Chocolate Raisin Clusters

by Sabrina Snyder

Last Update:

17 Comments

5 from 6 votes
20
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Cooling Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
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Chocolate Raisin Clusters make the easiest homemade candy recipe with a hardened milk chocolate coating and chewy, sweet center. Try soon!

Simple Candy Recipes like this one, my Chocolate Covered Almonds and Chocolate Covered Pretzels are perfect for every occasion! They are party snacks that are made in minutes and keep for weeks.

Sabrina’s Chocolate Raisin Clusters Recipe

You know you were a kid of the ’80s or ’90s if you hear California Raisins and for a second you flash back to giant dried grapes dancing and singing. I’m not sure there is another fruit campaign as iconic. They definitely made me want to trade Whoppers for Raisinets at least half the time we went to the movies. Milk chocolate covered raisins still seem like an extra special, only get at the movies treats. This Chocolate Raisin Clusters recipe is great for movie nights at home, and a whole lot less expensive.

Recipe Card

Dinner, then Dessert

Chocolate Raisin Clusters Recipe

Chocolate Raisin Clusters make the easiest homemade candy recipe with a hardened milk chocolate coating and chewy, sweet center. Try soon!
Yield 20
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 0 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Chocolate raisins in a gift box with red parchment paper
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 2 cup milk chocolate chips
  • 2 cups California raisins

Instructions

  • Line baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  • Melt chocolate in microwave, stirring every 30 seconds.
  • Stir raisins into melted chocolate.
  • Drop by teaspoonfuls onto prepared baking sheet.
  • Refrigerate until firm.

Nutrition

Calories: 133kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.02g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.003g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 16mg | Potassium: 120mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 40IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 25mg | Iron: 1mg

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Chef’s Note

The best part of making these clusters home is that they aren’t filled with not-so-great preservatives. You get to choose the quality of ingredients used, which means you can make them with the best chocolate! You can get fancy and use a gourmet chocolate bar or pure milk chocolate.

Table of contents

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About this Recipe

Chocolate Raisin Clusters may be the healthiest of all the popular chocolate candy. Raisins are packed full of calcium, potassium, iron, fiber, and vitamin B. Make this recipe with dark chocolate and you’ve got a delicious antioxidant rich snack. This obviously doesn’t mean making (and eating) them every day but they are a treat you can feel good about.

Can this be made ahead of time?

Yes, these are great because they keep good for weeks. Whip them up ahead of time for an after school snack every once and while. I’ve also made them for holiday gifts. They stay good for a while so they are perfect for gift baskets.

How to Store

  • Serve: To keep at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, store in a sealed container in a cool, dry place.
  • Store: If it is too warm at room temperature, store in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.
  • Freeze: You can freeze Chocolate Raisin Clusters for about 2 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator.

Alternative Cooking Techinques

Stovetop Method

If you do want to use the stove, I recommend using a pan and bowl for a double boiler. To make a homemade double boiler, all you need is a sauce pan and a heat proof glass bowl. Choose a bowl that fits tightly over the pan to keep the steam in but won’t touch the water. Add about 1-2 inches of water to the pan. Turn burner on medium and heat up water. Place bowl with chocolate on top of pan. Stir occasionally until melted.

Fully Coated Method

To make individual chocolate covered raisins, simply spread out raisins on a parchment covered baking sheet. Carefully pour chocolate over raisins, not allowing chocolate to pool. Or you can also use a fork to dip raisins into melted chocolate one or two at a time.

Variations

  • Chocolate: Mix in different chocolate chips like white chocolate or dark chocolate. You can also use chocolate candy bars or chocolate wafers.
  • Peanut Butter: Add a little protein and a whole lot of flavor and melt peanut butter with chocolate. Stir in a handful of peanuts for some crunch.
  • Dried Fruit: You can use a variety of dried fruit or berries like blueberries, cranberries, or cherries. Instead of regular California raisins, try golden raisins or a mix of both.
  • Bridge Mix: Turn these into Bridge Mix Clusters by adding assorted nuts like Pistachios, walnuts, almonds, and peanuts, and small diced Marshmallows and Caramels.
  • Trail Mix: Take these hiking as a power Trail Mix snack. Use dark chocolate and add large granola bits, pistachios, and cashews. 
  • Corn Flakes: If you are a Raisin Bran fan, you are going to love mixing in a cup of corn flakes (or actual Raisin Bran) into the melted chocolate with the raisins.
  • Rum Raisin Clusters: For a holiday version, similar to my Rum Ball Truffles, soak the raisins in rum. Bring a ⅓ cup of gold rum to a simmer in a small sauce pan. Add raisins, remove heat, and cover. Once completely cooled down, drain raisins and blot dry.

Chocolate-Coated Treats

Collage of raisin candy recipe

Photos used in previous versions of the post:

Chocolate clusters in decorative box
Chocolate-coated raisin bit in half
raisins in melted chocolate

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Does it have to be milk chocolate? Will dark chocolate work as well? Most of the clients I work with want the dark choc instead – less calories.

    Reply

    1. Yes you can use dark chocolate Marcia. If you care about “sweetness” levels, you may want to add a little more sugar to offset what some say some dark chocolate recipes yield.

      Reply

    1. I haven’t soaked the raisins first for this recipe as the raisins provide more of a crunch in the Chocolate Raisin clusters. Did you soak first and how did your clusters turn out?

      Reply

    1. Serve: To keep at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, store in a sealed container in a cool, dry place.
      Store: If it is too warm at room temperature, store in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.
      Freeze: You can freeze Chocolate Raisin Clusters for about 2 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator.

      Reply

  5. This must be the easiest recipe, ever! It’s practically foolproof and the clusters are absolutely delicious. Thank you!

    Reply

  10. How long do you keep the chocolate raisin clusters in the refrigertor? I had them in the refrigerator for one hour and they haven’t hardened yet. What could I have done wrong? I used Hershey Milk Chocolate chips and SunMaid raisins and followed the recipe.

    Reply

    1. Hmmm, this has me perplexed as it should harden after as little as 10 minutes in the refrigerator or even freezer. I’ve never had an issue with it not hardening before. I’m sorry that I don’t have a better answer for you.

      Reply