Slow Cooker Peanut Clusters
Are you ready for Christmas baking? December is absolutely our favorite time of the year, and we love nothing more than baking Christmas cookies and goodies. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without the classics and a few other new finds sprinkled in for good measure. While we love eating nut clusters, we had never actually made them myself; once we saw this insanely straightforward slow cooker recipe, it was only a matter of time!
It took us literally five minutes to make this. Everything gets dumped into the slow cooker, cover, turn on low, and let it go for 2 hours. At that point, it’s likely that everything will be melted (ours was), but if you need more time, an additional 30 minutes should be all you need. We experimented with scooping the nut clusters out in a variety of ways – with a large spoon, with a medium cookie scoop, and then we just poured the mixture into a parchment-lined pan and broke it into pieces. Our verdict? We liked the clusters scooped with a cookie scoop a standby – they were the most uniform and by far the most pleasing to the eye, which is important when it comes to Christmas cookie trays, right?! :)
While we are immensely partial to peanuts, you could absolutely make this with any type of nut you like, or a combination of them. Our father-in-law even suggested skipping the nuts and using coconut for coconut clusters. There are tons of possibilities, and these little clusters would make fantastic holiday gifts – just place in a clear cellophane bag and tie with a pretty ribbon!
Watch How to Make Slow cooker Peanut Clusters:
- Yield: 56 servings
- Prep: 5 minutes
- Cook: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Total: 2 hours 35 minutes
Ingredients
- 16 ounces ( 453.59 g ) unsalted peanuts, or dry roasted peanuts
- 16 ounces ( 453.59 g ) salted cocktail peanuts
- 12 ounces ( 340.2 g ) semisweet chocolate chips
- 12 ounces ( 340.2 g ) milk chocolate chips
- 20 ounces ( 566.99 g ) peanut butter chips
- 32 ounces ( 907.19 g ) white almond bark or vanilla candy melts
Method
- Layer all of the ingredients in order in a 6-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours. [NOTE: While we have made this multiple times without an issue, it seems that many people have experienced the ingredients burning. We would recommend stirring all of the ingredients together and checking on it and stirring every 30 minutes to avoid an issue.]
- Remove the lid and stir to combine. If not all of the chocolate is melted, cover and cook for an additional 30 minutes on low.
- Using a spoon or cookie scoop, scoop mounds of the clusters onto parchment-lined baking sheets. Allow to sit at room temperature until completely set, 1 to 2 hours. The clusters can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. They also freeze well!
