Mini Almond Joy Bars - Recipe

♫ "Sometimes you feel like a nut....sometimes you don't...." ♫

Anybody else remember that jingle from way back when? When was that? The 80s? The early 90s? (Not at all serious about that.) The 70s? Please don't say the 70s! Oh merde, it really is from that long ago...!

I'm still feeling like a nut today, no matter how old that jingle is! So, get ready for an Almond Joy bar recipe.

I'm sharing this recipe thanks to my cousin Mickey in Wisconsin (yeah, Wisconsin!). She put them out over Christmas when we stopped by her house and we really enjoyed them (read scarfed them down). Ever since, they practically become an obsession in our household. They taste that good. And you'll fall off your seat when you see how easy they are to make. I'll warn you, though, it's hard to eat just one.


Almond Joy Bars Makes a lot. You could easily cut the recipe in half, but whadda ya gonna do with half a can of sweetened condensed milk? So you might as well make 'em all. They store well, if they last that long.

16 oz (454g) dried, flaked coconut
1 can (14 oz, or 396g) of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 lb (227g) powdered sugar
Roasted Almonds (about 1 cup, or desired quantity)
High quality dark or milk chocolate, depending on your own preference. (I used dark.)

1. Mix dried coconut and powdered sugar together, & then mix the sweetened condensed milk with it.
2. Form into balls* & place a whole roasted almond on top. Press down to hold the nut in place. If the mixture doesn't hold well enough initially, put in fridge for a little while until it holds when you form it.
3. Chill for 8 hours until good & hard.
4. Melt chocolate over a bain marie. Dip the coconut-almond bar in the chocolate & remove with your fingers or a fork on to parchment paper to let set.

* Note: I didn't do this immediately & they sat in the fridge all day....so after wards, all I could do was cut them into rectangles, small squares, and other odd shapes....That worked well, too. If you do this, skip step #3, and dip the coconut piece into the chocolate, and then dip the almond & set on top. It's a bit more work this way. An alternative idea is to simply chop up the almonds & blend in the mix (in step #1) - this would be the easiest way to do it. Or, maybe you can come up with some better idea! One other thing: feel free to temper the chocolate if you want to be really pro about it -- this will give your chocolate a nice smooth sheen & characteristic crunch-like / snap-like texture. Believe me, they taste just fine without the tempering!!

Thanks again Mickey for the recipe. I'm happy to pass on such a good treat.



:/dma