Candied Chocolate Almonds

From Sunset Magazine comes another easy recipe for the holidays. Candied Chocolate Almonds. The perfect hostess gift! I ordered  small gift boxes in quantity from U-Line for these. Much less expensive than buying individually. Delivered to my door in two days. The original recipe called for milk chocolate, but I'm a dark chocolate fan. It's your choice.

Be sure and check out a related chocolate covered nuts recipe from Margaret Maron. Southern Chocolate Covered Fried Pecans.

Candied Chocolate Almonds

Ingredients
Cooking-oil spray
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups raw almonds with skins
2 tablespoons butter
12 ounces chopped DARK chocolate
3 tablespoons Dutch-processed unsweetened DARK cocoa powder
3 tablespoons powdered sugar

Preparation

1. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray and set aside. Mix corn syrup, granulated sugar, and 2 tbsp. water in a 4-qt. pot. Bring to a boil; boil 2 minutes.

2. Reduce heat to medium-high, add nuts, and cook, stirring continuously; syrup will crystallize into sugar around nuts and become very sandy. Keep cooking and stirring until sugar starts to melt again and caramelize, about 5 minutes. When nuts smell toasted and all sugar has caramelized and is medium brown, remove from heat. Stir in butter. Carefully pour hot nuts onto prepared baking pan (reserve pot).

3. Spray tines of 2 forks with cooking spray. Using forks, stir and separate nuts until cool. Freeze nuts on pan 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, add 3 in. water to reserved pot; bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Put chocolate in a medium metal bowl and set bowl over pot. Let sit, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted.

5. Transfer nuts from freezer to a medium bowl. Pour half the melted chocolate over nuts; stir well to coat. Return nuts to baking sheet, spreading out and separating them. Return nuts to freezer until chocolate has set, about 20 minutes. Repeat with remaining melted chocolate.

6. Divide nuts between 2 bowls. Sift cocoa over first bowl, tossing gently to coat nuts. Repeat with second bowl, using powdered sugar instead of cocoa. Store nuts separately in airtight containers up to 2 weeks.

Photo: Annabelle Breakey