Cluster Query
January 12th, 2013 | 
Author: We are considering doing various kinds of chocolate clusters for a fundraiser at our church. Probably milk, white and dark chocolate. I guess some plain, some with nuts, coconut, Rice Krispies… SO…1. Do you think this would be a good project before Easter? 2. What kinds of clusters have you made or tried that you would recommend? 3. With the chocolate melting disks costing $2.50 a lb. what would you charge for 1/2 lb. boxes? 4. Would you use the melting disks? We have made chocolate with various Easter egg-type fillings before, which were quite labor intensive. It would seem these wouldn’t be quite so much work and still be good.
Thank you for any input. It would not be good to put all the time and money into it if we don’t get it right!
Posted in * Recipe Requests
I’d use different types of nuts so you have a good variety. I like the coconut and rice Krispies too.
Some people like raisins in chocolate too but that may not be as popular. I’ve seen clusters with those chow mein noodles but those don’t may not seem very Easter-ish.
Might be fun to drizzle some of the white chocolate on the others too.
I’m not sure about the melting disks versus real chocolate – are they as rich in flavor?
I make various chocolate clusters often, usually with milk chocolate (Dove), and sometimes with semi-sweet (Ghirardelli). I simply melt the chocolate and drop in roasted peanuts or almonds, stir, then drop onto parchment or foil-lined pans, and chill to set.
These chocolate caramel clusters are fantastic. I make them with both peanuts and pecans, and I double the amount of chocolate. Also I keep the heat at 240 F for the caramel (the recipe says to go to 245 F in the second step, but it gets too hard, so I keep it at 240 and it’s perfect):
PECAN AND CARAMEL CHOCOLATE CLUSTERS
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup pecan halves
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup (I used light)
1 cup butter
1 cup heavy whipping cream
6 oz. milk chocolate baking bars, melted (I used 12 oz Dove)
DIRECTIONS:
Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
Cut the pecans in half lengthwise and arrange to form small circles (about 1 1/2″ in diameter).
Cook the sugar, dark corn syrup, butter and 1/2 cup of cream in a saucepan. Stir occasionally over low heat, until the sugar has dissolved. Increase heat to medium and stir continuously until the temperature reaches 240°F (NOTE: This may take 15-20 min).
Remove the pan from heat and stir in the remaining cream. Heat again and stir continuously until the temperature reaches 245°F.
Pour the caramel mixture into a 9″ pan lined with foil and let it cool approximately 2 minutes. Spoon caramel mixture over each pecan circle.
Melt chocolate according to the melting instructions for your chocolate. Spread melted chocolate over each cluster. Chill 10 minutes, then let stand at room temperature until the chocolate is firm.
Store tightly covered at room temperature. (I kept it chilled).
Yields 24 pieces
From Ghirardelli Pecan and Caramel Chocolate Clusters recipe inside the Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Baking Bar wrapper
http://cookingontheside.com/homemade-candy-week-pecan-caramel-chocolate-clusters/
PECAN AND CARAMEL CHOCOLATE CLUSTERS
I still can’t figure out how to edit my posts, so here’s what I forgot to add: I keep these chilled instead of at room temperature.
Oh, never mind, I see that I did add it in my original notes!
For Christmas one of the things we make is called hay stacks. Mix Chow mein noodles with nuts, dried fruit and/or candy bits. Pour melted chocolate over it and mix. The dried fruit and candy bits should be about the size of raisins. DW also uses coconut. I don’t care for sweetened coconut so I don’t. Don’t know the measurements, this is one of the things that we make by sight. Handfull of this, small handfull of that…. Once mixed, shape and put on waxed paper to dry. Store in an airtight container.
Found a recipe that is kind of like what we make, but we use lot of other kinds of mixes, and we buy the big plastic bags filled with the noodles. We also use only one type of chocolate at a time. Usually almond bark, both the chocolate and white.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/haystacks-ii/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=haystacks&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe
hope this helps
I saw this on Trisha Yearwood’s Food Network show. I have not tried them, but they sound and looked yummy. She did not say how many the recipe makes, but it appears there will be a lot.
Slow Cooker Chocolate Candy
2 pounds salted dry-roasted peanuts
4 ounces German’s sweet chocolate (about 4 squares)
One 12 ounce package semisweet chcolate chips (about 2 cups)
2 1/2 pounds white almond bark
Directions:
Put the peanuts in the bottom of a 4 quart slow cooker. Layer the chocolate over the peanuts, beginning with the sweet chocolate, followed by the chips and then the bark. Set the temperature on low and cook for 3 hours. Do not stir the mixture.
After 3 hours, stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until smooth. Drop the candy into cupcake pan liners using about 2 tablespoons per liner. (I would probably use mini cup liners). Allow the candy to cool completely before removing the liners.
