Homemade Almond Joys with Dark Chocolate

For as long as I can remember, I've been making coconut candies at Christmas time. I drizzle them with chocolate and the most common thing I hear is that they taste just like Almond Joy candy bars, but better. While I was pondering a sweet to make for Easter, I remembered these coconut treats and decided to see if I could add an almond and make them even closer to the original.

I initially made them in tiny cupcake liners and then found myself getting all crafty and forming others into egg shapes around the almonds. (Yeah, I know, WHAT was I thinking? I am not that food blogger!) It was a messy process, but really not that time consuming in the end. If you decide to try the egg-shaped Almond Joy idea, chill the coconut mixture for 10-15 minutes before squeezing it into shape around the almonds. Then chill the coconut wrapped almonds in the freezer for an hour, before dipping them in the chocolate.

* Just a note: I made half of these with coconut oil mixed into the chocolate and the other half without. I preferred the thinner chocolate coating created by the coconut oil. However, it does make for a messier candy, because the shell melts more quickly in your hands.



Homemade Almond Joys with Dark Chocolate
Yield: 36 1" candy cups or 18 egg-shaped candies
(printable recipe)

1 1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk *
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
18-36 roasted almonds
2 cups dark chocolate chips, or the chocolate of your choice
Optional: 2 tablespoons coconut oil
36 tiny cupcake liners, about 1" in size

Stir together the coconut, condensed milk and vanilla. It should be sticky and hold it's shape when pressed together. Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl over a pan of water, or in the microwave at half power for about 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds or so.

Drizzle 1 teaspoon of chocolate into the bottom of each cup. Add 1 teaspoon of the coconut mixture. Press on the coconut slightly to make the chocolate slide up the sides of the liner. Top the coconut with an almond and then pour a teaspoon of chocolate on top. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for a couple of months. Enjoy!

* I found this homemade substitute for condensed milk and considered trying it myself, but I ran out of time. The ingredients for condensed milk should be listed on the can as only milk and sugar, so I was fine with using that in this recipe. Here is a dairy-free coconut version to try as well.





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