Slow Cooker Chocolate Nut Clusters Recipe

A fair word of warning right from the get-go on this recipe for slow cooker chocolate nut clusters, friends. In the words of recipe developer Melissa Olivieri, "They are addictive!" But they're also a great, tasty, and energizing treat that can serve as a fun dessert, fuel for a hike, bike ride, or workout, or even as an afternoon pick-me-up when you're having a busy day. Needless to say, this recipe is crucial to have on hand. Plus, these clusters are a total breeze to make with minimal effort required on your part, thanks to the trusty slow cooker.

Olivieri says, "I personally love these nut clusters as an after dinner treat with a cappuccino," but you can incorporate them into your life in plenty of ways. They go great with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, with some fresh fruit, or are sweet to devour all on their own. And don't hesitate to play with the recipe a bit to make them work perfectly for your palate. "Another fun thing with these clusters is that you can mix them up with whatever nuts you prefer," says Olivieri. "We have done them with cashews, almonds, peanuts, and even macadamia nuts before."

Considering the prep and hands-on work takes less than 10 minutes, and the rest of the work is merely a quick stir three times during an hour in the slow cooker, and about three minutes scooping out clusters, you won't mind trying your hand at various batches.

This recipe can be customized in plenty of ways based on your personal taste, but it's a good idea to kick things off by following the recipe as laid out by Olivieri. For that, you'll need plenty of milk chocolate (either milk chocolate chips or a good quality chocolate bar crumbled up), lots of semisweet chocolate chips, 2 cups of raw almonds, 3 cups of raw peanuts, kosher salt, and vanilla syrup. As a quick note, Olivieri says, "You can use roasted and salted nuts, but be sure to omit the teaspoon of salt from the recipe."

Start the process off by lining three baking sheets with parchment paper, and then put them in the fridge to begin chilling if you want to speed things along later. Otherwise, simply set them aside.

Now, if you are using chocolate in bar form, you will need to roughly chop it up and add it to the semisweet chocolate chips. If you have milk chocolate chips, go ahead and stir the milk chocolate in with the semisweet bits. Next, layer the ingredients in the slow cooker in the following order: peanuts, almonds, chocolate, salt, and the vanilla syrup. Do not stir at this point! That will come into play later. Once your ingredients are all layered, it's time to move on to the next step.

Put the slow cooker on low, and allow it to cook untouched for 20 minutes. Then, remove the lid, and gently stir the mixture.

After you give it a good stir, put the lid back onto the slow cooker, and continue the cooking, checking on things and stirring every 20 minutes until the chocolate is fully melted. "The biggest thing to watch for with these is that you do not let them go too long without stirring," warns Olivieri, adding that not stirring "will cause the chocolate to scorch on the bottom of the slow cooker and result in a very dry, cracked chocolate. Stir, stir, stir every 20 minutes!"

When the hour is up, give one final stir to ensure all of the lovely ingredients are fully mixed and all of the nuts are coated in the chocolate.

Get excited, because the cooking is done! Now, you'll have to wait just a little bit longer before digging into these treats ... but first, it's time to do some scooping. Turn the slow cooker to the Keep Warm setting, and, using a small cookie scoop or a good old spoon, scoop out clusters onto those prepared baking sheets, leaving about an inch between each of the clusters. Then, put them in the fridge to harden, giving them at least a half hour, but ideally a whole hour to reach the right consistency. Then, you can finally enjoy!

This recipe yields 48 clusters, so you are bound to have some leftovers, which will be so much fun to break out and enjoy during the week. According to Olivieri, "As far as storing them [is concerned], always [use] the fridge to prevent the chocolate from melting. They will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for two weeks. You can even freeze them if you want to keep them longer — just remember to put them out at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before enjoying."