I’ve eyed the container of Emerald Cocoa Roast Almonds every time I’ve gone down the snack aisle at Sam’s Club. During my most recent trip at the beginning of this week, however, I buckled and picked one up.

It’s not that I didn’t want to try them, it’s that I’m always wary of purchasing a big container of something I haven’t tried before. What if we absolutely hate them? That $10 could have easily gone toward something else and I’d kick myself for having wasted it.
In this case, though, the $10 on the 38oz container was not wasted. As you can …read more

Today is National Chocolate with Almonds Day, and what better way to celebrate than with a very unique truffle recipe?
Alia from Cooking With Alia has created an original truffle using almond paste. She explains that it’s a twist on a traditional Moroccan cookie called Zellige, which is a square-shaped cookie usually made with almond paste sandwiched between two layers of chocolate.
For her variation, Alia filled her truffles with almond paste, dipped them in chocolate, and then rolled them in various coatings.
For the almond paste, she uses 1 1/3 cup of blanched slivered almonds (or 1 cup of blanched …read more

Today is Almond Butter Crunch Day, and you can celebrate by either picking up a canister of Almond Roca (which will always remind me of my mom!), or make your own!

The “plain” butter crunch day is in January, and though I’m not sure why almond butter crunch gets its own special day five months later, I’m not going to complain.
Buttercrunch toffee is a delicious, indulgent treat that is a bit softer than regular toffee and is an American invention. Not only do you get toffee, but you get chocolate and nuts with it as well. Just watch your fillings!
Chocolate …read more

There are few chocolate combinations I like as much as chocolate with almonds – probably second only to chocolate with walnuts (and not even counting chocolate by itself!).
Tomorrow is yet another chocolate “holiday” – National Chocolate with Almonds Day! If you’re not able to get your hands on a delicious chocolate bar or bag of chocolate-covered almonds, you can always make some yourself!
And as always, don’t forget the e-cards!
Chocolate Almond Bark
1 (12 oz) package chocolate chips (milk or semi, your preference!)
1 tbsp vegetable shortening
1/2 c chopped toasted almonds
Optional:
1/2 c raisins
or 1/2 c crispy rice cereal
Combine the chocolate and …read more

We took a trip to Cost Plus World Market last week to stock up on some more good chocolate (they finally have Tim Tams! And Aero Bars!).
I got a nice little pile of chocolate I’ve been wanting to try and my husband went right for this one, which is saying a lot because he’s not really into sweets. I think it was the packaging that got him, though – all those almonds and chocolate, really? We had to give it a try and see!
First off, this bar is huge! I took a shot of it with my hand to show …read more