This easy crockpot candy is fun and festive. Chocolatey peanut clusters are a holiday favorite!
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One of my husband's favorite candies are Brach's Chocolate Peanut Clusters. I decided last year to try and make them myself. Of course there were a ton of crockpot candy recipes on good old google. I whipped up a batch and was proud of my endeavor. Much to my dismay... my husband preferred the Brach's. He said my candy tasted too 'fake'.
I knew right away the culprit... Almond bark. Pretty much every crockpot candy recipe out there calls for mainly almond bark with a little 'real' chocolate mixed in. My chocolate connoisseur was not fooled. While the almond bark melts amazingly well... the taste is just not up to par.
This year I took it upon myself to make a 'better' crockpot candy. One with high quality chocolate and little or no almond bark. Kudos to me, the results are in and this version was deemed the winner!
Ingredients for 'Better' Crockpot Candy
To make my better Crockpot Candy Peanut Clusters you'll need:
- Chocolate Chips: Milk Chocolate, White Chocolate, and Semi-sweet.
- Dry Roasted Peanuts
That's it!
A couple of notes on the ingredients... go for high quality chocolate. I used Ghirardelli. If you want these to taste really good... you need really good chocolate.
If you're gluten-free, read the nut labels. You'll be surprised what you find. Look for a label that says either: Peanuts. Or Peanuts, salt. That's it. We don't really need a whole bunch of other junk on our nuts, ya know?
Making Crockpot Candy
This could not be any easier. I think that's the genius part of the whole thing!
- Put the chocolate in a slow-cooker. Turn it to warm and put the lid on.
- Let it warm for an hour or until chocolate is melted. Stir.
- Add in the peanuts and stir to coat.
Once the nuts are evenly coated in chocolate, portion out the candy into mini-muffin liners. The liners add a fun and festive touch!
Pro-tip: If you want the candies to set and hold a nice & neat round shape (looking at you, Type A folks), line a mini-muffin pan with the mini-muffin liners, then fill with the candy. Leave in the pan until set. Voila!
Alternatively, portion the candies out free-form style to be more like a peanut cluster you'd buy at the store.
Just line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment paper. Portion out about 1 Tablespoon of the candy on the pan and allow it to set.
Tips for making Crock-pot Candy
- Use salted or unsalted dry roasted peanuts.
- Add sprinkles on top for an extra festive touch!
- Store at room temperature or freeze the crockpot candy in an airtight container.
- Any combination of nuts would work in this recipe.
Recipe
Crockpot Candy
Ingredients
- 2 lbs dry roasted peanuts, salted or unsalted
- 46 oz milk chocolate chips, Ghirardelli
- 12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, Ghirardelli
- 12 oz white chocolate chips, Ghirardelli
Instructions
- Place the milk, semi-sweet, and white chocolate chips in a crockpot. Put the lid on and turn to the crockpot to warm.
- Let the chocolate warm for 1 hr or until chips are melted and stir.
- Add in the peanuts and stir.
- Drop by tablespoon into mini-muffin liners or onto parchment or wax paper lined baking sheets. Let the candy sit at room temperature until set.
- Store in airtight container. Keep at room temperature or freeze if needed.
Nutrition
* Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should be used as an estimate only. See the nutrition policy for more information.
Need more Christmas treats? Make these Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies or Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms!
Annie says
Thank you so much for recipe without Almond bark !
These are amazing 😋
I added mini marshmallows to about half the batch and it's so delicious.
So worth the up grade to Ghirardelli chips.
One thing I did first was turn my crock pot to warm while it was empty.
Mine are shiny without any paraffin.
Thanks again !!
Katie Olesen says
That's great! Glad you enjoyed them Annie!
Tracey says
I want to try this for my Christmas gathering this year. My question is, will the cluster stick to the mini cupcake papers when you go to get them out?
Katie Olesen says
I've never had an issue with them sticking to the liners!
Kim Haines says
I made these and loved how they tasted. I did the almond bark and your hubby is right they tasted like fake chocolate!! This recipe is soo much better!! Definitely use the Ghiradelli!
Evangeline says
Hello, These sound amazing! I made the Crockpot Christmas Candy this year before seeing this recipe and it called for 2 lbs of white almond bark. I used it in my recipe and while my candy tasted good, the color was not like I wanted. It didn't shine or look chocolaty enough. It had sort of a whitish look to it. How is the color of yours? Does it look nice and chocolaty like a chocolate bar or does it have a whitish cast to it? Thanks for sharing your version of this treat!
Katie | Wheat by the Wayside says
Hmm, mine was not whitish. How old was your chocolate? It sounds like chocolate bloom, when the fat separates from the chocolate, giving it a cloudy/whitish appearance. Or maybe try a higher quality chocolate chip next time? I use Ghirardelli.
Diane says
This recipe is so much easier than the other ones out there - and I dare say it tastes way better vs. the almond bark ones. I made it tonight and could not be more pleased. I used the mini-muffin papers. I also added just a small piece of melted paraffin wax to the chips to give then a little shine. My husband says it’s the best Christmas cookie yet out of the many recipes I’ve tried. Thanks for an easy, pretty and delicious recipe!
Katie Olesen says
Thanks so much for sharing, Diane! Great idea with the paraffin. So happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Nancy L says
Hi! Made these for Xmas giving and they turned out great! Do you have a dark chocolate version?
Nancy says
Just made a batch of these crockpot peanut clusters for Xmas giving. Fabulous! Do you have a dark chocolate version of this recipe?
Katie Olesen says
I don’t have one up on the site but that’s a great idea! I imagine you could swap out some of the milk chocolate for dark chocolate pretty easily.
Lynn Thompson says
I have been looking for this recipe as I hate almond bark! Do they set up nicely?
Katie Olesen says
Yes they sure do! And they freeze well.
Carmella says
These look sooo good! One of my favorite candies is Goobers, chocolate covered peanuts, but I never really considered making my own. I love that you use a combination of chocolates ????????
Katie | Wheat by the Wayside says
Thanks Carmella! I have fun trying to recreate my favorite treats... Sometimes it’s easier than you’d think!