264. Who doesn't love an Almond Joy Bar? Soft, sweet coconut with dark chocolate and a crunch of almond. One bite and palm trees start popping up all around.
I found this recipe on Pinterest and I just had to make it immediately! "Just a Pinch Blog's" Almond Joy Bars Recipe. The ingredients are basic, as well as the process but the flavor is over the top! The only item I realized, after they were done, was...there were no almonds in the recipe!! I plan to make another batch for a bake sale this weekend and will, most defiantly add the toasted almonds.
Almond Joy Bars
10 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
28 oz sweetened condensed milk
28 oz shredded coconut
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 cups bittersweet chocolate baking chunks
1 cup whole toasted almonds
Preheat oven to 350. Line with parchment paper a 9" x 13" sided baking pan.
Cream together butter and brown sugar for 3 minutes. Add flour and salt. Carefully mix till crumbly as bread crumbs. Transfer into lined baking pan and evenly press the crumbs into an even layer. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool while you prepare the coconut topping.
Combine the condensed milk, coconut and vanilla. Spread over the crust evenly. Return to oven for 18 to 20 minutes till it begins to lightly brown.
Melt the chocolate over a double boiler. Remove baking pan from oven and place whole toasted almonds onto the top in a pattern. Pour chocolate over top and spread evenly. Allow to cool then refrigerate until hardened, about 1 hour. Be careful not to leave the bars in the cooler too long. Remove from the baking pan onto a smooth surface. Cut into 36 squares.
Personal Notes: I would under-bake rather than over-bake. Use semi-sweet chocolate and dark chocolate mix. I also considered grinding toasted almonds and using 1/2 cup in the crust.
... I don't understand how the coconut and crust in the picture, on the recipe's blog, looks so white. Sweetened condensed milk always has an off-white color and when mixed with vanilla, the mixture is a light beige color. Also the crust, brown sugar causes the crust to be an off-white color, not white. Could they have enhanced the picture and lightened it, or used different ingredients???
All these questions aside, the recipe is a keeper!
Delicious!!!
This is a great recipe to welcome spring!
"Sometimes you feel like a nut; sometimes you don't. Almond Joy's got nuts Mound's don't."
~Hershey's Peter Paul jingle from Almond Joy and Mounds candy bars
