The name alone is drool worthy, don’t you think?

Going through one of my mother’s old cookbooks, I found this recipe tucked within the pages.  Actually her recipe is called peanut clusters.  Since I wanted to try walnuts, and perhaps next time, pecans, thought it would be better to generalize.

Any kind of nut would work beautifully in this recipe, including peanuts.  Nice too, that you can use salted or unsalted nuts.

Mom’s recipe says to drizzle chocolate over the caramel and nut clusters, but I found it easier to put each into the chocolate for a more even coating.

The other tip I discovered is to keep the caramel hot while scooping by spoonfuls.  You want the clusters to be fairly flat, otherwise the caramel may be harder to chew.  If it is warm as you dish each up, you can shape them easily as you drop each piece onto the pan.

They set up in no time at all, ready to eat or to share.  They would make a lovely homemade gift to give a teacher or to take to a hostess of a get together.  For the coming holidays, these will make a yummy addition.  Delicious, nutty and chewy.

Want to try something different?  Try white chocolate or milk chocolate chips. No matter which you use, you will be pleased to see how easy they are to make.

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Caramel Nut Clusters

Rating  5 from 1 reviews

Serves: 12 to 18

Ingredients

• 24 vanilla caramels
• 1 cup salted or unsalted walnuts
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate pieces

Instructions

1. Melt caramels in a double boiler over hot water.
2. When softened enough, stir in walnuts until well coated.
3. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with oil.
4. Flatten as you drop them
5. Melt chocolate chips.
6. Drizzle each cluster with chocolate, or dip into chocolate to coat.
7. Let the clusters set 5 to 10 minutes. You can refrigerate them to set faster.
8. Makes 12 to 18.

3.3.3077

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Merry Citarella, often writing as Merrci, writes on a wide range of topics. Recently relocated to the Oregon Coast in the northwest United States, she frequently writes travel features on the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She specializes in health and aging, Alzheimer’s Disease, food, lifestyle, and book reviews. For more information you can see her on The Writers’Door. You can read more articles here or at her websites Mystery Suspense Reviews .