Almond Roca

OK, I posted this recipe a few years ago.  And I kept making it with great results.  Just like the English Toffee before it.  And then, WHAMMMM!!!!  Just like the English Toffee, it failed.  Twice yesterday.  Just as it reached temp, it separated.  Both times.  So a pound of butter, 2 cups of sugar, and a bunch of almonds....gone.  What is going on???

Just by luck my friend and former neighbor, Pat, called.  She thought maybe it could be that I was using store-brand butter instead of a name-brand or maybe unsalted instead of salted butter.  Could that be?

I love to cook.  But I don't care much for baking and candy-making is at the bottom of my like-to-do list.  So when I had two failures in one day, I had just about given up.  But today's grocery ads came out and..... voila!!!!.....Lake o' Lakes SALTED butter was on sale!  Name-brand salted butter.  It was an omen.  I had to give it one more shot.

Guess what?  It worked!  Perfectly.  So I don't know if it's the salt-edness or the brand-name-edness, but I'll never take another chance.  So if you've had this disheartening problem, try this solution for fantastic results.

And thank you, Pat!  You may have just helped more than one person.

ALMOND ROCA (makes one 16x12" jelly-roll pan)

1 cup salted, name-brand butter
1 cup sugar
6 oz slivered almonds
1 1/2 to 2 cups chocolate chips (I prefer milk chocolate)
3 oz sliced almonds
Kosher or sea salt, for sprinkling

Line a large rimmed packing sheet with foil.  Spray with cooking spray.

Place the slivered almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in the oven at 300F for 5-6 minutes, checking often, until the almonds are golden brown and toasted.  Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the butter and sugar and cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula (I used a wooden spatula) until the butter is completely melted and the sugar is dissolved.  Don't rush this step!  It may take up to 5-6 minutes for the sugar to dissolve but you don't want the heat too high during this part of the process.

Once the sugar is dissolved and butter melted, turn the heat up to medium and stir gently as the mixture comes to a boil.  Again, this may take a few minutes.  Once it comes to a boil, clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pan and continue stirring gently as it cooks.  The mixture will gradually turn to darker shades of brown until it reaches the hard crack stage and should register 300F (hard crack) on your candy thermometer.  As  you stir during this process, don't scrape the sides of the pan, just gently stir in a figure-eight motion.

Immediately take the roca off the stove once it hits 300F and stir in the toasted, slivered almonds.  Pour the candy onto the prepared baking sheet, taking care not to scrape the bottom of the pot as you pour it out.  Using an offset spatula, quickly spread the toffee into an even layer on the baking sheet.  It will cool quickly making it hard to spread.

Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the hot toffee and tent with foil.  Let the chocolate melt for 2-3 minutes, remove the tented foil and spread the chocolate chips into an even layer.  Sprinkle the sliced almonds over the top of the roca, sprinkle with salt and set the candy aside to let set and cool completely (place in your frig for quicker cooling/setting).

Once cool and the chocolate is set, break into pieces.