This recipe comes together easily. Chocolate-dipped, Chewy Caramel Clusters Recipe filled with pieces of toasted walnuts & pecans.
Silence. Isn’t it beautiful? I can finally hear myself breathe. I no longer have to wake up at 3:45 in the morning to the ear-drum-piercing sound of my iPod. I no longer have to neglect my warm bed in exchange for a frigid twenty-minute walk to the train station. First semester has finally ended, and I am glad that I can oversleep without worrying that I might be late for class. An entire month to sweat over things that have nothing to do with school work – “If these cookies don’t come out the same size after they are done baking, I think I might have a stroke.” (And then there’s these walnut pecan clusters. Deliciously perfect in every way.)
So, to celebrate, I am not opening a cold bottle of ginger ale (although, now that I think about it, might not be a bad idea). Instead, I am giving you a cleaner-looking site and some delicious Walnut Pecan Clusters to munch on. I couldn’t help myself! Well, I could have, but I used the excuse of pregnancy to do all of this for you. Don’t ask.
After having my first pecan cluster three months ago, I immediately felt as if I was deprived as a child. How dare my parents keep me away from a chocolate-covered, chewy caramel bites laden with pieces of pecans. How dare they. You hear that mom and dad? How dare you not feed me tons of sugar and chocolate as a child!
My dear friends, if you were as deprived (in this respect) as a child, fear not- you can have some of my walnut pecan clusters, and then you can make some at home. Deal? These chocolate-dipped, chewy caramel bites are laden with pieces of toasted walnuts and pecans that will leave your eyes rolling back, as you take your first bite.
These are dangerously delicious and only require so much as your love, care, and a candy thermometer. So, get to candy making, and remember- sugar can get very hot, so be careful!
Walnut Pecan Clusters
I prefer this recipe with Valrhona Manjari chocolate (which works especially well), but a 52- 54% Callebaut chocolate, or ghirardelli chocolate chips also work well. If you prefer to cover the clusters entirely in chocolate, be sure to melt 12 ounces of chocolate, instead of 6 ounces.
If you do not have a non-stick baking mat, no worries, used a piece of parchment paper sprayed with non-stick cooking spray (be sure not to use the cooking spray with flour).
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup whole milk
- ½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- ¼ cup water
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 4 ½ ounces (1 heaping cup) walnut pieces / halves, toasted
- 4 ½ ounces (1 heaping cup) pecan pieces / halves, toasted
- 2 ½ ounces (5 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 ounces (¾ cup) bittersweet chocolate / semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
Instructions
- Bring 1 ½ cups sugar, the milk, and the salt to a boil in a small saucepan. Stir the mixture just until the sugar dissolves. Once the mixture comes to a boil, remove it from the heat (the mixture may look separated).
- Bring the water and ¾ cup of sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan** over medium-high heat. Wash the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Cook, undisturbed until the sugar begins to turn light gold, about 5 minutes. Swirl the pan, then cook until caramel turns amber, about two-minutes. Immediately remove pan from heat. Carefully stir in the milk mixture (liquid may bubble up, be careful!), the the walnuts and pecans. Place the pan over medium heat, and cook, stirring often, until the caramel registers between 242ºF (117ºC) and 248ºF on a candy thermometer, about 7 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat, and stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Continue stirring until the caramel cools and becomes very thick and some-what difficult to stir, about 10 minutes. Drop small mounds of caramel onto a baking sheet lined with a nonstick baking mat (read head notes), and let cool.
- Place melted chocolate in a medium bowl. Using an offset spatula or a spoon, dip the bottom of each cluster into chocolate. Leaving the top partially un-dipped (read head notes). Place the dipped caramel clusters on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Once each of the clusters is dipped in the chocolate, use the remaining chocolate to drizzle over the top of the clusters.
- Allow the clusters to stand until the chocolate is set.
Notes
Please avoid using a pan with a non-stick coating, as it may be damaged by the high heat and the coating could leach into the caramel.
The clusters will keep, covered for up to five days.
Adapted from Martha Stewart Living, December 2008 (page 226)
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 104Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 57mgCarbohydrates: 21gFiber: 0gSugar: 21gProtein: 0g
23 Comments
El
December 25, 2010 at 3:00 pmCongratulations on being done- it goes by quickly. The website and the candy look amazing. Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Kim, ORMG
December 25, 2010 at 3:14 pmHi Kam!!! It’s so good to hear from you and glad you got through your 1st semester, Congrats!!!! Also on the new look for the site and your wonderful clusters, fortunately for me, my mom had a bigger sweet tooth than me so I grew up on chocolate, can never get enough of it either! HUGS to ya!
