Clodhoppers

Here's another one of those recipes that is so minimalist in both ingredients and preparation, I'm a little embarrassed to post it.

Much like my Honey Dill Dipping Sauce Recipe, it may be simple and easy, but it's a delicious hometown memory for me.

I always enjoy exposing people to "new" ideas - even if only new to them!

What are Clodhoppers?

These are a very well known candy back home in Canada. One Winnipegger wanted to market his grandmother's candy, got together with a childhood friend of his, and got to work.

Within a few years, the candy was selling all over Canada.

The candy is apparently no longer made in Winnipeg, having been sold to a company on the West Coast - and I've since become allergic to gluten, rendering these treats toxic to me - but I'll never forget em. Super, super addictive stuff.

Was thinking of them, the other day. I've never seen them here in the USA, so I decided to create a homemade recipe for my husband. The proportions turned out beautifully!

How to Make Clodhoppers Candy

This recipe has only 3 simple ingredients - white chocolate, cashews, and graham crackers - and they whip up in no time.

Have bowls of this out at holiday parties, or package them up for a hostess gift, stocking stuffer, or "Thank you" that your friends and family will love!

Clodhoppers Ingredients

This recipe only has 3 ingredients, so it’s super simple to make. With so few ingredients, though, it’s important to pay attention to them!

A few notes:

White Chocolate Chips

The White Chocolate Chips coat everything and hold it all together, so it contributes a big chunk of the flavour here.

So - don’t cheap out on your white chocolate chips, if at all possible!

I generally pay the buck or two more and get the nicer brand name chips in stores.

You don’t need to go all the way to a Callebaut White Chocolate or anything, but something like Ghirardelli White Chocolate Chips will definitely make a difference over Hershey’s.

Just please, whatever you do... don’t use “candy melts” instead of white chocolate chips!

As a note in 2023:

Retail packaging sizes have changed over the years.

You used to be able to make this recipe with one 10-11 oz bag of white chocolate chips, now it seems that most bags of chocolate chips are smaller.

The ones most available local to me are only 8 oz bags, so you need about a bag and a half to make this recipe.

That said, if you don’t want to be left with half a bag of chocolate chips? Double the recipe! 3 bags = perfect for 2 batches!

Graham Crackers

To get the right amount of graham chunks - and you want chunks, not “crumbs” - you’ll want to smash up about a sleeve worth of Graham Crackers, into bite sized pieces.

Once crushed, measure out what you need.

When making this batch to photograph, I measured out chunks AND the fine particles, which makes them look as shown in these pics.

For a “prettier” candy, don’t include the fine particles in your measurement.

Cashew Pieces

This may be a matter of taste, but I recommend making sure your cashews aren’t too big or too small.

Whole or half cashews would be too big, in my humble opinion.

“Chopped” cashews may be too small, depending on the brand.

I usually buy “Cashew Pieces”, which tend to average about ½ the size of a cashew half. I find this to be about perfect.

If you can’t find cashew pieces, you can rough chop Whole Cashews or Cashew Halves & Pieces... just don’t go too wild with it!

Technique

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the pictorial walk through:

Before really getting started, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

This will make the whole thing easier, cleaner, and resulting in a nicer yield. (You won’t lose any candy to being stuck on your work surface!)

You also don’t want to be fussing with the parchment paper as your candy is setting up in the bowl. Things go quickly once the chocolate is melted, so be prepared!

Crush up graham crackers. Measure out what you need, and add it to a large bowl, along with the cashew pieces. Mix well to combine.

I like to melt the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. I’ll go 30-45 seconds for the first blast, then stir it well and see where it is.

From there, I’ll nuke it for 20-30 seconds at a time - stirring after each - until it’s almost all melted. Then I stir it until the remaining lumped are melted in and smoothed out.

Stopping before it’s FULLY melted goes a long way to preventing scorching. You can’t rescue burnt chocolate, so best to avoid it!

