I love making this homemade candy for the holidays as they’re easy to make festive with colorful sprinkles and they make for a delightful edible gift at that time of the year. They also last quite a while (if you don’t eat them all in one sitting!), so they’re great to have around for any last-minute visitors dropping by. If you want another fun holiday treat, then try my toffee recipe, peanut brittle recipe, or potato candy recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Peanuts — I used both salted and unsalted peanuts in the recipe for the perfect salty and sweet combination with the chocolate. However, you can use just one if you prefer. I find using both to be a nice balance of saltiness. Chocolate chips — I highly recommend buying good quality chocolate chips. I use Ghirardelli chocolate chips as they melt down extremely easily and with a super creamy texture. I use semi-sweet chocolate chips, as milk chocolate chips add a little too much sweetness. German chocolate — this is a sweet chocolate that is similar to semi-sweet chocolate. If you cannot find a German chocolate bar, use semi-sweet chocolate in its place. Almond bark — did you know that there is no almond in almond bark? Almond bark is essentially a block of vanilla-flavored white candy coating. You can use melting wafers as a substitute, but I like white almond bark as it melts easily and sets up quickly.
How to Make Crockpot Candy
- Spread the salted and unsalted peanuts in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Layer in order on top with the chocolate chips, German chocolate, and almond bark pieces. Do not stir. Cover with the lid and cook on low heat for 2 hours.
- Stir until well combined. Turn off the heat.
- Spoon the mixture into mounds on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Decorate the tops with holiday sprinkles or flaked sea salt, if desired. Let stand until cooled and set for about 4 hours, or refrigerate for 1 hour.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
As this crockpot candy only requires five ingredients, I recommend buying good-quality ingredients for the best-tasting results! When removing the lid of the melted chocolate and peanuts, be careful not to get any liquid, such as condensation from the lid, into the slow cooker. Water can cause melted chocolate to seize. Some slow cookers run hotter than others. Keep an eye on your pot nearing the halfway point and the end to ensure the chocolate is not burning. Work in batches if you want to decorate the tops of the crockpot candies with sprinkles or flaked salt. Add the toppings after you spoon out the mounds, as once they’ve set, the toppings won’t stick. You can swap some of the semi-sweet chocolate chips for dark chocolate chips for a bit of bitterness or you could even use peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, or white chocolate chips to change things up. To add a bit of crunch you can add rice krispies or toffee bits.
If you’ve tried this easy Crockpot Candy recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
