Chocolate Covered Almond Pralines

Instead of overindulging in store-bought candy this year (Reese’s and Snickers are my weaknesses), I made a batch of these Chocolate Covered Almond Pralines to satisfy my sweet tooth. This is a Halloween treat for grown ups to say the least. Almonds coated in caramelized sugar, covered in chocolate, and dusted with cocoa powder are ridiculously good.

This is the type of treat that you would normally find in a nice chocolate shop, but I’m happy to report that they are easy to make at home. If we had trick-or-treating in our building, I would be tempted to hand out bags of these almonds to accompanying adults. Likewise, wrapping these up for holiday gift giving wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

In addition to making my own candy this year, I could not resist torturing my dogs with a little festive attire. Some of you have requested more pictures of the dogs (since this post) and I’m happy to deliver! Riley is in the skeleton costume and Cooper is sporting the candy corn handkerchief. Neither of them enjoyed this very much, so the situation lasted for about 2 minutes–just enough time for me to snap a few pictures.

Happy Halloween from the Whisks and Whimsy clan! Stay safe, eat candy, and have fun!

Chocolate Covered Almond Pralines
Adapted from Martha Stewart

2 1/2 cups (about 13 ounces) whole almonds*
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 1 /4 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the almonds are toasted and fragrant. Set them aside to cool.

In a medium saucepan over high heat, combine the sugar and water and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Keep the sugar mixture on the heat, without stirring, until the mixture reaches 235 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 3 minutes or so.

Add the cooled toasted nuts to the saucepan and stir until the sugar begins to crystallize, about 1 minute. Add the salt and continue stirring for about 2 to 3 minutes, until the sugar becomes sand-like in texture and has thinly coated all the almonds. Pour the sugarcoated almonds onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and set aside to cool for at least 30 minutes.

Once the almonds have cooled, shake them around in a colander to help remove any excess sugar. Then transfer the almonds to a large bowl.

Place a glass bowl over simmering water to create a double boiler (making sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water), and melt the chocolate, stirring constantly. Pour the melted chocolate over the almonds and stir until all the almonds are coated with chocolate. Transfer the chocolate covered almonds to a parchment paper lined baking sheet and use a fork to help separate the almonds, breaking up any clusters. Place the baking sheet in the fridge for 30 minutes, or until the chocolate has set.

Once the chocolate has hardened, place the almonds in a bowl with the cocoa powder and toss until all the almonds are coated. Place the almonds in a colander again to help remove any excess cocoa powder. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

Makes a big batch (my batch yielded about 4 cups*).

*Note: I used 8 ounces of blanched whole almonds, since that’s all I had on hand.

See more: Chocolate • Gluten Free • Nuts • Vegan