Kez, I’ll bet those are delicious. They are almost the same as this one I made…really, really good…Here’s the one I made for comparison with the contributor’s note:
“You can use this simple recipe to make a big batch of chocolate candy without a lot of fuss,” assures Doris Reynolds of Munds Park, Arizona. “I’ve sent these clusters to my husband’s office a number of times…and passed the recipe along as well.”
21 ServingsPrep: 10 min. + standing Cook: 2 hours
Ingredients
2 pounds white candy coating, broken into small pieces
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
4 ounces German sweet chocolate, chopped
1 jar (24 ounces) dry roasted peanuts
Directions
In a 3-qt. slow cooker, combine the candy coating, chocolate chips
and German chocolate. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat
to low; cover and cook 1 hour longer or until melted, stirring every
15 minutes.
Stir in peanuts. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper. Let stand
until set. Store at room temperature. Yield: 3-1/2 dozen.
Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (2 each) equals 521 calories, 35 g fat (17 g saturated fat), trace cholesterol, 265 mg sodium, 51 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 9 g protein.
© Taste of Home 2012
Thanks, Sherry, for the comparison recipe. I hope to make some candies for Valentine’s Day and think there are so many to choose from here. Mmmmmmmmmmm good!
Kez, that recipe looks so easy and I bet it is rich and delicious! Thanks.
Meryl, do you think honey would work in place of the corn syrup in your recipe? Or maybe a simple sugar syrup?
Hi Sherry,
I like your cluster idea but I think you might be a bit over zealous with trying to please too many people. While admirable that you want to please so many people, you would be creating way too much work for yourself. I would suggest that you choose only 3 or 4 different kinds. Maybe having several different people making them. I’d choose a milk chocolate, dark or semi-sweet chocolate and nut free options of both.
This recipe is one my Mom used to make us when we were kids. They are quick to make and you can use various different additions. This is a wheat free and egg free recipe so it’s got that going for it. I generally keep these chilled but don’t know how they would hold up at room temperature. These come out closer to a semi-sweet chocolate. The oats and coconut could probably be substituted for various other items, like nuts, chopped dried fruit, rice krispies etc. If you come up with a great new combination, I’d love to hear about it.
OAT DELIGHTS
2 cups sugar
6 Tbsp. (slightly heaping) cocoa
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup coconut
3 cups quick cooking, rolled oats
Line 2 cookie sheets with foil.
Premeasure oats and coconut. Set aside.
In a 4 quart saucepan combine sugar, cocoa and milk.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat (Use the large burner if using an electric stove) stirring slowly. Let boil 1 minute.
Remove from heat. When boiling subsides, stir in vanilla. Add coconut and oats; stirring well to coat.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared sheets. Chill for at least one hour to set and keep refrigerated.
Makes about 24 cookies.
NOTE: Using a large pot is necessary as the chocolate mixture needs the space to boil. Anything smaller will have a overflow problem.
I totally agree Marian. At this point, we are looking at all the possibilites and then will narrow it down to just a few. Your recipe looks good too! Will copy and save it now Thank you!
Sherry,
Corn syrup is essential for preventing crystallization, so I wouldn’t replace it.
Sherry,
Sorry, I meant this for Becky.
Meryl, thanks for the answer. Since I’m allergic to corn, I hoped I could try something else. Honey would definitely crystallize so I think I’m out of luck! Thanks.
Sorry, I meant to reply to YOU, Becky! That’s what happens when one is in a hurry!
Becky, I did a little research, and found this info from David Lebovitz:
“Corn Syrup FAQs
Why do some recipes have corn syrup in them?
Corn syrup is an invert sugar, which means that it prevents sugar crystals from forming. Microscopically, sugar has jagged edges and when you melt it, sugar liquefies. But if you keep cooking it to a syrup, those jagged edged-fellas want to re-attach themselves to others. Corn syrup acts as interfering agent, which ‘interfere’ with that process. Honey, agave, and the like, don’t have the same properties.
If making a caramel, and a recipe calls for corn syrup, you can substitute a dash of lemon juice or cream of tartar, which performs nearly the same function.”
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/01/why-and-when-to-use-or-not-use-c/
Meryl, thank you for the research. I may experiment with that recipe one of these days and see what happens. Not being able to have anything with corn products in it really limits me.
Thanks so much for taking the time to find that information.
You’re very welcome, Becky!
Sherry, Have you ever used any nuts other than peanuts in your slow cooker recipe? What do you think about almonds or cashews?
Kez, I’ve actually only made it melting the chocolate in a casserole over low simmering water in an electric skillet. I think any nuts would be good. I just really liked the combination of chocolates a lot. Of all the clusters I had made at that time, these were my favorite. As for selling them for any profit, I think the ingredients are too expensive for that. If you try other nuts, let us know. I just plain like nuts of all kinds!
Thank you, Sherry. I will let you know if I use other nuts. I will be making them for Valentine’s Day.