Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Sticks and Stones Candy Clusters

These little clusters contain pretty much everything that I require for my perfect dessert: chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch, peanuts, and pretzels. In other words, they are like LITTLE BITES OF HEAVEN.

And best of all? They literally took about 5 minutes to make. They were so, so easy -- no baking required, just cooling time. I could barely wait for them to cool long enough before I dug in. Joe and I (and Andrew, but to a much lesser extent) ate the whole batch in 3 days. I omitted the chocolate-covered raisins called for in the original recipe and added an extra cup of peanuts, and we just loved these treats. They would be a wonderful last-minute addition to your treat trays!

Sticks and Stones Candy Clusters
source: adapted from Allrecipes

1 1/3 cups butterscotch chips
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups thin pretzel sticks
3 cups dry roasted peanuts

1. Butter a 9 x 13 inch glass baking dish.

2. Microwave butterscotch chips, chocolate chips, and peanut butter in large, microwave-safe bowl on high power for 1 minute; stir. Microwave at additional 10- to 20-second intervals, stirring until smooth.

3. Add pretzels and peanuts; stir well to coat. Spread into prepared baking dish.

4. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Break into bite-size pieces.

3 comments:

Deborah said...

I thought I was sweeted out, but these sound really good right now!

Sonya said...

oooh yummie! I love the salty/chocolate combo..makes my mouth water just looking at the photo..lol

Debbie said...

They look delicious Cassie. I've had something similar recently and can eat these at any time!!!