Friday, February 26, 2016

Toasted Almond & Salted Caramel Bark



Oh yes. It's Friday, and boy do I have a treat for you guys! Because what better day of the week to reward yourself than Friday? And let me tell you, this bark candy is truly a treat. It's super easy and fast to make, crunchy, sweet, and salty. It's only February, but I'm already thinking this will be going in my Christmas Cookie boxes. It's that good.


This candy only took me 30 minutes to make. I actually already had the salted caramel sauce plus the toasted almonds on hand. I had almonds ready from making my Chopped Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad, and I had salted caramel sauce on hand from my Salted Caramel Cheesecake

I simply melted the chocolate, sprinkled it with toasted almonds, and drizzled the caramel sauce. Put the concoction in the fridge for 30 minutes, and you're done! All you have to do is break the bark in haphazard pieces (easy!) and dig in.

If you tuned in for how I toasted almonds for the salad pictures I posted, I toasted them differently for the second run at chopped kale and Brussels sprout goodness. 



This time I toasted them in the oven, under the broiler. This is going to be my go-to method for toasting almonds from now on. While toasting them on the stove gets the job done, it takes quite a while. Of stirring the whole time. It can be quite an arm workout. By toasting them under the broiler, not only did they toast fast, but I only had to stir once. Plus, I feel like they got more color. And by the by, the color is important. Toasting the almonds brings out oodles of flavor. It's a must-have for this recipe. 


Melt your chocolate...


Heat up your sauce (which by the way, you don't need much of at all!)...


And get to work!

After you melt the chocolate, spread it on a parchment-covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle the toasted almonds over the chocolate, drizzle with caramel, and finish with a touch of sea salt. I was afraid there would be a salt overload if I added sea salt, but I'm happy to report there isn't. The salted caramel sauce is toned down when drizzled, so in fact, you totally need the sea salt to bring out the other flavors. Who knew?


This would be the stage where you pop this tray in the fridge to solidify-


Before breaking into pieces. You're done!



You're welcome Earth :-) 

And, on one last note about this candy, both the hubby and I thought it kind of tasted like a chocolatey Almond Roca. Yum!

So, the hubby and I are doing something different this weekend. Tomorrow, we are headed to Maysville, Kentucky to take a class on... beekeeping! 

Dun, dun, duuuuuuuun.

Oh man, if you had only known me growing up. I was deathly scared of bees. I'm so serious. Mom and Dad, you hear me. I ran from honeybees during elementary soccer. Screamed at the top of my lungs if a wasp got too close. I was the girl in high school who drove her history teacher crazy because every time a bee flew in an open window, I'd watch it like a hawk. And then get up and run if it came near me. I still giggle when I think of how red his face would get when I'd leap out of my chair while he was waxing poetic about the OJ Simpson trial or the Revolutionary War. 

Sorry Mr. H. It was uncontrollable. Why was it always that class that a bee would find its way into?

And now this girl is going to have bees in her backyard? And not just bees, but a swarm of bees??? I think I've really lost it this time. In all seriousness though, we are excited about the class. I'm excited to learn about bees and keeping them. Honeybees are the only bees that don't terrify me anymore, plus there aren't a lot around our area. We are hoping this will help get more veggies out of the garden too!

That's it for today folks. I hope you all have a lovely weekend!


Ingredients (makes about 1 lb):

1 (16 oz package) chocolate melting candy
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds, toasted
sea salt

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate candy according to package directions.
2. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Spread chocolate evenly over the parchment paper. Sprinkle toasted almonds evenly over chocolate. Drizzle caramel sauce evenly over entire cookie sheet. Finish by evenly sprinkling with sea salt. Place cookie sheet in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Remove tray from fridge. Break chocolate into haphazard pieces. Store in an airtight container. 



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6 comments:

  1. This is a definite for the Christmas baking list!
    Looking forward to hearing more about you bee keeping class. I have been interested in getting started, but husband is NOT on board with that idea.

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    Replies
    1. We loved the beekeeping class! It was fascinating. We ended up buying a hive, and ordering bees that we will get in April. We are really excited, I'm going to talk more about it in tomorrow's post.

      The hubby was the one who had to get me on board. Basically I said I'm never getting IN the hive. But he can. And he agreed, so here we are! Rookie beekeepers :-)

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  2. This candy looks so darn good - I can't wait to make it and hope to get it out to those I want to give it to .... before I eat it all! :)

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    Replies
    1. LOL. That will be the challenge Kelli! I meant to give these out and never did. My poor family members :-)

      Have a great day!

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  3. What a delicious looking treat! I just know I will love it!

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    Replies
    1. They are pretty delicious. I always have a hard time turning down salted caramel :-)

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