Hello friends! Today’s recipe is super easy and delicious! We are making Pecan Clusters with caramel and chocolate!
This is one of my favorite treats ever, and can be yours too! Ready in just 30 minutes, these Pecan Clusters are super easy to make, and sure to please!
Plus they are super easily customizable, I actually made these last week with macadamias and white chocolate, same process, just different ingredients. You can use walnuts, cashews, and also use any chocolate you want.
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I used semi-sweet chocolate, but feel free to use milk chocolate, or dark chocolate! Use your favorite!
So here we go, without further ado, let’s learn how to make these Easy Pecan Clusters!
Start by laying out clusters of pecans on top of a baking sheet. My clusters had 3-4 pecans each, depending on the size of the pecans, and if they were halved or whole.
You can also use a mini cupcake silicone pan to do this. That’s how I made my macadamia clusters, actually. Using a silicone pan will make it easier to later on remove the candies once they have set. This is the pan I use.
Anyway, after laying out clusters of your favorite nut, place unwrapped caramel candies in a microwave-safe bowl, along with a bit of heavy cream.
Microwave the mixture for 15 second increments, stirring in between, until the caramel is melted and incorporated with the heavy cream.
Now, you want to act quickly, since the caramel starts to harden back up within a few minutes.
Pour a bit of caramel over each pecan cluster.
Wait for the caramel to harden up, which should take a few minutes.
Then, melt the chocolate, whichever kind you are using, dark, milk, semi-sweet, or even white.
And use a spoon or a piping bag to pour some chocolate over each caramel cluster.
Let the Pecan Clusters chill in the fridge for about 10 minutes, and they should be set.
Store in the fridge, because of the heavy cream that was added to the caramel. And always remove from the fridge a few minutes before serving so the caramel has a chance to soften up slightly.
These Pecan Clusters can be a great addition to your cookie exchange ideas, cookie boxes, holiday treats! They can be made one week ahead, or even frozen for up to 2 months. Make sure to thaw them before serving.
Here are some more ideas for your holiday cookie boxes:
- Almond Cherry Bars
- Dulce de Leche Thumbprint Cookies
- Fudge Linzer Cookies
- Salted Caramel Whoopie Pies
- Homemade Oreo Cookies
- Orange Cranberry Madeleines
- Coconut Fudge Truffles
Thank you so much for reading my blog and for all the support! If you make this or any of my recipes, please tag me on instagram! Have a lovely day!
Pecan Clusters
Ingredients
Pecan Clusters
-
1 1/4
cup
pecans
4.6 oz, 130 grams -
1 1/4
cup
unwrapped soft caramel candies
6 oz, 170 grams -
1/2
tablespoon
heavy cream -
2/3
cup
chocolate
chopped (4 oz, 113 grams)*
Instructions
Pecan Clusters
-
In a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone mat, spread out about 18-20 clusters with 3-4 pecans each. The amount of pecans per cluster will depend on the size of the pecans you are using and whether they are halved or whole. I used halved pecans, and most clusters had 3 nuts, but some clusters had 4 because the pecans were smaller. You can also use a mini cupcake silicone pan to do this, since it will fit perfectly 3-4 pecans in each hole, and the silicone will make it easy to pluck the candies out later.
-
Place the unwrapped caramel candies in a microwave safe bowl along with the heavy cream.
-
Microwave mixture for 15 second-intervals, stirring in between, until the caramel is entirely melted and incorporated with the cream.
-
Use a spoon to pour small amounts of caramel over clusters of pecans, distributing it evenly between all the nuts.
-
Let it set for a few minutes.
-
Melt the chocolate in the microwave for 15 second intervals, stirring in between, until completely melted and smooth.
-
Pour chocolate over candies, distributing evenly between all clusters. You can use a spoon to do this. Or you can also place the chocolate in a piping bag, and pipe it over the pecans.
-
Let candies rest until the chocolate and the caramel set and dry. You can place them in the fridge to speed this up.
Storage
-
Store nuts in the fridge for up to 1 week, but make sure to take them out a few minutes before serving, so the caramel has a chance to soften up.
-
You can also store the Pecan Clusters in the freezer for up to 2 months. Just thaw it in the fridge overnight or for a few hours before serving.
Recipe Notes
*You can use milk, dark, semi-sweet, whatever you prefer.
Receita maravilhosa, ideal pra comer sem compromisso com a pressa, apreciando cada pedaço, parabéns Ca!!!!!!!!!
Obrigada pai💜
Oh my, my mouth is watering. I need to make these – so easy!
thanks Laura
Unwrapped? Plastic from the caramel? Please advise
Those individually wrapped soft caramel candies you buy at the store, like kraft caramel or werther’s.