... and spread the mixture out on your prepared pan.

You can let it set up at room temperature, but I generally don’t have the patience for it. Into the fridge it goes!

Once it’s all set up, break it up into smaller pieces if necessary, and store in an airtight container - a tub or bags.

Then enjoy!

Clodhoppers Variations

This recipe is an accurate replica of the original candy put out... but they eventually put out other flavours, as well!

Here are some ways that you can customize this recipe to your tastes.

Gluten-Free Clodhoppers

Swap out the graham crackers for a gluten-free variety.

Because commercially available graham crackers don't tend to actually taste like graham crackers, I highly recommend using my recipe for Gluten-Free Graham Crackers.

Change out the Chocolate

Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and peanut butter were later variations, and they’re easy to make - just swap out the white chips for the same amount of either milk, dark chocolate, or peanut butter chips.

Same advice about using a nice brand of chocolate chips applies here, too!

The Cookie Variation

Swap out the cashews for an equal measurement of crushed up Oreo cookies.

If you want to be accurate, use milk chocolate for this version.... but really, this will work with any flavour of chocolate or peanut butter chips.

Homemade OMGs

OMGs were a later candy put out by the same company, sold off, and - I think? - discontinued. Very similar, though.

For these, omit the cashews. Add ½ cup chopped almonds and ½ cup toffee bits - you can usually buy these in the same section as chocolate chips.

For authenticity, these came in either white chocolate or milk chocolate varieties.

Pretzel OMGs

Referring to my base recipe, not the OMGs variation above:

Omit the cashews and graham crackers, use 3 cups of chopped up pretzels instead.

Use peanut butter chips instead of white chocolate chips.

After the candy is spread out on your pan, melt some milk chocolate chips and drizzle it over everything.

This recipe - with a different name, anyway! - is one of many fantastic Canadian recipes in my cookbook, "More Than Poutine: Favourite Foods from my Home and Native Land”. "More than Poutine" is a Canadian cookbook like no other - written by a Canadian living away, it includes both traditional home cooking recipes, as well as accurate homemade versions of many of the snacks, sauces, convenience foods, and other food items that are hard to come by outside of Canada! Order your copy through Amazon, or through any major bookseller!

More Canadian Comfort Food!

Whether you’re a Canadian in the US or not, we could all use some comfort food these days. Here are some Canadian Favourites!

Back Bacon / Canadian Bacon
Beep
Canadian Popcorn Seasoning Recipes
Confetti Bars
Dill Pickle Dip
Doughnut Holes - Timbits!
French Canadian Pea Soup
Homemade Deep N Delicious Cake
Homemade Wunderbars
How to Make Peameal Bacon and Back Bacon
Maple Butter Tarts
Montreal Bagels
Persians
Poutine, My Way!
Puffed Wheat Squares
Replica Swiss Chalet Sauce
Tiger Tail Ice Cream

Looking for even more Canadian recipes? Check out our full Canadian Recipes list!

Share the Love!

Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you post it to Bluesky, be sure to tag us - @CelebrationGen. We're also on Pinterest, so you can save all your favourite recipes to a board!

Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

Finally, if you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and/or a comment below, and maybe even sharing this post on social media!

More Recipes that Remind me of Gramma

Since originally writing this post, my gramma has sadly passed... but her memory lives on.

Here are a few recipes that remind me of her, whether as something she taught me to make, a replica of a retail treat we used to enjoy together, or one of my own recipes that she would request whenever I’d visit, as an adult.

Gramma's Perogies Recipe
Homemade Marshmallow Cones
Puffed Wheat Squares
Honey Dill Dipping Sauce
Paska - Ukrainian Easter Bread
Baking Powder Biscuits
Grandma's Potato Salad
Easy Butterfly Cupcakes
Breakfast of Champions
French Canadian Pea Soup
Beep Drink Recipe
Sponge Toffee