· By Three Foragers
Honey Almond Roca
Every year leading up to the holidays, as a part of creating the holiday magic, our mom spoils us by making batches and batches of sugar cookies, festive chocolates, Danish kransekake, and our favourite: Almond Roca - a decadent and addictive combination of toffee, crunchy almonds, and chocolate. It can be easily whipped up with staples that you can usually find in your pantry. Here is our take on one of our favourite holiday treats, made with honey instead of refined sugars!
Holiday Honey Almond Roca
Ingredients:
340 g (1 cup) honey
227 g (1 cup) butter
150 g (1.5 cup) roasted unsalted almonds, roughly chopped. If you prefer another crunchy nut/legume (cashews! pistachios! peanuts!), feel free to substitute.
200 g (1 heaping cup) chocolate chips (we like dark chocolate, but your choice!)
Pinch of sea salt (optional)
Tools: Heavy pot, candy thermometer, rimmed quarter sheet pan, parchment paper, and silicon spatula or wooden spoon.
Directions:
Line your sheet pan with parchment paper. Make sure this is done before you start cooking the toffee as you will need to transfer your toffee mixture quickly once it is ready.
Make the honey almond toffee: Combine 340 g honey and 227 g butter into heavy pot and cook at medium high heat. Once the butter has melted, add 125 g almonds and stir continuously until the mixture reads 310F on your candy thermometer. We recommend that you do not multitask - this toffee can burn easily if you miss the temperature mark!
Once you reach desired temperature, remove from heat and pour into your lined sheet pan. Use your spoon/spatula to spread the toffee thinly and evenly across the entire pan.
Add chocolate layer: While the toffee is still hot, evenly sprinkle 200 g chocolate chips across the surface of the toffee. As the chocolate chips melt, spread the chocolate in an even layer across the top of the toffee with the back of your spoon/spatula.
Sprinkle remaining 25 g almonds across the surface of the chocolate. Optionally, you can also sprinkle pinches of sea salt over the chocolate to balance the sweetness of this treat.
Let cool to room temperature. Once cool, you can remove the Honey Almond Roca from the sheet pan and break it into small pieces. Enjoy!