Creamy, melt-in-your mouth chocolate and almond clusters made in the microwave with just 3 simple ingredients!
Last month when I visited Diamond of California Nuts in Sacramento, I stayed in a gorgeous hotel called The Citizen. It was fan-C-pants. The rooms were really nice with lots and lots of comfy uber-squishy pillows ( <—- one of the keys for an awesome hotel room).
Diamond Nuts made sure I was taken care of pretty much every minute of the day, and when I got back to my room Thursday night, there was a gift bag for me. It was stuffed with snack things (Sriracha Kettle Corn. People. Get your hands on this stuff. NOW.) including but not limited to a little bag from a local candy shop filled with sea-salted chocolate covered cashews.
Oh. My. Heaven.
I basically inhaled those babies in 3.7 seconds flat. But then they were gone and I found myself craving them desperately for days afterwards. Well, you know me and my cravings…. they’re powerful little things those cravings and I find that I just can’t live to my fullest potential while one of my basic needs is going unmet. So I made my own sea-salted chocolate covered nuts. I decided to go with almonds (although cashews would have worked perfectly too and I plan on doing that very, very soon) and I used almond bark for the chocolate. No matter which nuts you choose to go with in this recipe, I still recommend sticking with the almond bark! The flavor is divine and the chocolate is so creamy that it just can’t be beat in a recipe for candy-type-chocolate-things like these nut clusters.
In nutshell (I crack myself up!) – these are a cinch to make IN THE MICROWAVE! That’s right. In the microwave. Doesn’t get any easier than a microwave candy recipe with only 3 ingredients.
- 12 ounces almond bark, roughly chopped* (may sub cashews or peanuts)
- 2 cups whole raw almonds* (such as Diamond of California)
- 1-2 teaspoons coarse sea salt*
- Like a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- In a heat safe bowl, microwave almond bark on high for 2 minutes. Take it out, give it a stir, then return to microwave for 30 seconds at a time - stir after each - until creamy.
- Add almonds to the bowl of melted chocolate. Use a tablespoon to scoop out almonds and chocolate and pour into a mound on prepared baking sheet. (The chocolate will spread out a little) Repeat process with remaining almonds and chocolate. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
- Allow clusters to cool completely. If you have room in the fridge or freezer, you can stick them in there for a few minutes and they'll harden up in no time. Store at room temperature or chilled in an airtight container.
*Sea salt is optional but highly recommended!
***Almond bark is a kind of baking chocolate you can find near the chocolate chips in most grocery stores. It is my favorite for melting in recipes like this, but chocolate chips can be used in place of almond bark if desired.
Liz @ Tip Top Shape
Oh, I love these!!!! I always make little holiday baskets with treats for my family members and this looks like the perfection addition to that! Thanks for sharing!!
Nicole ~ Cooking for Keeps
These are GORGEOUS! And I can’t believe you made them in the microwave. Wow.
[email protected]
These are perfect for holiday gift giving! Love your photography!
Twyla
I made these this past weekend but used pecans – Oh. My. Goodness! So super easy to make and simply scrumptious! I can’t wait to try them again – going to add caramel and chocolate next time. It would have been awesome with the almonds. Can’t wait to try that one too! Thank you for sharing! I’m going to whip some of these up and put them in super cute tins for the holidays!
Rebecca
This chocolate looks gorgeous! Just what I need on this cold wintery day!
Laura Marlow
What is “Almond Bark”? Where can it be found? I can’t wait to try this!! Thanks for sharing.
Tiffany
Hi Laura! Almond bark is usually sold right by the chocolate chips at most grocery stores. It comes in a big “block”. I buy mine actually from walmart for about $3.00 and I love how creamy it is! Here is a link so you know what to look for —> http://www.walmart.com/ip/10313776?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227008991316&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40890126992&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=54664688616&veh=sem
Ana
Would ordinary chocolate work as a substitute? We don’t have almond bark where I live 🙁
Tiffany
You can use chocolate chips!
Thalia @ butter and brioche
How delicious are these almond clusters! Love that they are 3 ingredients especially.. definitely a recipe I need to try!
Sharon
Why would you use almond bark to basically make almond bark in a different shape? Why wouldn’t you melt chocolate chips and stir in almonds, preferably toasted?
Tiffany
You can use whatever you want
Sharon
Sorry, we don’t have almond bark in Canada. To me “almond bark” is a finished product that you would buy at a confectionary store or make at home.
Tiffany
Hi Sharon, here in the U.S. we have almond bark, it’s basically a block of chocolate, it’s not the confection people make at home, it’s a kind of baking chocolate.
Barbara Graham
When I make candy like this I find mini muffin papers in a holiday print, put in my mini muffin pan and spoon my candy in them. They are adorable that way. When I make a tray of cookies I add the candies throughout .The paper brightens up the tray (especially if your making a tray for a chocolate chip cookie craver and it’s all they want,) otherwise not a colorful tray!
nicole
I see your recipe says whole raw almonds?? Did you then roast them before coating in chocolate? Just making sure.
Tiffany
No you do roast them
Lisa R
Nothing in the recipe says you were supposed to roast them. Did you mean to type you do NOT roast them? It will make a big difference to the taste and to the amount of time. Which way did you go: roasted or raw?
Tiffany
They are not roasted.
Angie
Just made these, one batch with almonds, one with cashews! Everyone, even, skeptical, “no nuts” children loved them. So easy, and the sea salt did bring it up a notch! Thanks for sharing!
David
I’m gonna make this for Christmas. I can’t cook for the life of me, but I think I can do this! Thanks fo sharing!
Monkeymome3
Oh, I can’t wait to make these! I find myself with extra almonds after Christmas and a wicked craving for chocolate and sea salt tat never wanes!
Tiffany
Amen to that!!!! I will take salted chocolate any time, day or night!!!
April
I made these the other day and they were amazing! They literally took about 3 minutes. I used bittersweet chocolate chips and we devoured them. My husband requested more the next day and I would be making more again today but I’m out of almonds. Thanks so much for the perfect treat.
Tiffany
Aren’t they awesome?? I love how fast they are. And good thing because my husband requests them regularly too!
Admira
These are BOMB! I have made so many batches and gone through almonds like crazy. I do roast my almonds they have a strong almond taste when roasted. I also use the wilton candy melts. I have made them in whit chocolate with pretzel bits and mixed my white candy melts with biscoff spread and topped them with toffee!! AMAZING! Thank you for sharing this recipe, simple and delicious.
Judy Stout
I make these with 1 bar of melted chocolate bark and one jar of honey roasted peanuts….or 1/2 jar of the honey roasted peanuts and 1/2 jar raisins.
Dick
Do you have nutritional information for these scrumptious looking treats? Thanks
Tiffany
Hi! I don’t have the nutrition stats for this recipe but I recommend using http://www.myfitnesspal.com – it’s very easy to use and free and you can just plug a web URL in and it will help you calculate the stats!
Dick
Thank you
Courtney
it looks like there are about 6 almonds in each piece….the recipe says 16 “servings” is that 16 pieces …seems like it would be 32???
Trina and Tina
Can’t believe you make these in a microwave! Genius!
Wrong Recipe
There isn’t chocolate listed with the ingredients?!
Tiffany
Yes it is, the almond bark is the chocolate part of the recipe.
Auntiepatch
Did you read the recipe?! Don’t give a recipe a 1 star if you haven’t read it or made it! How rude!
Brittany
Simple, delicious and cost effective way to hand out holiday treats 😊