The Dark Side

This month's Sugar High Friday is hosted by the very fabulous Kelli at LOVESCOOL. The secret ingredient is Dark Chocolate. When I learned dark chocolate was the thing to use this month I casually mentioned it to my husband. " This month's SHF is on Dark Chocolate... I think I am going to do something out of the cookbook you gave me awhile back....." . " Ugh. Chocolate AGAIN?" *eyes rolling* " What do you mean AGAIN? I haven't participated in a chocolate SHF, yet..." " I know, but you are always making chocolate stuff and I have to be honest with you.......I really don't care for chocolate." silence. crickets chirping. silence. more silence. " WHAT? Did you just say YOU DON'T CARE FOR CHOCOLATE??? What the... how can someone not care for chocolate?" " I just don't baby... I don't know why." So.... I dropped the issue and had a fleeting thought of " Why did I marry this man??" But that thought quickly vanished when he flashed that handsome smile of his and said " But I do love all the other stuff you make...." My challenge had been set.... I had to create something that I could trick him into eating that he would love that had dark chocolate in it....This was going to be fun. I wanted to use the Death By Chocolate cookbook he bought me a few years back when he was on a business trip. All (but one) of the recipes were too chocolate-ey and obvious. I decided on Dark Chocolate Honey Almond Crunch. The name kind of sounds hokey, but the recipe sounded delish. It called for rum and we all know how I feel about rum and cooking..... The final product is like peanut brittle but with almonds and chocolate and I must say it is quite good. Even my husband agrees.....and agrees and agrees and agrees......... 4 cups sliced almonds 1/4 cup honey ( I used Lyle's) 6 oz unsalted butter 8 oz dark chocolate-chopped into 1/4" pcs 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup water 4 oz semisweet chocolate-chopped into 1/4" pcs 1/4 cup Myer's Dark rum Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Toast 2 cups of almonds on a baking sheet in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. Remove the almonds from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Transfer the almonds to a large dish or other suitable container and set aside until needed. Melt the butter in a 2 1/2-qt saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly as it melts so it does not simmer or boil. As soon as the butter is completely melted, add the sugar, water, rum, and honey. Increase the heat to medium high. Heat the mixture to a temperature of 220 degrees, stirring constantly. Add the untoasted almonds and continue to heat and stir until the mixture reaches a temperature of 225 degrees. Evenly divide the honey-almond mixture between the 2 baking sheets. Place the baking sheets on the top and middle shelves of the preheated oven and bake until the mixture is evenly caramelized, about 24 to 26 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets from top to bottom about halfway through the baking time. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.Combine the semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate pieces and evenly divide and sprinkle over the surface of the caramelized honey-almond mixture. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to spread the chocolate throughout the mixture. Evenly divide and sprinkle the toasted almonds over the chocolate. Place both baking sheets in the freezer for 20 minutes. Remove the Chocolate Honey Almond Crunch from the freezer and break into irregular pieces. Store in a sealed plastic container in the freezer or refrigerator.