Monday, April 28, 2014

Crock Pot Candy - My new obsession!



I have a few masochistic tendencies when it comes to making candy.  So I decided to ramble around the internet and see if there was an easier way of doing things.

On my travels I found a recipe for Double Chocolate Nut Clusters and thought it would be a great idea for an upcoming party I was attending.  I didn't have a slow cooker but I figure a crock pot is pretty much the same thing.  I also doubled the recipe. I'm always afraid I won't have enough to go around.

I gathered my supplies:




1 pound white chocolate almond bark, broken into small pieces
½ pound chocolate almond bark, broken into small pieces
2 ounces German’s baking chocolate
¾ cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups (16 ounces) dry roasted peanuts, lightly salted
1 cups (8 ounces) whole roasted almonds
½ teaspoon almond flavoring
(Just keep in mind I doubled all these ingredients)

Then I followed the instructions:



Nothing was mentioned about covering the chocolate.  My crock pot always produces a lot of condensation ... so erring on the side of caution I did not use the cover.  We all know how chocolate does not like water.


  • Turn slow cooker on high, and add the first six ingredients.  
  • Cook for 45 minutes (don't peek or stir).
  • Reduce heat to low and cook one hour, stirring until all chocolate is melted. 
  • When chocolate is melted, stir in almond flavoring.
  • Spoon into miniature muffin liners and allow to cool. 
  • Store in an airtight container 
Since I doubled the recipe I let it go an hour before stirring. At that point it was just starting to melt.  I let it go about another hour and this was the result after stirring: 



After spooning into the mini muffin cups:



My version and size cups yielded about 100 pieces of candy.

A word of caution ... don't put these in the refrigerator to cool.  Let them cool at room temperature.  I thought I would be smart and speed things up since I was running out of table room, and stuck the first 20 cups worth in the fridge on a cookie sheet.  Well, they did harden right up ... and they also "bloomed".  Needless to say, that batch stayed home and we are enjoying them.  They taste fine ... they just don't look as pretty.

The candy was a big hit at the party. Everyone seemed to like it quite a bit.

I think the possibilities are endless with this.  I want to try this again with just almonds.  One of my friends also suggested a version with just cashews.  I'm also thinking peanuts and raisins would be awesome as well.

Give it a try and enjoy!!