Chocolate Peanut Clusters

Creamy and crunchy, salty and sweet –here’s some nuttiness wrapped up in a blanket of chocolate making for smiles all around! It’s a vintage candy recipe that’s so simple, even a novice in the world of candy making can whip up a batch and have it ready for sharing in no time at all.

Making candy can be tricky, especially when the weather doesn’t cooperate. The rainy weekend forced a rearrangement in my schedule that I had mapped out for holiday cooking. Going back through my Mom’s recipes I ran across this treat, one so simplistic it seemed crazy not to give it a try. The list of ingredients is short, literally three starting with chocolate chips. Melt the chocolate with a touch of vegetable shortening, creating a silky coating, perfect for enveloping every last one of those salted peanuts.

Drop the chocolate covered peanuts into large or small bites, give them a chill to set up and you’re done.

Let it rain, let it snow – this is one candy that defies the weatherman and will turn out beautifully!

Chocolate Peanut Clusters

2 cups bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips, one 12-ounce package

1 tablespoon vegetable shortening

1-½ cups roasted and lightly salted peanuts

Pour the chocolate chips into the top of a double boiler set over simmering water on a medium-low burner. Add the vegetable shortening.

Allow the chocolate to slowly melt, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in the peanuts, blending to coat well.

Using a spoon, drop the chocolate covered peanuts onto a baking sheet lined with a Silpat liner or parchment paper. Make the clusters as large or as small as you like.

Chill the candy for about 30 minutes to allow the chocolate to set up. Makes 20 large chocolate peanut clusters or 30 small clusters.