I’ve been a busy little candy maker lately, anticipating the desire for holiday gifting. So far, I’ve made truffles, peanut brittle, fudge and this Almond Roca.
Watch the video showing you how to make Almond Roca, then scroll to the bottom of this post to print out the recipe so you can make it at home.
Almond roca is my favorite. My TOTAL favorite. My CRAZY-ADDICTING favorite! The best part is- you will NOT need a candy thermometer for this recipe! yahoo-easy!
How to make Almond Roca:
To make homemade almond roca, sprinkle 3/4 cup chopped and toasted almonds into the bottom of a buttered 7×11-inch glass pan. I realize everyone doesn’t have a 7×11-inch pan, so you can certainly use a 9×12-inch if you need to… it will just be more spread out and thinner.
I use salted, roasted almonds (and then toasted them in a dry frying pan after chopping). You can use unsalted natural almonds if you don’t care for the salty-sweet combination in dessert.
Melt some butter in a medium saucepan.
Add brown sugar, and stir it up.
Bring the mixture to a boil. Not a wild, rolling boil… just enough of a boil where you see bubbles popping frequently.
Boil the butter/sugar mixture for 12 minutes exactly (stirring constantly). It should look all cool and golden and toffee-like when it’s done.
I make my almond roca without a candy thermometer with success, but since some readers have noted having trouble with this recipe- you might wish to stick an instant read thermometer in there just to make sure it’s about the right temperature.
Here’s a candy thermometer that has good reviews on Amazon.
Pull it off the heat when it has reached the hard-crack stage (300 degrees F) or when the mixture starts to separate (the oil starts to separate from the sugar). If it gets higher than 320, the mixture will not remain solid.
Pour it on top of the almonds in the pan– drizzling it all over and and filling in all of the spaces with the toffee.
Place four chocolate bars on top of the hot toffee.
Let them sit there for a minute or so and get all gooey and melted, then use the bottom of a spoon to spread the chocolate around.
Spread all the way to the edges.
Sprinkle more almonds on top. Press them in gently. Now’s the hard part.
You can either let the almond roca sit at room temperature overnight to set that chocolate completely, or you can refrigerate it until firm, or you can freeze it for about 20 minutes (until firm).
Once the mixture is firm and set, loosen the sides of the pan with a knife and the almond roca should pop right out of the pan in one, big hunk. Break it apart gently with your hands, or set it on a cutting board and use a large knife to cut across the slab of candy–wedges will break off and appear in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
Sample! Just to make sure everything is tasting okay and everything 😉
It’s best to get this almond roca out of your house as quickly as possible. On candy-making day at my house, this was the favorite of all of my taste testers… by far.
SO good. And SO addicting and buttery and almondy and salty-sweet and delicious.
This should keep just fine in a sealed container kept at room temperature for a couple of weeks. Happy holiday gifting!
If you enjoy candy recipes, you might also like my recipes for Key Lime Fudge, Caramels or Fantasy Fudge. Homemade Snickers and Holiday Lollipops are fun choices too!
Almond Roca
Ingredients
- 1½ cups chopped toasted almonds, divided
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
- 4 bars milk chocolate (such as Hershey's)
Instructions
- Butter a 7x11-inch pan (or 9x12 for slightly thinner roca). Sprinkle 1 cup of toasted almonds on bottom of the pan.
- In a heavy saucepan at medium-high heat melt butter and add brown sugar. Stir until gently boiling. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and boil 12 minutes exactly, stirring constantly. *Edited to add* I make mine without a candy thermometer with success, but since some readers have noted having trouble with this recipe- you might wish to stick an instant read thermometer in there just to make sure it's about the right temperature. Pull it off the heat when it has reached the hard-crack stage (300 degrees F)- or when the mixture starts to separate (the oil starts to separate from the sugar). If it gets higher than 320, it will not remain solid.
- Remove the mixture from heat, give it a good stir to mix up that butter and sugar one more time, and immediately pour the hot mixture into the pan over the almonds. (see *Recipe Notes below) Place the chocolate bars on top. Let them sit a minute or so until melted, then spread chocolate around carefully. Sprinkle with the remaining toasted almonds, and gently press them into the chocolate.
