This week, I was able to make a veganized version of chocolate almond walnut clusters and they’re so good! We think they’re as good as my old non-vegan peanut cluster recipe. I’ve always made chocolate peanut clusters as Christmas gifts for family and friends. I was almost able to veganize them this past Christmas, but the store-bought peanut butter chips had milk whey listed in the ingredients. Since I was making them for non-vegans, I didn’t worry about it. But, Mr. Key Lime and I wanted to find a way to make vegan chocolate nut clusters for us.
So this Valentine’s Day, I made Homemade Peanut Butter Chips to melt with along with the vegan dark chocolate chips. Perfect!
The peanut butter chips are made with only three ingredients, so everything can be stirred up, popped into the freezer and ready to go in one half hour.
The one challenge I found with these peanut butter chips is the need to freeze/refrigerate the chocolate clusters, due to the use of the “softer” peanut butter chips. With these peanut butter chips, the trays of chocolate clusters just need to be popped into the freezer for around five minutes. After a half hour or so out of the freezer, they will re-soften to the point of you getting chocolate on your fingers. But, most of the time with guests, the chocolate clusters will be gone before a half hour passes, so no worries there.
I always buy raw organic nuts and they need to be roasted before adding them to the recipe. You can use any nuts that you would like. In the past, I’ve used roasted salted peanuts. It’s up to you! If you use raw nuts, to roast them, preheat your oven to 350 F. Spread the nuts in one layer on one or two baking sheets. Place the baking sheet(s) with the nuts into the oven for 8 to 12 minutes, tossing the nuts to rotate halfway through. For this recipe, once the nuts have cooled, break the walnut halves into 1/2-inch pieces. The almonds will be fine if left whole.
If you think you would like saltier nuts in the clusters, sprinkle the nuts with fine grain sea salt before roasting. Or bake the nuts plain and use large grain salt to sprinkle on the top of the clusters when they are still soft.
It might seem counter productive to make the peanut butter chips, freeze them and then melt them with the chocolate chips, when you could just pour them into the chocolate chips while still liquid. One of the reasons I freeze them is so the consistency of the two kinds of chips will be the same before melting. I can also mix the two types of chips in the mixing bowl while they are still unmelted, for evenness. And, finally, I like the idea of melting the coconut oil in the peanut chips a second time for a good blended smoothness. If you make these without first freezing the peanut butter chips mixture, let me know how it works out!
This recipe makes 2 to 3 dozen chocolate clusters, 2 to 3 inches in size. You can make them smaller for more, or larger for fewer clusters.
I’m so happy to have this recipe to make every year now for the holidays! I hope your family enjoys them at your celebrations, too.
| Prep Time | 1 hour |
| Servings |
clusters
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- 2 cups raw organic almonds roasted (or other roasted nuts, salted or unsalted)
- 2 cups raw organic walnuts roasted (or other roasted nuts, salted or unsalted)
- 2 cups vegan peanut butter chips recipe link above
- 3 cups vegan dark chocolate chips I use Nestle Simply Delicious Semi-Sweet Morsels
- 2 pinches ground cinnamon or to taste, if desired
Ingredients
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- Make one batch of Homemade Peanut Butter Chips (recipe link above - takes a few minutes to blend the three ingredients and then 30 minutes to freeze.)
- Roast (directions above) and cool (or purchase) roasted nuts. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the homemade peanut butter chips and the vegan dark chocolate chips. Sprinkle two pinches of cinnamon around on top of the chips.
- Microwave the chips on high setting for 45 seconds, then stir, moving melted chips from the outside of the bowl to the middle with a spatula. Continue heating the chips in 30 to 45 second intervals, stirring between each time, until only a few chip lumps remain. Those last chips will melt while the bowl stands on the counter for 1 minute after microwaving the last time.
- To the melted mixture, add 4 total cups of nuts, one cup at a time, stirring the chocolate with a spatula until all nuts are thoroughly coated. Taste at this time to see if you want to add more cinnamon and add one more pinch if desired.
- Line your kitchen counter with about a five feet length of wax paper.
- Using a spoon, place the nut and chocolate mixture onto the wax paper one spoonful at a time, any size you'd like, using your finger to move the melted clusters onto the wax paper, until the bowl is empty. Sprinkle with any vegan sprinkles or coarse salt. Let harden for 15 or 20 minutes.
- Once the chocolate clusters on the wax paper have hardened somewhat, use a spatula to move them onto trays that will fit in your freezer, placing them in the freezer for five minutes or so, until perfectly hardened.
- Serve immediately or place on covered trays/containers and put back into the freezer until ready to serve.
I hope you enjoy this recipe! Leave any feedback in comments below. Also, share your comments on Instagram: @key_lime_coconut or on Twitter: @keylime_coconut. We love seeing hashtags #keylimecoconut #keylimecoconutblog and #beachbumvegan when you try our recipes.
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