CHRISTMAS CRUNCH

Like a Heath bar. Served at SWSA Mother’s Day brunch with rave reviews.

1-3/4 C sugar
1/3 C light corn syrup
1 C margarine or butter (2 sticks)
8 oz slivered blanched almonds, lightly toasted and finely chopped
2 1-oz squares unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 1-oz squares semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 t shortening

In a heavy 2-quart saucepan over medium heat, heat sugar, corn syrup, and 1/4 water to boiling, stirring occasionally. Stir in margarine or butter. Set candy thermometer in place and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until temperature reaches 300 F or hard-crack stage (when a small amount is dropped into water, it should separate into hard and brittle threads). This should take about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat. Reserve 1/3 C chopped almonds and stir remaining almonds into hot syrup. Immediately pour mixture into lightly greased 15-1/2 by 10-1/2 jelly-roll pan; spread evenly. Cool in pan on rack.

Prepare the chocolate glaze: In a heavy, small saucepan over low heat, heat the chocolate and shortening until melted, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
Remove candy in one piece from pan to cutting board. Spread chocolate over candy; sprinkle with reserved almonds, pressing them gently into the chocolate. Set aside to allow glaze to set, about 1 hour. Break into pieces. Store in layers, separated by waxed paper in tightly covered container to use within 2 weeks. Makes about 1-3/4 lbs.

180 calories per ounce

1 Comment

  1. I am looking for a recipe for cooking Christmas plum pudding in a pressure cooker. Would the recipe be
    slightly different if cooking it in a pressure cooker? What I am really looking for is the specifics of
    amount of water used in the pressure cooker for the steaming and the amount of time needed and if the
    pressure cooker should be cooled immediately or let it cool on it’s own.

Comments are closed.