Almond bark is just a few short ingredients and steps away! This recipe for vegan chocolate almond bark is free of dairy and added sugar. It uses a chocolate that is at least 70% cacao and almonds that you roast yourself, having complete control over the cooking process. Use any nut you like for this recipe and tweak it to your liking. Enjoy!

The glow is in the crunch:

Almonds: lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart disease, protect against diabetes and cardiovascular disease, have a high antioxidant content, increase flavonoids and vitamin A in the body for heart health, lower the risk of weight gain, and help with energy production.

Vegan Chocolate Almond Bark

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw almonds
• 1/8 cup maple syrup
• Dash of sea salt
• 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 bar of 70% dark chocolate

Directions: Melt the chocolate in a saucepan, being very careful not to burn! You could use a double broiler to ensure this. Once melted, pour half the chocolate onto parchment paper, spreading it out into a 1/4-inch thick layer. It should as thin as the bar was prior to melting, which means it had enough thickness to hold its own when hardened. Put the chocolate spread into the freezer.

  

While the chocolate hardens, it’s time to roast the almonds. Spread the almonds over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Massage 1/8 cup of maple syrup and a dash of sea salt into the almonds until each one is evenly coated. Spread the almonds so that each has its own place on the parchment paper. This will ensure equal roasting. Broil the almonds in the oven on medium (or low), keeping an eye. This process will only take under 5 minutes, so don’t go anywhere. While the almonds roast, keep a very close eye one them, moving them around with a spatula to brown both sides and prevent burning.

When they are done, they’ll be golden brown. Let them sit until cool. Along with 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil and 1/2 tablespoon of maple syrup, food process the cooled almonds until the mixture sticks together. Be patient – at first it will become mealy but will soon clump. Form an almond “patty” with your hand, placing it on the frozen chocolate to cover its area, leaving about 1/2 – 1 inch width from the almond mixture to the edge of the frozen chocolate. Warm up the remainder of the melted chocolate so that it spreads easily, topping the almond layer evenly, making sure to “seal” the edges so that the melted chocolate meets the frozen chocolate. I made the mistake of using too much chocolate for the base, so learn from me and melt the chocolate in rounds, rather than all at the same time, for perfect measure!

Pop back into the freezer until hardened – about 30 minutes. When it’s ready, crack and snap it, or simply tell yourself 1 (massive) piece=1 serving. I definitely didn’t do that…

Bon Appetit!

xo Aylin

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