Chocolate Almond Spoons Recipes

Steps:

• Put the almond paste, sugar, butter, flour and 1 egg in the food processor and pulse until it becomes a smooth paste.
• Dust a work surface with flour and roll the puff pastry into a 12-inch square. Spoon small dollops of the almond filling all over the surface of the pastry and then use a spatula or the back of a spoon to spread it out into an even layer. Cut the pastry into three 4-inch wide pieces. Sprinkle each with chocolate.
• Starting at the long side of one of the pastry pieces, roll it up into a long cylindrical log. Holding one end of the log in each hand, gently snap the dough towards the counter, slapping it down if necessary, so that it stretches to about 15 inches. Repeat with the remaining 2 strips of dough and refrigerate until the dough is firm, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, adjust 2 oven racks to the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
• Cut each log, lengthwise, right down the middle so that you have 6 long strips. Arrange them cut-side up on the counter. Now cut each strip in half, crosswise, giving you 12 pieces about 7 1/2 inches long. Gently pull on one piece, just to lengthen it slightly, and then tie into a tight knot with the cut-sides up and long tails on each side. Repeat with the remaining strips of dough and arrange on the 2 prepared baking sheets. Chill for 15 minutes.
• Beat the remaining egg to make an egg wash. Brush each knot with some of the egg wash and then sprinkle generously first with some of the chopped almonds and then with sugar. Bake, rotating the baking sheets about halfway through, until the knots have puffed and are golden brown on top and deeply golden brown on the bottom, 22 to 25 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes on the baking sheets, then remove to a rack to cool completely. Store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9x5" loaf pan with nonstick spray. Line with parchment paper, leaving plenty of overhang on 2 sides (the spray will help it stick to the pan and stay flat). Spread out almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing halfway through, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely crush with a flat-bottomed glass.
• Meanwhile, place chocolate in a small glass or ceramic bowl and microwave in 20-second bursts, stirring well between each, until melted and smooth, 1-1½ minutes. Let cool slightly. (Alternatively, heat chocolate, stirring occasionally, in a heatproof bowl set over a small saucepan of simmering water until melted; do not let bowl touch water.)
• Purée avocado, maple syrup, and almond butter in a food processor until very smooth, about 1 minute. Add cocoa powder, kosher salt, and 2 Tbsp. cold water. Pulse until smooth, then add melted chocolate. Pulse just until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
• Transfer chocolate mixture to prepared pan and smooth top. Scatter reserved almonds over, then season with sea salt; press in lightly. Chill until firm, about 1 hour.
• Remove by lifting up parchment, then cut into squares or bars to serve.
• Do Ahead: Fudge can be made 1 week ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 inch, square baking pan with heavy-duty foil, folding the foil over the edges of the pan.
• Put butter in pan and melt in oven. Add brown sugar, corn syrup and vanilla; stir to mix.
• Add cereal and stir with a spoon, then mix with fingers until thoroughly coated. Place waxed paper on top and press down gently but firmly.
• Bake for 25 minutes until entire surface is bubbly. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and let stand for chips to soften.
• Spread chips, then sprinkle with almonds, pressing gently into chocolate. Let cool until just warm, then refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight before cutting.
• Using foil as a lifter, remove from pan and, without inverting (almond would peel off), peel off foil. Cut into bars. Store in refrigerator.

Steps:

• Place the granulated sugar and water in a large copper pot or 4-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat and bring the mixture to a boil. Add the almonds and stir to coat them evenly in the sugar syrup. Your goal is to cook the almonds until the sugar crystallizes and caramelizes.
• When water is added to the sugar, the sugar crystals are dissolved. As it boils, the syrup becomes thicker as the water evaporates and big soap-like bubbles begin to form. Soon, all the moisture evaporates and the mixture becomes sandy. The sandiness is the sugar recrystallizing. It only takes the reformation of one sugar crystal to recrystallize the others. Keep stirring! Next, you see the sugar closest to the heat change from sandy to a clear liquid. The melted sugar clings to the almonds. When the sugar changes from clear to golden brown, the nuts are caramelized. Once this happens, pay close attention; the time it takes to pass from caramelized to burned is only a matter of seconds, especially when making smaller batches. You know the nuts are finished when most of the sandy sugar is gone.
• The first few times you make these, I suggest you try the following: When the sugar closest to the heat changes from sandy to liquid, remove the pan from the burner and continue to stir. The residual heat in the sugar and nuts will continue to cook the mixture while you stir it. Lower the heat to medium-low and continue to stir the nuts while moving the saucepan on and off the heat at 10-second intervals. This will give you more control as it cooks. When the nuts begin to caramelize, remove them from the heat and finish stirring.
• Use a wooden spoon to spread the caramelized nuts onto a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Do not touch the nuts as they are extremely hot. Let the nuts cool completely. If your freezer will accommodate the baking sheet, you can place the nuts in the freezer for about 30 minutes to speed up the cooling process. When completely cooled, break apart any nut clusters that may have formed. At this stage, you can choose to serve the nuts as they are.
• Place the caramelized nuts in the coating pan attached to the stand mixer. Spin at low speed. Use a ladle to add the chocolate to the spinning nuts. Add 1 ladle at a time until the nuts are coated to the desired thickness. If a thicker coat is desired, use more chocolate. If a thinner coat is desired, decrease the amount of chocolate. Finish by adding cocoa powder to the coating pan. Remove and serve.

Steps:

• In a microwave safe bowl, melt semisweet chocolate pieces in microwave for 2 to 3 minutes and stir until smooth. Dip spoons into chocolate. Put spoons onto wax paper and refrigerate until chocolate hardens.
• Melt milk chocolate pieces in microwave for 2 to 3 minutes and stir until smooth. Place chocolate into plastic bag and cut off a corner. Drizzle melted chocolate over spoons. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens.
• Wrap each spoon separately and store in a cool dry place,