Crockpot Cashew Clusters

12 Days of Sweets: Day 4

As a busy working mom I love finding ways to make cooking quicker and easier – and safe ways to get my kids involved! I love this cashew clusters recipe because I don’t have to worry about standing over a double boiler to temper chocolate and my daughter was able to help me with this recipe through almost every step. If you have little helpers in your kitchen then this would be a fun and safe way to get them involved in holiday treat making.

This might seem like a lot of almond bark to use, but it is a very important stabilizer in this recipe. Without it, the clusters would fall apart. The almond bark is the edible glue to all the beautiful chocolate you add to this recipe. Because there are so few ingredients I highly recommend using higher quality chocolate; it will just taste much better. Also, you may substitute all the dark chocolate for white chocolate if preferred.

I used my slow cooker to heat up the chocolate and almond bark. Simply setting it to warm let the chocolate melt, but not so quickly that it reached the scorching stage. I ended up stirring well about every 15 minutes and then turned the clusters out onto my silicone baking mats after an hour in the slow cooker. Depending on how large you make your clusters these can take a bit of time to set up at room temperature. If you need them to set up quicker you can pop them into the refrigerator. Sprinkles are not necessary; however, my daughter had so much fun decorating these. I do keep my clusters in the refrigerator until I’m ready to serve them, but they are shelf stable for up to a week.

Ingredients:

• 32 ounces of cashews
• 1 1/2 pounds of almond bark
• 24 ounces of dark chocolate baking chips
• 4 ounce dark chocolate baking bar
• Sprinkles or flaky sea salt (for topping – optional)

Method:

1. In a slow cooker, layer cashews , chocolate and almond bark and set to the warm setting.
2. Allow chocolate and almond bark to melt stirring at least every fifteen minutes.
3. Once the chocolate and almond bark has melted smooth stir to evenly coat cashews.
4. Drop clusters onto parchment paper or silicone baking mats for drying/setting-up (we make ours about 1/4 cup sized).
5. Top with sprinkles (if desired).
6. Allow to dry for at least four hours before enjoying.
7. Store leftovers in an airtight container in refrigerator for up to three weeks, or freeze until ready to use.