Chewy Peanut Candies

Have you ever had a week when the thought of planning a meal days ahead of time, then going to the store, and then getting ingredients prepped and ready for the slow cooker seems way too overwhelming? 

I mean, the slow cooker does the cooking for you, and yet I still couldn't wrap my head around making it happen.

 

But candy? 

I had no problem getting this made. 

First of all, the recipe is so easy no real brain power was needed. 

Secondly, my husband was more than happy to go to the store for some peanuts when he heard that they would be turned into peanutty goodness that taste similar to a Payday.

When I came across this recipe several months ago I thought they would be a great addition for my Christmas treat boxes that I take to neighbors, teachers, etc. I make peanut clusters every year and didn't want to make both the clusters and these, so I needed to decide which treat was better. I decided to make the chewy candies and top them with chocolate for the taste comparison. Now seems like as good a time as any to test them out...
 
Ingredients
4 Tbsp butter
3 cups of sugar
1 cup of corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp baking soda
4 cups peanuts
 
Chocolate chips
Shortening
 
*I used a 6qt crock pot which seemed to work really well for this recipe. When you add the nuts in at the end the candy expands quite a bit.
 
*Have 2 cookie sheets lined with parchment paper before you finish the candy in the crock pot. The candy goes directly onto prepared pans after the addition of the nuts, but you need to be ready.
 
Place butter in crock pot. Add sugar, corn syrup and vanilla on top of the butter Cover and cook on high for one hour. 
After this first hour of cooking stir everything around to combine. Stir in the baking soda. Cover and cook on high for another 30 minutes. Stir and then cover and cook for another 15 - 30 minutes until the mixture becomes a caramel color. 

The original post tells you to look for the color of peanut brittle or a Payday candy bar. (Mine reached the desired color after about 10 minutes.) When this color is reached stir in your nuts. The mixture will foam and swell while you add them. Using oven mitts pour mixture onto the two prepared cookie sheets and spread out using a spatula. 

Allow candy to cool for an hour then tear into pieces.

At this point I was impressed with the taste of the candy, but not so much with the presentation. Next time I might cut it instead of tearing it because it pulls and stretches and the edges look a little junky. I ended up rolling them up a bit to conceal the edges. 

To coat the candies I melted chocolate chips with a bit of shortening for easy dipping and allowed to harden. 
These turned out really well. They tasted like a Payday until I added the chocolate and then they took on a Snickers taste...both versions got tons of compliments. 
As for the Christmas treat boxes...These Chewy Peanut Candies really are all together different from the peanut cluster...so I think I'll be making both.

Bryn