Minggu, 30 Desember 2012

New Year Treats For Your Honey

This is a super easy and delicious recipe for fool proof Almond Roca "style" candy

It has just 6 ingredients and takes about 15 minutes to make

The main thing to remember when making candy is it all happens pretty quickly and you need to have all of your ingredients measured and near your stove before you begin

You may want to purchase a candy thermometer if you are nervous about temperature control... or you can live dangerously like I do...and just wing it and hope for the best!

I have made some mistakes with this candy by over cooking it but 
I just dump it out and start over

 So here is what you need:

1 Cup Butter
1 Cup Sugar
2 Tbl Water
1 Tbl Light Corn Syrup
1 Cup Chopped Almonds
4-6 Regular Sized Hershey Bars


 In a large heavy sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat

* a note on butter...use good quality unsalted butter.  Lesser quality butter tends to have more water and it can affect the density of the finished candy 


 When the butter has melted, 
add the sugar and heat to a boil, stirring constantly 

* a note on stirring....use a wooden spoon and stir stir stir...
never let the sugar mixture sit or it will burn



 When the sugar comes to a rolling boil
 it will have large bubbles
 Add the corn syrup and the water...and keep stirring

 You are still working over medium to medium high heat and now you will start to see some color and the sugar mixture will start to thicken...but just keep stirring!
 After 10 to 15 minutes your candy will start to really thicken and will be a rich golden brown color.  If you are using a candy thermometer it will read 290 degrees or "hard crack"

 Working really quickly
 pour you candy mixture into a sheet pan
This mixture is really hot 
so be super careful not to splash any...it really hurts...!

 While my empty sauce pan is still hot
 I set it in the sink and fill with hot water for easy clean up
 You are now ready to add the chocolate and the nuts

After years of making this 
my family really loves the darker more bittersweet chocolate 
but you can use any chocolate that you like
I also like the nuts really roughly chopped...not too fine...I use a food processor 
but a knife will do the trick here too
 Break up the candy bar 
and gently set over the still very hot caramel  mixture
 You can see the chocolate start to melt
 Using an offset spatula 
gently smooth the candy bar chocolate 
over the caramel candy surface

And finally top with the chopped almonds

 Set your candy on a cooling rack or hot pad and allow to cool

When the candy has cooled 
let it get really hard and cold 
by refrigerating for another an hour
 Break the cold Almond Roca into large chunks 
with a chefs knife

I put mine in zip lock bags,  refrigerate some 
and freeze the rest

 Trust me on this one...it wont last long!

 This is a wonderful dessert treat with coffee 
and I confess I have eaten it for breakfast!
And  It is a perfect compliment with a glass of bubbly 
to ring in the New Year

Happy New Year Everyone

Wishing you all good things in 2013

Cheers

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