Homemade Almond Joys

Greetings from Michigan!  I brought you sweets!  

And daaaanng, these guys are sweet.  So, here's the scoop...our candies tasted like almond joys but came out looking like a real mess once we dunked them in chocolate...so I can't show you the picture, lest you think you shouldn't make these--you should!  

I subbed dark chocolate for the semi-sweet, and I suspect that may have had something to do with my troubles.  Even after we melted the chips, the chocolate was super thick and hard to dunk.  We kind of just ended up pouring the chocolate over the candies.  They taste fine, but make sure your chocolate is nice and soupy before your dunk...so I'd say go with semi-sweet melting chocolate.

Oh, and hey, look what else I found!

Homemade Almond Joys
Adapted from Joy the Baker
(yields about 30 little candies)  

7 ounces sweetened condensed milk

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt

2 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

30 almonds

about 20 ounces (a bag and a half) of good quality semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, spread raw almonds onto a baking sheet and toast for about 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together sweetened condensed milk, powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract.  Stir in the unsweetened coconut.  The mixture will be thick.  Place mixture in the freezer for 3o minutes.  It's easier to work with if it's a little cold.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Remove the coconut mixture from the freezer.  With clean hands shape one tablespoon of coconut into a little log about 2 inches long and 3/4-inch thick.  Press the logs together very well so they don't crack when dipped.    Place the log on the lined baking sheet and continue until all of the coconut mixture is gone.  Rinse hands occasionally if they get too sticky.  Press an almond on top of each coconut log.  It might not completely stick.  That's ok.  Place the baking sheet in the fridge to chill while you melt the chocolate.

Place a medium  pot with two inches of water over a medium flame.  Bring the water to a simmer.  Place chocolate chips in a heat proof bowl and place the bowl over the simmering water.  Stir the chocolate as it melts.  Turn off the flame once the chocolate has melted but keep the bowl of melted chocolate over the hot water.

Remove the coconut candies from the fridge.  Place one coconut almond log on a fork.  Use a spoon to scoop a bit of chocolate over the almond.  This will help the almond stick to the candy and not fall off during dipping.  Lower fork into chocolate and spoon chocolate over candy to coat.  Lift fork and gently shake to release some of the chocolate.  Scrape the bottom of the fork along the side of the bowl and place on the lined baking sheet.  You might need a toothpick to help get the candy off the fork. Repeat until all candy is coated in chocolate.  If chocolate gets thick, just turn on the flame and heat slightly.

Let dipped candy harden in the fridge for 45 minutes.  Store in an airtight container at room temperature.  If you need to layer the candy in a container, use waxed paper to separate the layers.