Simple Chocolate Covered Almonds Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Toast almonds for 15 minutes on a baking sheet. Line two baking pans with parchment paper; set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, combine granulated sugar, 1/4 cup water, toasted almonds, and cinnamon. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar becomes golden and granular and almonds are completely coated and separated. Pour nuts onto prepared pans. Chill in freezer, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, place chocolate in a medium bowl; place bowl over simmering water until melted. Transfer half the chilled almonds to a large bowl, and pour half the melted chocolate over nuts. Stir until nuts are thoroughly coated. Transfer nuts onto prepared baking pan. Using two forks, separate nuts so none stick together. Return almonds to refrigerator until chocolate has set, about 20 minutes. Repeat with remaining almonds.
• Place cocoa powder and confectioners' sugar into two separate bowls. Toss half the nuts in cocoa and half in sugar, and gently tap off any excess powder. Store separately in airtight containers for up to 1 month.

Steps:

• Set a pot of water over medium heat and bring to a boil. Add a double boiler to the top of the pot and lower heat to a simmer.
• Add chocolate and coconut oil to the double boiler. Stir until chocolate is melted.
• Place a drip rack over a parchment-lined pan. Place almonds on top of the drip rack. Pour chocolate over the almonds. Allow chocolate to dry.
• Once dry, store almonds in a resealable container.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Place bacon on a sheet tray and cook until crisp, about 25 minutes. Melt chocolate in double boiler over low heat. Dip crisp bacon in chocolate and place back on sheet tray.
• Sprinkle with almonds and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Steps:

• Make the almond cake - place the almonds and 1/2 cup of the sugar in a food processor and process till very finely ground.
• Place the eggs in a warm mixing bowl and using an electric mixer, beat them till fluffy about 1 minute.
• Add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating at high speed till the eggs are pale yellow and approximately triple in volume, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Working in batches, beat in the almond mixture and the flour, alternating with the olive oil and milk.
• Stir in the lemon zest and cinnamon.
• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°.
• Line the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan with a circle of waxed paper.
• Generously butter the paper and the sides of the pan.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared springform pan and tap it on a counter to level the batter.
• Bake the cake on the center rack until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
• Let cake cool on a rack for about 20 minutes.
• While the cake is cooling, make the rum syrup: place the rum and sugar in a small saucepan.
• Add 1/2 cup water and heat, stirring over medium heat till the sugar is completely dissolved, about 2 minutes.
• Run a thin knife around the side of the cake to loosen it, then remove the side of the pan.
• Invert the cake onto a plate and remove the bottom of the pan and the waxed paper.
• Prick the cake all over with a fork and generously brush it with the rum syrup, waiting for the syrup to be absorbed before brushing on more.
• Cover the cake loosely with plastic wrap and let stand for about 1 hour to fully absorb the syrup.
• Make the chocolate ganache - place the cream in a small, heavy saucepan and heat it over medium heat till it is hot but not boiling, and begins to bubble around the edge.
• Place the chocolate in a metal bowl and pour the hot cream over it all at once.
• Let the cream stand while the chocolate melts, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Using a rubber spatula, slowly stir the chocolate mixture in a circular motion, starting at the center of the bowl and working your way out to the side.
• Be careful not to stir too vigorously or you will add too much air to the ganache.
• Keep stirring till all the chocolate is melted and completely blended with the cream.
• (If by some chandce the ganache breaks - looks oily or curdled - you can fix it by heating 1/4 cup of heavy cream to a simmer, transfer it to a bowl and whisk in the broken ganache bit by bit).
• Let the ganache stand at room temp till thickened but spreadable, about 1 hour.
• Place the cake on a cake platter, spread the ganache generously over the top and sides, and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place almonds in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until fragrant, about 10 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through. Line three rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Top two of the baking sheets with cooling racks; set aside.
• In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, water, toasted almonds, and cinnamon. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until sugar becomes golden, then starts to crystallize, and almonds are completely coated, about 8 minutes. Pour the almond mixture onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Transfer to the freezer or refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.
• Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until melted. Add the chilled almond mixture, stirring until nuts are thoroughly coated. Divide between the two cooling rack-lined baking sheets. Separate almonds with a fork. Place baking sheets in refrigerator until chocolate is set, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Place cocoa powder in a large bowl and add the almond mixture. Toss to coat, shaking off excess cocoa powder. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Place bacon on a sheet tray and cook until crisp, about 25 minutes.
• Melt chocolate in double boiler over low heat.
• Dip crisp bacon in chocolate and place back on sheet tray.
• Sprinkle with almonds and refrigerate for 30 minutes or until ready to serve.

Steps:

• Spread almonds in a large skillet; toast over medium heat until starting to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour almonds into a bowl.
• Melt chocolate in top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring frequently and scraping down the sides to avoid scorching, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; pour in almonds and stir until evenly coated.
• Drop spoonfuls of chocolate-almond mixture onto a plate lined with waxed paper.
• Chill until set, about 10 minutes.

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:

• Melt and temper the chocolate (see pages 25-30). Place the almonds in a 2-quart mixing bowl and pour one-third of the chocolate over them. Use a rubber spatula to mix and stir the almonds and chocolate together, completely coating the nuts. Continue to stir for a few minutes until the chocolate begins to set up around the nuts. If the chocolate takes longer than 6 minutes to set up, place the bowl in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 minutes, then separate any clusters that may have formed.
• Pour half of the remaining chocolate over the nuts and stir again until the chocolate sets up around the nuts. Repeat with the remaining chocolate.
• Sift the cocoa powder together with the confectioners' sugar or pulse them together in the bowl of a food processor. Transfer the mixture to a large, strong plastic bag. Place about half the almonds in the plastic bag, seal the top, and shake the bag well to coat the nuts.
• Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Pour the nuts and cocoa mixture into a large strainer set over a bowl. Separate the nuts and place them on the baking sheet. Transfer the cocoa mixture to the plastic bag and repeat with the remaining almonds.
• Store the almonds between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Serve the almonds at room temperature.

Steps:

• Pulse almonds in a food processor until coarsely chopped, then transfer to a small bowl. Pulse walnuts in food processor until finely chopped and set aside.
• Finely chop 1 bar of milk chocolate and 1 bar of bittersweet chocolate with a large knife, then combine in a bowl. Repeat with remaining 2 chocolate bars and combine in another bowl.
• Butter a large baking sheet and put on a heatproof work surface. Bring butter, sugar, and water to a boil over moderately high heat, whisking until smooth, then stirring occasionally, until mixture is golden and registers 300°F on thermometer, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Immediately stir in almonds, then carefully pour mixture onto center of prepared baking sheet (use caution when pouring hot liquids). Spread toffee into a 15- by 12-inch rectangle (1/4 inch thick) with a heatproof spatula, smoothing top, and let stand 1 minute, then sprinkle 1 bowl of chopped chocolate evenly on top of hot toffee. Let stand until chocolate is melted, 4 to 5 minutes. Spread chocolate evenly using a heatproof rubber spatula or an offset metal spatula. Sprinkle half of walnuts evenly over melted chocolate, then cover with a sheet of wax paper or parchment.
• Wearing oven mitts, invert second baking sheet over toffee and carefully invert toffee and sheet. If toffee does not release itself, use a spatula to loosen it. Sprinkle remaining chocolate on top to melt, then spread (as above) and sprinkle with remaining walnuts. Place a sheet of wax paper or parchment on top and press lightly to help nuts adhere. Freeze toffee on baking sheet until chocolate is firm, about 30 minutes. Break toffee into pieces, then transfer to an airtight container and keep at room temperature.