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 see from the picture above, the container that I bought Tuesday morning already has about 1/3 missing. My kids love them (they’ve request them for snacks and as today’s treat in their lunchboxes instead of a piece of Halloween candy), my husband loves them, and I’ve got it sitting next to me right now, for informational purposes, of course.

They’re roasted with the cocoa and not coated in chocolate, so the chocolate taste is very subtle and the sweetness, which the label says comes from sucralose, is very light (though sucralose always leaves a little bit of a weird aftertaste to me, I almost wish they’d just use sugar). To me, almonds can start tasting kind of bland after a few, but the cocoa bumps it up to more of a treat, and if I’m not careful I may be making an extra run out to Sam’s this month for another one!

Though I know they’re just covering their behinds, I always get a kick out of nut labels that declare the product contains nuts.

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

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 whole almonds), 1 1/3 cup of powdered sugar, and 2 tablespoons of orange blossom water (which can be replaced with 2 Tbsp of water + 1/2 tsp of extract — vanilla, orange, etc.)

The coating itself is easy enough, and just requires 9 oz of good chocolate and any toppings you prefer, like cocoa powder, unsweetened coconut flakes, powdered sugar, or crushed nuts.

You can find the rest of the recipe and method on Alia’s site, but I’ll tell you this is one I’m defiitely going to be trying out!

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

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 Almond Buttercrunch

1/2 lb. butter
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. blanched almonds, chopped
1/2 lg. bag chocolate chips

Place chopped almonds, butter and sugar into a large pan. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, until the almonds turn brown and the mixture forms a hard ball in cold water. Immediately pour onto a large, flat cookie sheet or baking pan. Let cool slightly.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips and allow them to melt; using an offset spatula smear the melted chocolate around. Chop the rest of the nuts fine and sprinkle over warm chocolate. Press in lightly. Let cool thoroughly. Break into irregular pieces.

[images and recipe: flickr]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

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 vegetable shortening in double-boiler or microwave until melted. Stir until chocolate and shortening are combined and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 cup almonds and/or the raisins or crispy rice cereal.

Spread into wax-paper lined 9 x 13 inch baking pan (paper should overlap ends so that candy can be easily lifted out). Sprinkle remaining almonds on top. Chill about 30 minutes. Before serving, break into bite-size pieces. Yields about 1 pound.

[image: sxc]

Post from: Chocolate Bytes

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 you just how big it is, weighing in at 8.75oz. Valor Chocolates is made in Spain, and the dark chocolate with almonds is considered one of their premium bars.

When you first open the bar this is what you’re greeted with! My husband let me open it up for pictures while he was at work and I knew he was in for a treat – his favorite type of chocolate is chocolate combined with almonds!

From the front you can’t even tell what’s waiting for you inside!

As you can imagine, each bite is guaranteed to have several almonds. The chocolate is truly delicious – smooth, not bitter, and very satisfying. The almonds taste fresh with a very nice crunch and neither of us came across any that had gone rancid.

At room temperature the chocolate is just slightly soft (hence the fingerprints, which I didn’t think about until I’d already handled it!), and melts perfectly in the mouth. Needless to say, as soon as he gets back from his current business trip I think we’ll be heading back to the store to stock up!

I highly recommend this bar if you happen to come across it!

Post from: Chocolate Bytes