Mckenzie's Bakery Turtle Cookies

If your from New Orleans you remember Mckenzie’s. They had the best deserts the town had ever tasted. Whenever they went out of business in 2001, people became really upset (I heard some even cried). Many of their recipes are still secret but there are a few which have either been replicated or stolen. I’ve been to a handful of countries and around 45 of the states, and have yet to eat a desert than was made better than Mckenzie’s did it. I found this site in hopes of locating some of their recipes (like Petit Fours) but was surprised that I couldn’t find ONE of their recipes.

Turtle Cookies (Mckenzie’s Bakery N.o.la) Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup light brown sugar – packed
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
1 egg white
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp maple flavoring
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 pecan halves

FROSTING

2 oz solid baking chocolate
1/4 cup milk
1 tbsp butter
1 lb powdered sugar.

Turtle Cookies (Mckenzie’s Bakery N.o.la) Preparation:

Cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, egg yolk,
vanilla and maple flavoring. Set aside. Sift together flour, salt, and
baking soda. Add dry ingredients gradually to the creamed mixture
until you have smooth dough and then chill 2 hours. Shape 1 ts dough
into balls. These should be oval shaped like a turtle body. Dip
bottoms into little of egg white. Press slightly onto greased cookie
sheet on which groups of 5 pecan halves have already been placed to
form a head and 4 feet of turtles. Bake at 350~ 10 to 12 minutes or
until set and when cool, frost. FROSTING-Melt chocolate, milk and
butter. Beat in the powdered sugar until smooth. Source: Gloria
Pitzer’s Secret Recipes Newsletter.

I realize this post is a couple of years old but I this is exactly the recipe I have been searching for. I have never tasted a duplicate of this cookie anywhere and of course the rest of the world thinks “Turtles” have caramel. I really miss stopping by MacKenzie’s as a kid.

Another fantastic dessert they did that no one could match was their lemon meringue pie. It’s so hard to believe they went under - they were all over the city.

We all miss Mckenzie’s. Oh their king cakes, raspberry jelly donuts,buttermilk drops, pineapple coconut cake, browines.yummmm. I still live in New Orleans and am sad that no one can make stuff like the original.I haven’t had a good cinnamon roll since 2001.Tastee’s tried to do the same recipes but failed and now they are out of business too.They don’t call me New Orleans Honey for nothing.Haha thanks for the memories.