- Cool completely, and then break apart into chunks with a sharp knife. Store in a covered container.
Notes
- TIPS:
This recipe is gluten-free adaptable- just be sure to use a brand of chocolate that is known to be GF. - If you like the sweet-salty combination in desserts, use roasted almonds that are salted (then you can chop them and toast them lightly in a dry frying pan). If you don't care to have much salt, use unsalted natural almonds. I went for the salty kind and LOVED it.
- If you don't have a 7x11-inch pan, it's okay to use a 9x12-inch pan. You probably won't want to go all the way to the edges with the almonds, toffee and chocolate or it will be thin. Leave about an inch all the way around.
- Speed up the cooling process by placing the pan in the refrigerator.
- If you are in a place where it is very humid, you will likely have trouble getting your toffee to set. Toffee doesn't like humidity. Try it on a dry day!
- Edited to add that some people have trouble w/ the chocolate separating from the toffee. This is kind of normal in almond roca since the toffee is so buttery. I've been told that one way to avoid that is to give the toffee a light dusting of cocoa powder before placing the chocolate bars on top. The powder apparently acts as an absorbent for the butter and allows the chocolate to adhere more easily to the toffee. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm told that it works!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is the best, fastest recipe ever!!! I’ve made it three times now and it turns out perfect every time. I use sliced almonds and toast them in my frying pan with grapeseed oil. It doesn’t leave any oily taste. Then I lightly salt them and let them sit. And yes, you have to watch these or they will burn.. stir the whole time then take off heat and let cool as she says.
I have used choc chips instead of candy bars .. and they work just as well and I actually like nestles chips better. I’ve done both. I’m making 4 more batches tomorrow for xmas gifts.. The recipe absolutely rocks, Tastes exactly like the stuff you buy… even better Thanks for this easy, yummy recipe. P.s> def use a candy thermometer.. worth the money. I make homemade candies too and you really can’t do it without one.
This recipe didn’t work for me at all. Used a candy thermometer the first time and by the time it got to 309, the toffee was burned and separated. On the second try, I went by time (12 minutes) and eyeball (just a little longer). Though it is a clear, sunny day, the toffee sugared and never hardened. I threw it away. A waste of time and money.
Does the type of pan make a big difference? My pans are stainless steel. The first batch, I threw away. The sugar crystallized. (I was using a candy thermometer.)
It might– a pyrex makes this recipe so easy because it breaks away from the pan so easily.
I’ve been making a version of this for decades but I use white sugar and a teaspoon and a half of water in mine. The trick I found was to use a heavy bottomed 3-qt sauce pan and start the sugar first on medium heat. Stir constantly. Once the sugar starts to melt then add the butter. Keep stirring. Add the water and then watch for a tiny, and I do mean tiny, puff of steam. Keep stirring while watching. Add some of the toasted, chopped almonds to the toffee. Transfer to an ungreased ¼ sheet pan. Top with chocolate and go from there. This version adds too much of a butterscotch taste that I don’t like. But I’ll still give this one a try for my husband’s sake. He likes butterscotch.
Made mine last night turned out really good!
I didn’t quite make it through all the comments,so I’m sorry if this has already been mentioned. To those of you who said you had trouble with the chocolate sticking to the Roca, If you used margarine, instead of butter, that’s the problem. Always, always use BUTTER. I’ve been making Almond Roca for years, but my recipe calls for a full pound of butter and white sugar. I can’t wait to try your version.
This is such a great recipe…don’t know why some people are having a problem with it! I lined my pan with foil. You really do need to keep stiring it, No candy thermometer needed, either. Thanks
Hi Lori ..After many failed attempts at Almond Roca…your recipe is GREAT!!! I didn’t need a candy thermometer. I did line the pan with tin foil which works very well. Thanks so much. This will be my go to recipe. Happy Christmas!!!
oh good, glad to hear!
I MADE this and it came out perfect! Thank you!
I googled “toasted almond desserts” and found this blog post. I made the recipe just as you described and it turned out amazing. Thank you 🙂