Easy, gooey, crunchy and oh-so-delicious. What more can you want from a Christmas treat? That they are genuinely easy to make?! Well, these vegan caramel peanut clusters are all that and more.
You know those days when absolutely everything suddenly decides to go haywire? It was that kind of a day, a whole week, in fact. So, I wanted to be steeped, soused, and soaked in bites of heaven.
So what did I do?
I took out my trusty saucepan and whipped up a batch of vegan caramel peanut clusters. Trust me, every day of every week absolutely calls for these unbelievably decadent treats.
How to Make Vegan Caramel Peanut Clusters?
There was a time when I (foolishly) believed making anything remotely close to candy required exorbitantly expensive ingredients and utmost attention. I am happy to say these caramel clusters proved me wrong - and how!
You don’t need fancy tools or Michelin star fixings to make these sinful, yet healthy clusters. Quick and easy, the recipe has two parts each more mouth-watering than the other.
First, Make the Vegan Caramel Sauce
In a small saucepan blend coconut sugar, coconut butter, and coconut milk. I used full-fat coconut milk to get a rich, creamy caramel sauce, but if you prefer coconut cream, then that works well too.
Add in touch of corn-starch to thicken the sauce and then a pod of vanilla bean. Wish to see even the most manful resistance crumble like an apple-pie? Split the pod lengthwise to release a divine fragrance and flavor into the sauce.
Let the caramel cook, cook, cook till it is nice and thick and evenly coats the back of your spoon. Whisk in a bit of sea salt and then let it cool. As the caramel sauce simmers down, it will thicken into a gooey beauty.
Then, Make the Peanut Clusters
While the sauce is cooling, roast some peanuts. If the chilly December weather is making you lazy (like me), then store-bought roasted peanut will do excellently. Just make sure they are unsalted.
Mix the roasted peanuts in the caramel sauce. Use a measuring spoon (or even a lemon baller) to scoop out clusters on a tray. The candy is now ready for a quick trip to the fridge, leaving you free to melt a bar or two of dark chocolate.
Somehow, I favour all dairy-free chocolate; but if you can’t find a vegan option near your home simply choose 70% dark chocolate.
Last but definitely not the least, dunk the hardened caramel peanut clusters in the melted chocolate. Dust a hint of additional sea salt and then give the clusters a second, shorter stay in the fridge.
Finally, Serve the Highly Addictive Vegan Caramel Peanut Clusters
A slight crunch, a tab bit creamy, and a whole lot addictive, the caramel peanut clusters are super easy to make. Plus, they’re refined sugar-free and gluten-free (think: healthier and much tastier version of Snickers).
The vegan caramel peanut clusters are so intensely satisfying that once you have them, I bet you won’t stop at one. I blame the caramel sauce. Its flecks of vanilla add a wonderfully sweet touch, and the sea salt perfectly balances it out to make one scrumptious treat.
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Vegan Caramel Peanut Clusters
Ingredients
Caramel Peanut Clusters
- 2 cups Peanuts, roasted and unsalted
- 1/3 cup Vegan salted caramel Yo can use regular caramel sauce too.
- 1 cup Dairy free chocolate or Dark chocolate (70%)
- 1-2 tsp Sea salt
Vegan Salted Caramel Sauce
- 400 ml Coconut milk, full fat
- 3/4 cup Coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp Coconut butter You can use coconut oil too, or leave it out altogether
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 Vanilla bean, split lengthways.
- 1 1/2 tsp Sea salt
Instructions
- Keep a tray lined with baking paper or silpat ready.
- Warm the caramel sauce slightly.
- In a large bowl, combine the peanuts with the caramel sauce. The nuts should be well coated. Add more sauce if you need to.
- Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared tray. Place the tray in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to allow the nut clusters to firm up well.
- In the meanwhile, melt the chocolate till smooth and shiny.
- Dip each cluster into the melted chocolate, making sure all sides are completely covered in chocolate. Gently place on the tray. Sprinkle with sea salt and place the tray in the refrigerator to allow the clusters to set. Enjoy!
Vegan Salted Caramel Sauce
- Combine the coconut milk, coconut sugar, cornstarch, coconut butter in a thick-bottomed saucepan. Add the vanilla bean.
- Whisk the mixture well and cook in medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes until the sauce thickens. It should coat the back of a spoon. You will need to keep whisking the sauce while it is cooking so it doesn't burn.
- Take it off the heat, discard the vanilla bean and stir in the sea salt. Taste ( carefully!) and add more salt if you like.
- Let the sauce cool completely and transfer to a jar. Store in the refrigerator.
Easyfoodsmith says
These clusters have everything that I absolutely l.o.v.e.
Natasha Minocha says
Same same 😀