 250 oven (or so - it doesn’t need to be too hot) for just a minute or two to soften the candies. Press a pecan half onto each pretzel/Rolo combo, then pop into the fridge to cool and harden. Store in an airtight container with waxed paper between each layer.
It makes as many as you have patience for - the foil on the Rolos is obnoxious. Scale up or down as needed. And they’re incredibly delicious. Ye gods. I need to make these again.
Maybe this one? Caramel Turtle Cookies Recipe
Caramel Turtle Cookies Recipe
Ingredients:
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
Water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 cups pecan halves
8 vanilla caramels, each cut into fourths
Chocolate Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
Water
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:
With mixer, beat brown sugar, butter, 2 tablespoons water and vanilla until fluffy. Stir in flour and salt until dough holds together. (If dough is dry, stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons water, as necessary.)
For each cookie
: On ungreased cookie sheet, arrange 3 to 5 pecan halves to resemble head and feet of a turtle. Using a teaspoonful of dough, shape dough around a piece of caramel; press firmly onto center of arrange pecan halves.
Bake in a 350 degree F oven 12 to 15 minutes, or until dough is set but not brown. Carefully transfer cookies to a rack to cool.
For chocolate glaze: Beat powdered sugar with 1 tablespoon water, melted chocolate and vanilla until smooth. If necessary stir in more water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until glaze is of desire consistency.
Dip tops of cooled cookies into glaze.
Yield: 32 cookies