Caramel Pecan Clusters Recipe
Toasted pecans covered in soft caramel and dipped in chocolate are the perfect treat for the whole family or make them for holiday gifts!
Servings: 24
Calories: 168kcal
Ingredients
Melting Chocolate
- 8 ounces dark chocolate melting wafers
- 4 ounces dark chocolate chips
Homemade Caramel
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons butter salted or unsalted
- 5 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅕ teaspoon fine grind sea salt
Caramel Pecan Clusters
- 4 ounces pecan halves about 1 cup
- 1 batch melting chocolate ingredients above
- 1 batch homemade caramel Ingredients above
Instructions
Toast the Pecans
- Place a frying pan on the stove and set it to medium heat. Add the pecans to the pan. Stir them occasionally to ensure they toast evenly. This process should take about five to seven minutes.Once toasted, transfer the pecans to a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before chopping them.4 ounces pecan halves
- Prepare 2 large baking sheet pans by lining them with parchment. If the parchment isn't lying flat, dab the corners of the pan with butter and press the parchment down.
- Chop the cooled pecans (the size of the chop is up to you) and place ½ Tablespoon of the chopped pecans on the tray in mounds about 3" apart.
Melting Chocolate
- You can use any type of double boiler that you have to melt the chocolate. If you have the Ninja Foodi or Instant Pot and a large mixing bowl that works perfectly and here are those instructions:Pour four cups of water into the Ninja Foodi inner pot. Place a large glass or metal mixing bowl on top so it rests on the lip of the pot. If you don't have a mixing bowl that fits, you can use a rack and sit the bowl on the rack, but watch for steam coming from the sides and make sure it does not get into your chocolate.Turn on the Foodi and select the 'Sear/Sauté' function. It defaults to high, so press 'Start'.Important: Do not add the chocolate yet to avoid overheating.
- As the water heats, watch for steam and check if the bottom of the bowl is warm.As soon as the bottom of the bowl is warm, switch the function to 'Slow Cook' on low to prevent overheating. Even low sear/sauté will overheat the chocolate.Add the chocolate melting wafers and the chips.Set the timer to 15 minutes instead of the default 8 hours. Stir the chocolate occasionally. It should be melted by the time the Ninja Foodi or Instant Pot switches over from slow cook to keep warm. You can leave the chocolate on the keep warm setting for hours and it will stay the correct consistency.8 ounces dark chocolate melting wafers, 4 ounces dark chocolate chips
Homemade Caramel
- Pour one cup of white granulated sugar into a medium size sauté or frying pan, spreading it evenly over the bottom.Turn the heat on medium and Stir every minute or so until you start to see sugar rocks forming.As the sugar rocks form, stir constantly. You'll notice the sugar melting and turning into a liquid amber color.Continue stirring until all the sugar rocks have melted into a smooth, amber liquid.1 cup white granulated sugar
- Add three tablespoons of butter (salted or unsalted) and five tablespoons of heavy whipping cream. Stir until well incorporated. The mixture will bubble and you may even see some separation of the sugar and cream, just continue to stir. If you start to smell burning sugar at any point, turn the heat down or off.3 Tablespoons butter, 5 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- Add one teaspoon of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Stir well and remove from heat. Let the caramel cool about 3-5 minutes in the pan.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅕ teaspoon fine grind sea salt
Assembling the Caramel Pecan Clusters
- Pour about 1 Tablespoon of caramel over each mound of chopped pecans, starting in the middle and working out to the edges of the pecans. Repeat for all the trays. Let the caramel set up on the pecans either at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes or in the fridge for 5-10 minutes before dipping them in chocolate.1 batch homemade caramel
- Stir the melting chocolate and make sure it flows off of a spatula (don't use metal to stir or it can cool the chocolate down too much) in a steady stream. if the chocolate is too thick, you can add some coconut oil (just a few teaspoons) to thin it out, but the chocolate will not set up as hard.
- Place one of the pecan clusters caramel side down into the chocolate and quickly flip it over with a fork (metal is fine for this step). Lift the cluster out of the chocolate and let the excess drip off. Place the chocolate covered caramel pecan cluster back onto the parchment lined tray. Repeat for all the pecan clusters.1 batch melting chocolate
- You can sprinkle some flaky salt on top or some finely chopped pecans or just leave them like they are. Let them set up for several hours at room temperature for the best finish. You can jump start the process by placing them in the fridge for 15 minutes, but then bring them out again. You don't want them to stay in the fridge too long or they will get so cold that they form condensation when at room temperature which can mess up the shiny chocolate coating.
- Serve & Enjoy! See the recipe notes for storage directions.
Notes
To keep your homemade pecan caramel clusters fresh and delicious, it's important to store them properly.
- Make sure they are fully set and placed in an airtight container.
- When layering them in a Tupperware container, use a piece of parchment paper between each layer to prevent sticking.
Nutrition
Serving: 1candy | Calories: 168kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 39mg | Potassium: 53mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 93IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.2mg