Christmas Candy Even You Can Make

Hi- Merry Christmas!  May the Deity of your choice bless you this Holiday Season.  I have been crazy busy this Christmas time- it all starts mid November for me and ends on January 2.  Tons of cooking and about a million dishwasher loads of dishes happen in my tiny kitchen.  This is the one time of year I complain about my apartment kitchen- it is just too small to do all that I need it to do.  Oh well.

Christmas is about love, and I love food, and I love feeding the people I love.  I have started making toffee every Christmas, mostly because it is insanely yummy, but also because it is easy, impressive and can be made in the smallest of kitchen.  Here is a recipe that you can make in about an hour, and you probably have most of the ingredients in your kitchen now.


SALTED ALMOND TOFFEE
 2 Sticks Unsalted Butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Cup Salted  & Smoke Roasted Almonds- 3/4 cup coarsely chopped, 1/4 cup finely chopped (use a food processor)
2 Tablespoons water
1 Tablespoon PURE vanilla
1 Teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 oz bittersweet or dark chocolate chips

1: Line two cookie sheets with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray
2: In a small sauce pan, melt together butter, sugar and water over medium heat.  Stir constantly, occasionally scraping down the sides with a water moistened pastry brush.
3: Continue to cook until it reaches hard ball stage-  302 Degrees on a candy thermometer- approximately 15 minutes- but seriously- use the candy thermometer.
4: Once it reaches 302 degrees, remove from heat.  quickly stir in the coarsely chopped almonds, salt and vanilla
5: Pour this mixture onto one of the prepared cookie sheets.  Spread into a thin layer
6: Quickly put half of the chocolate chips onto the mixture and spread with a spatula.  The heat will melt the chips.
7: Put the cookie sheet in the freezer for at least 15 minutes, until the chocolate is set- but no more than 20 minutes
8: Remove the sheet from the freezer, invert onto the second prpared sheet and peel the aluminum foil from the sheet
9: Melt in the microwave the other half of the choc chips
10: Spread the melted chocolate over the toffee, and quickly sprinkle the finely chopped almonds on top of the chocolate
11: return to the freezer for 15- 20 minutes.
12: Remove from freezer break into shards and enjoy