Crock Pot Peppermint "Muddy Buddies"

**originally posted on WGLR.com on 12-8-14**

Holiday baking season is here! Did you know that your crock pot can help you with that? Here is a delicious treat that can be made quickly and easily in your crock pot, and it will be loved and devoured quickly by all! In October, I did a Crock of the Week for Autumn Harvest Chex Mix. This is a similar recipe, except it's full of chocolate and Christmas joy! It's Peppermint Muddy Buddies! Muddy Buddies are the chocolate cousin of Chex Mix :) I made a double batch of this recipe, and there was plenty of room to mix it in my crock pot. You could use a double boiler for a single batch if you wanted, but if you are doing a double batch, you won't have enough room in a double boiler. It only took about 10 minutes for the chocolate to melt completely for a double batch in my crock pot. And I only got the crock dirty which made clean up a snap! Loved it! I brought it along to the WGLR Holiday Auction this past weekend for the crew and volunteers to enjoy, and got many compliments! So add this easy treat to your holiday baking list. It would be a nice thing to package up in ziplocs and ribbon to hand out to co-workers, neighbors, or wherever you need a bunch of small gifts this holiday season.

CROCK POT PEPPERMINT MUDDY BUDDIES

• 3 squares white chocolate bark
• 3 squares chocolate bark
• 3 cups rice (or corn) Chex cereal
• 3 cups chocolate Chex cereal
• 10 crushed up mini candy canes

Crush up the candy canes and set aside. Then start with the white chocolate bark, and place that in your crock. Cover and turn the crock on high until it melts. Add in the rice or corn chex, and stir until the cereal is completely coated with the white chocolate. Then pour the mixture out onto a piece or wax paper or foil, and spread it out. Immediately sprinkle the crushed peppermints all over the mixture, before the chocolate starts to harden up, because you want the peppermints to stick!

Then add the chocolate bark to your crock (no need to clean it from the white chocolate that was just in there). Cover and melt. Then add the chocolate Chex until well coated, and pour the mixture onto wax paper or foil, just as you did with the white chocolate mixture. Let it harden up.

When both mixtures are set, break up and mix together in a lidded bowl or big ziploc bag. And watch it quickly disappear!! Yum!

Crock Pot Chocolate Peanut Clusters!

Holiday baking season is in full swing! Here's another recipe to throw into the mix at your baking party. After all, you need the oven free for cookies, right? So use that crock pot! This recipe comes from one of Trisha Yearwood's cookbooks. Simple and tasty! The recipe simply calls it "Crock Pot Candy" but 'chocolate peanut clusters' is a better name I think!

 

 

Crock Pot Candy (chocolate peanut clusters)

2 lb dry roasted peanuts

4oz German sweet baking chocolate

1 12-oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 1/2 lb. white almond bark

Dump the peanuts into the crock pot (use at least a 4 qt crock pot). Layer the chocolate in order: german chocolate first, then semi-sweet chips, and the white bark on top. Turn crock on low and cook for 3 hours. DO NOT STIR while cooking.

**note, watch it close. After 2 hours mine looked like it was getting close to scorching a bit on the sides, so I turned it to warm for the last hour.

When done, mix it all together until well combined. Scoop into paper cupcake liners (I just lined some up on cookie sheets, so it was easy to move them around). Wait until they are set, and you can either remove them from the paper liners or leave them in there, whatever you prefer for presentation purposes :)