Crockpot christmas crack is a must-have gift for the holidays when you don’t have any time to make baked treats. Simply add chocolate and peanuts to your slow cooker and let the appliance melt everything for you. You will end up with lots of sweet and salty peanut clusters. They look fancy enough to be purchased from a candy store.
It’s wonderful to be able to use a crockpot rather than stand over a double boiler, carefully tempering the chocolate. The candy is easy and fun to make, which takes the stress out of the holiday season and you’ll have gorgeous looking homemade candy to give away to your neighbors. You can spend the hands-off crockpot time wrapping presents or enjoying a hot cup of cocoa.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
This candy has such a delightful texture with the combination of salty peanuts and sweet chocolate. It is the ideal recipe for a busy weekend in December when you need something great to bring to holiday parties but don’t want to make another batch of cookies. Slow cooking the chocolate gives the candy a smooth, glossy finish.
The best thing about these candies is that you don’t need to worry about cleanup! Because the chocolate melts in one pot, you don’t have to deal with scrubbing multiple dirty bowls and burnt saucepans after the party. These candies make holiday baking easy!
What You Need
In order to make this delicious holiday candy, you will need unsalted peanuts, salted peanuts, semi-sweet chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and white almond bark.
Peanuts
The combination of salted and unsalted peanuts provides a savory counterpoint to the sweetness of the chocolate. They add a nice crunch and make the clusters irresistible. In case someone in your household has an allergy, you can replace the peanuts with roasted almonds or pretzel chunks.
White Almond Bark
Almond bark provides a smooth base that allows the chocolate to melt evenly and sets the candy to a nice firm consistency at room temperature. Just break up the chunks of almond bark into smaller squares so they can melt more easily in the crockpot. You won’t find almond bark? No problem! Just use high-quality white chocolate melting wafers. They work just as well.
Peanut Butter Chips
Adding a bag of peanut butter chips adds a wonderful creamy nuttiness to this candy. They’ll melt beautifully into the semi-sweet chocolate, making a candy that tastes just like your favorite peanut butter cup. Feel free to swap the peanut butter chips for milk chocolate or dark chocolate if you’d like.
How to Make It
Follow these easy steps to let the slow cooker do your holiday candy-making for you tonight!
Layer the Ingredients
Add the salted and unsalted peanuts to the bottom of your large slow cooker. Add the semi-sweet chocolate chips and the peanut butter chips, then place the broken up almond bark on top.
Melt on Low
Cover the crockpot and set it to low. Allow the candy to melt on low heat for about an hour. Don’t open the lid!
Stir Until Smooth
After 1 hour, uncover the slow cooker and stir everything together thoroughly with a wooden spoon. Cover again and continue to cook for 15-30 minutes, checking every 5 minutes, until all the chocolate is completely smooth.
Scoop and Set
Lay out several sheets of parchment or wax paper on your counter. Use a small cookie scoop or two teaspoons to portion the melted chocolate mixture into individual bites. Allow to sit at room temperature until hardened, about 2 hours.
My Best Tips
Make sure the slow cooker is on the lowest setting to avoid burning the chocolate. All slow cookers are different, so pay attention to the candy while it’s melting for the last 15 minutes.
If you know you will be busy during the holidays, add a slow cooker liner before adding the ingredients. Then you can just toss the liner in the trash after you’re done and have no messy cleanup!
Top with sprinkles or coarse sea salt once you scoop them for a festive touch! Be sure to work fast when the chocolate is still warm so the decorations stick to the outside of the candies.
Crockpot Christmas Crack
Equipment
- Slow cooker
- Wooden spoon
- Parchment paper
- Cookie Scoop
Ingredients
- 1 jar unsalted peanuts 16 oz. jar
- 1 jar salted peanuts 16 oz. jar
- 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips 12 oz. bag
- 1 bag peanut butter chips 10 oz. bag
- 1 pkg. white almond bark 24 oz. pkg, broken into squares
Instructions
- Add the unsalted and salted peanuts to the bottom of your slow cooker in an even layer.
- Top with semi-sweet chocolate chips and peanut butter chips.
- Top with the broken pieces of white almond bark.
- Cover and cook on low for 1 hour without stirring.
- After 1 hour, stir the mixture well with a wooden spoon, cover again and cook for 15-30 more minutes or until smooth.
- Use a cookie scoop to portion out the mixture onto parchment paper and let sit at room temp until set.
Nutrition
Storage and Reheating
- To Store: Keep the hardened candy clusters in an airtight container at room temp or refrigerated for up to 3 weeks.
- To Freeze: Freeze the set candies in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 3 months.
- To Reheat: These candies should be eaten cold or at room temperature. No reheating needed!
Serving Suggestions
- Wrapped in holiday tins lined with tissue paper as a gift for neighbors.
- Displayed on a holiday dessert platter with other cookies and fruit.
- Paired with a cup of peppermint hot cocoa for a winter treat.
- Crumbled on top of a bowl of vanilla bean ice cream for a quick dessert.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use different types of chocolate chips?
Absolutely! You can switch out the chocolate chips for butterscotch chips, dark chocolate chips or mint chips. Just make sure you’re using the same amount of chips and almond bark as directed in the recipe to ensure they harden properly.
Why did my chocolate seize and get clumpy?
If any water drips into your slow cooker, the chocolate will seize. Make sure your slow cooker and spoon are 100% dry. This can also happen if you cook on too high of a heat, which is why it’s so important to cook on LOW.
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