These slow cooker peanut clusters are the easiest holiday candy you’ll ever make! Simply layer three types of chocolate chips, creamy peanut butter, and peanuts in your crockpot, stir once or twice during cooking, then scoop the melted mixture onto baking sheets to set up. What makes our recipe special is the combination of dark chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, white chocolate, and a full cup of creamy peanut butter for a robust, natural peanut flavor. These are a dream come true for anyone who loves chocolate and peanut butter together!
This recipe is inspired by my old coworker and friend Lynn, who makes these for her family and friends every year (she calls them crockpot Christmas candy, and honestly, that name is spot on!). I absolutely loved that her version was heavy on the dark chocolate alongside two other types of chocolate. When I adapted her recipe, I swapped out the peanut butter chips for a full cup of creamy peanut butter to amp up that natural peanut flavor even more.
These peanut clusters are perfect for holiday gifting because the recipe makes a big batch with minimal effort and everyone LOVES them. You can dress them up with festive nonpareil sprinkles or keep them simple with just a light dusting of flaky sea salt. Either way, they taste amazing and look like you spent way more time on them than you actually did. Fair warning though: trying to eat just one is nearly impossible!
You’ll Love This Peanut Cluster Recipe
So incredibly easy. Your slow cooker does all the work! Just layer the ingredients, stir once or twice, and scoop onto lined baking sheets. No tempering chocolate or fancy techniques required!
Perfect for the chocolate and peanut butter lover. Three types of chocolate, a full cup of peanut butter, and two kinds of peanuts create the ultimate chocolate-peanut butter flavor combo in every bite.
Great for gifting. These make wonderful edible gifts for the holidays, especially when topped with festive sprinkles. Package them up in tins or cellophane bags for teachers, neighbors, and friends.
Feeds a crowd. This recipe makes a big batch, so it’s great for holiday parties, cookie exchanges, or when you need lots of treats.
Ingredients for Crockpot Peanut Clusters
- Unsalted peanuts and salted peanuts. Peanuts add crunch and nutty flavor, and using the combination of salted and unsalted adds just the right amount of salt to enhance the other flavors and bring that sweet-salty flavor people love without overdoing the salt.
- Dark chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips. With the favor a bit heavier on dark chocolate, these three types of chocolate work together to create the perfect balance of rich, deep chocolate flavor with just the right amount of sweetness and creaminess.
- Creamy peanut butter. The secret ingredient! A full cup of creamy peanut butter gives these clusters a robust, natural peanut flavor that’s so much better than using chips alone.
- Optional toppings: Nonpareil sprinkles or flaky sea salt. Add a festive touch or add an extra pop of salt.
All ingredient measurements and complete recipe details can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Helpful Equipment
You’ll need a large slow cooker (at least 6 quarts) for this recipe to fit all the ingredients comfortably. While you can use two spoons to scoop out your clusters, a small cookie scoop or medium cookie scoop makes portioning the clusters evenly way easier! You’ll also need baking sheets lined with wax paper or parchment paper for setting up the candy in the fridge.
Peanut Cluster Size Tip
I personally like to do a mix of smaller and larger clusters using my small cookie scoop and medium cookie scoop! The smaller sized clusters are a nice little bite-sized treat that’s great for tucking onto a cookie tray or bringing to a party when people may want to try lots of different things. As a stand-alone treat, like wrapping them up as an edible gift, the larger sized ones work great!
How to Make Peanut Clusters in a Crockpot
Layer the ingredients. Layer the peanuts in the basin of your large crockpot first, then add the different types of chocolate chips on top. Add dollops of the creamy peanut butter throughout (it will melt and blend in as everything cooks).
Cook on low. Cook on low for 1 hour and 30 minutes. The slow, gentle heat will melt all the chocolate evenly without burning.
Stir halfway through. After 45 minutes, give everything a good stir to start combining the melting chocolate. This helps ensure even melting.
Stir again at the end. At the end of the cook time, stir again until all the chocolate is completely melted and everything is well combined. If there are still unmelted chips, give it another 10 to 15 minutes (cooking times can vary depending on your slow cooker).
Scoop onto baking sheets. Use a small or medium cookie scoop to portion out the mixture onto wax paper or parchment paper lined baking sheets. Work fairly quickly since the mixture will start to thicken as it cools.
Add toppings if desired. If you want to add nonpareil sprinkles or a light sprinkle of flaky sea salt, do it right after scooping while the chocolate is still soft so they stick.
Let them set. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (or about an hour at room temperature) until the chocolate has completely set and the clusters are firm.
Enjoy! Remove from the baking sheets and store or package up to share with friends and family.
Christmas Crockpot Candy Variation Ideas
- Try different nuts. Swap out half the peanuts for cashews, almonds, or pecans for a different flavor profile.
- Add pretzels. Mix in some broken pretzel pieces for extra crunch and that sweet-salty combo.
- Add dried fruit. Stir in some dried cranberries, rough chopped dried cherries, or raisins for a fruity twist.
