Homemade Almond Joys

Last week, my friend Becky posted a link to homemade Almond Joy bars. They looked too easy to not make, so I whipped them up on Friday. If you like coconut, you'll love these. They are SO yummy and super simple. And won't take you all day to make, like some candy!

Almond Joy Bars
7 oz sweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup egg whites (about 3 extra large eggs)
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
whole roasted almonds (unsalted)
4 ounces good quality chocolate, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons butter

Start by mixing the coconut, sugar, flour and salt in a saucepan.

In another bowl, measure out the egg whites and honey. Whip them with a whisk until they are foamy.

Then add the egg mixture to the coconut mixture in the pan. Mix well with a spatula.

Turn the heat on medium, and cook for about 10 minutes. You have to be very vigilant and stir continuously or else the bottom will burn. After about 10 minutes, you'll notice that the mixture has turned beige.

Add in the vanilla. Then, remove from the heat, and let sit until the mix has cooled a bit. You should be able to handle it without it burning your hands. Take spoonfuls of the coconut mixture and form into little bars. It's really up to you how big to make them. I tried to make mine about the size of real Almond Joy bars. The mixture is super sticky, so to help me out, I sprayed my hands with some Pam to make it easier to form the bars. I also lined my baking pan with parchment paper to help to prevent sticking. I got about 15 bars, the recipe says you'll get 18, so it really depends on how big you make the bars as to how many you'll get.

Press two or three almonds into each bar. Or just skip this if you just want mounds.

Bake the bars 20-25 minutes at 350F until they are browned. Let cool completely.

Over a double-boiler, melt chocolate and butter.

Dip each bar into the chocolate, and return to a parchment paper lined baking sheet to let the chocolate set up. You can put them in the fridge if you want to hurry the process, or just eat them with soft chocolate--nothing wrong with that!

Hope you enjoy these super simple tasty treats :)