Crockpot Chocolate Candy Clusters!

Hi friends! How are you doing? Did you survive Thanksgiving? Are you ready for Christmas? We had a great time on Thanksgiving! All the kids, their significant others and of course, Mini Sous and Mini Two came over to eat! We even managed to squeeze in a few family photos to create our Holiday Greeting Card! YAY!

This time of year gets crazy busy. There is so much to do, with decorating, shopping, wrapping and get-togethers. It’s too much sometimes! There are moments I wonder how I’ll get everything accomplished. Do you feel that way? If so, I’ve got you covered (and then some) with an easy candy recipe you can make in your crock pot in under two hours.

What? You’ve never heard of making candy in a crockpot? It’s pretty awesome stuff. The best part is, you can make it while you’re doing other things – like cleaning the house, doing laundry, or surfing Pinterest… you know, whatever. The crock pot does all the work! These Crockpot Chocolate Candy Clusters are perfect for giving away to family and friends. I made a full batch and got nearly 200 pieces! So basically, everyone I know is getting candy for Christmas. Y’all have enough T-shirts and things anyway, right?

Layer the ingredients in your largest slow cooker, starting with the peanuts. Feel free to substitute any other type of nut, or combine a few of your favorites!

On top of the nuts, layer the chocolate and peanut butter chips! Again, this is the original recipe, but you can personalize it to your own tastes by using just one type of chocolate, or more peanut butter chips! It’s up to you!

Here is where I took liberties. The original recipe called for two pounds of white chocolate bark. I used one pound of the white and switched the other pound for chocolate. Mmmmmm… chocolate!

Now, cover this and let it go for 1 1/2 – 2 hours on LOW! Set a timer so you don’t get lost in the depths of Instagram Stories or Pinterest. Not that I speak from experience or anything… When the timer goes off, go back to your crockpot and stir everything together!

It’s not the prettiest of pictures, but I wanted you to get the general idea of what it looks like. Put the lid back on and leave it for another 30 minutes. While you’re waiting, prepare the cookie sheets or layers of wax paper where the candy will cool. I use cookie sheets with wax paper on them, simply because I can move the cookie sheet close to the crock pot, then move it easily when it’s full. Because this makes such a large amount, be sure you have adequate space to cool all the trays of chocolate.

When the Crockpot Chocolate Candy Clusters are done, you have a few options. You can use two spoons and scoop small mounds onto your wax paper or baking sheets to make bite size treats. You can also take a few wax-paper lined 9 x 13 baking pans and spread the chocolate across the bottom to make one big layer of chocolate.

If you use the sheet method, simply break it up into irregular size pieces when it’s cool and call it “bark” instead of “clusters.” Either way, it’s going to disappear quickly. This stuff is crazy addictive! I sprinkled sea salt on top of one of the batches of clusters and OH MY! Sweet, Salty Nirvana. Perhaps I should rename this candy?

When the candy is completely cooled, box or bag them and tie with big, sparkly bows! Then, sit back and enjoy the looks on your friends faces as they bite into your delicious homemade candy.

If you’re looking for more candy ideas, try my Apple Cider Caramels