Possible Dietary Restrictions?
This peanut cluster recipe is gluten-free as written. Peanuts, chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and peanut butter are all naturally gluten-free as long as they don’t have any additives or are processed in facilities with cross-contamination. If you’re serving these to someone with celiac, selecting chocolate chips that are certified gluten-free is a good idea.
Make them dairy-free. Use dairy-free chocolate chips and skip the white chocolate chips (or use dairy-free white chips if you can find them).
I will usually reach for Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips when I need allergy-friendly chocolate chips.
Expert Tips for Making Crockpot Candy
Don’t skip the stirring. Those two stir times are important to ensure all the chocolate melts evenly and everything gets well combined. Set a timer so you don’t forget!
Line your baking sheets properly. Make sure to use wax paper or parchment paper on your baking sheets. Don’t skip this step or the clusters will get stuck to the pan and you’ll have a mess to deal with.
Use a cookie scoop for even sizing. A small or medium cookie scoop makes portioning so much easier and ensures all your clusters are roughly the same size.
How to Store Slow Cooker Peanut Clusters
At room temperature: Store the clusters in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Layer them with wax paper or parchment paper between each layer to prevent sticking.
In the refrigerator: If your house is warm or it’s summertime, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Let them sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes before eating for the best texture.
In the freezer: These freeze beautifully! Store in an airtight freezer-safe container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for about 30 minutes before enjoying. This is a great option if you want to make them ahead for holiday gifting.
Crockpot Peanut Cluster Recipe FAQs
You really need at least a 6-quart slow cooker for this recipe to fit all the ingredients. If you only have a smaller slow cooker, I’d recommend that you cut the recipe in half.
This usually means they just need a little more time to firm up. Pop them back in the refrigerator for another 30 minutes.
Creamy peanut butter works best because it melts smoothly and blends into the chocolate. But you could try crunchy peanut butter for extra texture if you’d like; just know that I haven’t tested it myself. The original recipe I adapted from my friend Lynn used peanut butter chips, but I found that using a full cup of creamy peanut butter gives you way more intense, natural peanut flavor! But if you’ve got PB chips, you can replace the peanut butter with one or two bags if desired.
This depends on the size of your cookie scoop, but you should get around 60 to 80 clusters from this recipe. It makes a big batch, which is great for gifting or feeding a crowd!
If more mix-ins makes your heart happy, go for it! Popular mix-in options for peanut clusters / Christmas candy include things like mini marshmallows, Rice Krispies cereal, crushed pretzels, or dried fruit like craisins. rough chopped dried cherries, or raisins. Just fold them in after everything is melted and combined, right before scooping.
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Chocolate Peanut Clusters in a Crockpot
Equipment
- 1 Cup Measuring Cup (for peanut butter)
- Rubber Scrapper -OR- Wooden Spoon (for stirring)
- Cookie Scoop -OR- two spoons (for portioning out, scooping clusters)
Ingredients
- 1 , 16 ounce container unsalted peanuts
- 1 , 16 ounce container salted peanuts
- 2 , 12 ounce packages dark chocolate chips* (60-75% cocoa)
- 1 , 12 ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips*
- 1 , 12 ounce package white chocolate chips*
- 1 Cup creamy peanut butter
Instructions
- Layer the ingredients in the basin of your crockpot, starting with the peanuts. Then add the different types of chocolate chips and dollops of the creamy peanut butter on top of them (everything will melt and blend together through the cooking process).
- Cover and cook on the LOW setting for 1 hour and 30-minutes, stirring halfway through (at the 40-45 minute mark). *Set a timer if you need to to remember to stir!
- Anytime during baking, line several baking pans with waxed paper or parchment paper. Set aside until ready to use.
- Stir again at the end of the cook time to ensure all the chocolates are melted and everything is well combined.*If there are still some unmelted chips, add another 10-15 minutes of cooking time (everyone's slow cooker is different).
- Scoop portions of the peanut cluster mixture onto your prepared baking sheets. Using a cookie scoop helps make even sized clusters, but you can also use two spoons to do this.*I like to set the slow cooker to the KEEP WARM setting during scooping so I don't have to rush. Otherwise you need to work fairly quickly since the mixture will start to thicken as it cools.
- Add toppings if desired (optional). If you want to add nonpareil sprinkles or a light dusting of flaky sea salt, do it right after scooping while the chocolate is still soft.
- Let them set. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (or about an hour at room temperature) until the chocolate has completely set and the clusters are firm.
Notes
- Try different nuts. Swap out half the peanuts for cashews, almonds, or pecans for a different flavor profile.
- Add pretzels. Mix in some broken pretzel pieces for extra crunch and that sweet-salty combo.
- Add dried fruit. Stir in some dried cranberries, rough chopped dried cherries, or raisins for a fruity twist.
Meredith says
These are simply a delight! Perfect sweet and salty treat that’s so darn easy to make.