Kim
Tokyo Terrace
December 25, 2010 at 4:54 pmI LOVE pecan clusters! My mom grew up in Tennessee and this seems to be a favorite in the south, so she introduced me early on. Sorry you did not get the same experience, but glad you came up with a great recipe to share. Also, I’m so happy you made it through your first semester of college! Congrats and enjoy the R & R :)
Brian @ A Thought For Food
December 26, 2010 at 12:29 amPregnancy would be quite the accomplishment! I’d be very impressed (though more than a little horrified).
These clusters look delightful!!! And I told you I am loving the new design.
Hope you have a great weekend!
kamran
December 26, 2010 at 12:40 amEl – Thanks so much! Same to you! :)
Kim – Thank you! And my mom has quite the sweet tooth, but the lady kept my sister and I away from the stuff because we were a little off the walls. Just a little.
Rachael– I hope that I can constructively use that time to a) get rid of these dark bags under my eyes and b) write, photograph, and share more recipes on here. Let’s see how it all goes.
Brian – Hehe! And thank you for the kind comment about the design; I am so glad that I am finally happy with a design that I made for this site.
deeba
December 26, 2010 at 7:20 amSweet dreams sleeping beauty…wow…sounds like such a relief! And what better way to celebrate than this. Happy Holidays dear K!
Barbara @ Vino Luci Style
December 26, 2010 at 11:04 amFirst, love the treats; it does seem a decidedly southern specialty that I recall from my years in North Carolina…and a decidedly good one too!
Second. Yeah, sure, right you’re happy with the design. Let’s just say…for now, OK?
Third; so you went the the pregnancy excuse after all. So excited to see you pull this one off. And get back to school in a month. Not asking too much, right?
Enjoy your time off. Now you know why college students get a one month break, use it wisely, sleep a lot and yes blog a bit more!
kamran
December 26, 2010 at 11:55 amBarb- you know me oh too well.
Lauren
December 26, 2010 at 6:44 pmI’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the new design is gorgeous! These clusters though? Oh my. They look so darling, and like the perfect treat.
Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction
December 26, 2010 at 7:54 pmAs always, your site looks stunning and fabulous! You have so much more energy than I do. I can barely deal with one redesign a year. :)
PS – Those walnut pecan clusters look mighty good. :)
Heather (Heather's Dish)
December 27, 2010 at 12:12 amwalnuts were the first nuts i fell in love with…i think they are still my favorites too!
Aparna
December 27, 2010 at 12:20 amWhat’s not to love about nuts and chocolate? :)
Seasons greetings and best wishes for a happy new year.
Alison Moore Smith
December 27, 2010 at 5:57 amYum. Haven’t I had enough chocolate this week? Um…no.
Maria
December 27, 2010 at 11:33 amWhat a sweet and tasty treat! Happy Holidays to you!
Sheena
December 27, 2010 at 11:59 amHi Kamran, new reader here! Lovely site you have. I am in love with your photos and your writing; they are fantastic! I made your recipe and it was truly an “eyes roll back” experience. I actually made Martha’s recipe for Pecan Clusters a while back and I always felt that there was something missing. Thanks for sharing such a perfect recipe with us!
-Sheena
christelle is flabbergasting
December 27, 2010 at 1:36 pmOuh-ouh! Enjoy the holiday season! And thanks for the recipe: it sounds like a great and easy homemade gift for food lovers! And congrats for the new design of your website! :)
Lora @cakeduchess
December 27, 2010 at 9:11 pmI found you in Twitter and was anxious to see this yummy dessert! Love it and your site is cool! Hope you have a wonderful New Year!!
heidi leon
December 29, 2010 at 12:39 amthese walnut-pecan-clusters sound to me like PELIGRO!!! (to my waist :-D ). I think if I start dieting ahora, I might be able to enjoy these beauties on february ;-b
…but I loved the recipe and the writing..( “..Cook, undisturbed until…”) and I´m liking so much the new site design.
Oh and Happy Holidays Kam!. Te deseo lo mejor para el 2011. Besos
kamran
December 29, 2010 at 2:59 amLauren, Jen, Christelle- Thank you! You all are too kind.
Sheena- what a kind note. Thank you! :) And I am so glad that someone tried the recipe! So glad that you liked it! :)
Heidi- gracias, señora! Once you bite into one of these; they immediately become dangerous. They are absolutely heavenly.
Nisrine
December 30, 2010 at 9:32 pmKamran, your posts always make me smile. I love to hear the child in you.
The new blog look is awesome. Totally clean and hip. Totally you :)
Ihsana. j
January 6, 2011 at 2:06 amHI! Im new around here…
While reading your post, the aroma of the clusters entered through my computer screen. . . Great post!
Jen Yu
January 10, 2011 at 9:44 pmDear Kamran, please fish me out of the spam filter… thanks.