Candy making is fun to make at home during the holidays, especially with few ingredients. These Homemade Almond Joys are full of soft, chewy coconut filling and super easy to make. You are going to love the results!
Almond Joys
Homemade Almond Joys do taste better than store bought, with rich chocolate, plenty of creamy sweet coconut, and a roasted almond in the center, and they are easier to make than you think.
As soon as I saw the recipe for Homemade Almond Joys, I knew they would be going in my Christmas gift boxes this year.
I have to say they taste like the real candy in the stores. They are soft and creamy on the inside, and with the bite of the almond and all that coconut, you are in Yummyville!!!
You know me, when I make candy, I like to make a lot. I doubled the recipe, but I only dipped half of it.
If you are going to go to the trouble of making candy, why not make enough to have for later when you need a quick dessert for company coming by or treats to take for your children's school parties?
WHERE CAN I FIND THE RECIPE? TAKE ME TO THE RECIPE FOR HOMEMADE ALMOND JOYS
Below, under the next heading, I give a list of preferred ingredients, tips, and cooking instructions for Homemade Almond Joys and similar recipe ideas you can have.
Or you can scroll down to the bottom, where you will find a full printable recipe card with amounts of the ingredients and complete instructions with notes.
TIPS AND TIDBITS TO MAKE THE BEST HOMEMADE ALMOND JOYS
What chocolate to use. This recipe calls for chocolate almond bark, but if you prefer to use dark chocolate chips, I recommend adding a tablespoon of vegetable oil when melting. I recommend melting the chocolate in a double boiler to avoid overheating the chocolate.
Dipping Trick. Break off the two middle prongs of a plastic fork and you have the perfect dipper. I go ahead and make several, so when the chocolate collects too much on the fork, grab another one.
If you do not want to dip all the candy at once. You can put the sheet pan of the coconut logs in the freezer. When they are frozen, gather them up and put them in a Ziplock freezer bag to be dipped later.
Not all packaged coconut is equal. You want to be sure and use the moistest and finer shredded coconut that you can find. The dry coconut will not soften when mixed and will separate in the filling, also the texture will be off. My favorite brand is Baker's Angel Flake Coconut.
Almonds. Try to choose the small whole almonds for the recipe. They may be roasted, but this is not necessary.
Shaping the almond joys. Stop and clean your hands when shaping the candy into logs. The filling is sticky and can be difficult to shape. Refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes and resume shaping if this happens.
Need to layer the candy after shaping. If you need to layer the candy logs in a container, use waxed paper to separate the layers.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE HOMEMADE ALMOND JOYS
Baking sheet
Mixer, handheld, or stand
Dipping fork
Sweetened condensed milk
Butter
Vanilla
Powdered sugar
Sweetened flaked coconut
Chocolate almond bark or dark chocolate chips
Whole almonds
Mixer, handheld, or stand
Dipping fork
Sweetened condensed milk
Butter
Vanilla
Powdered sugar
Sweetened flaked coconut
Chocolate almond bark or dark chocolate chips
Whole almonds
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE ALMOND JOYS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, spread raw almonds onto a baking sheet, and toast for about 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
In the bowl of a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the sweetened condensed milk, butter, and vanilla on medium speed. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, mixing until smooth.
On low speed, add the coconut a little at a time and mix until thoroughly combined with the powdered sugar mixture. The mixture will be thick.
Place the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the coconut mixture from the refrigerator.
With clean hands, shape one tablespoon of coconut into a little log about 2 inches long and 3/4-inch thick.
Press the coconut mixture together very well so they don’t crack when dipped.
Place the log on the lined baking sheet and continue until all of the coconut mixture is gone.
Rinse hands occasionally if they get too sticky. Press an almond on top of each coconut log. It might not completely stick. That’s ok.
Place the baking sheet in the freezer to chill while you melt the chocolate.
In a medium, microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate in the microwave 2-4 minutes at 30 SECOND intervals until chocolate is melted.
Remove the coconut candies from the freezer. Place one coconut almond log on a fork (I use my meat fork to my silverware set).
Use a spoon to scoop a bit of chocolate over the almond. This will help the almond stick to the candy and not fall off during dipping.
Lower fork into chocolate and spoon chocolate over candy to coat. Lift the fork and gently shake to release some of the chocolate.
Scrape the bottom of the fork along the side of the bowl and place it on the lined baking sheet.
You might need a toothpick to help get the candy off the fork. Repeat until all candy is coated in chocolate. If the chocolate gets thick, just return it to the microwave and heat it for another 30 seconds.
Let dipped candy harden for 45 minutes. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
In the bowl of a mixer with the paddle attachment, blend the sweetened condensed milk, butter, and vanilla on medium speed. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, mixing until smooth.
On low speed, add the coconut a little at a time and mix until thoroughly combined with the powdered sugar mixture. The mixture will be thick.
Place the mixture in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the coconut mixture from the refrigerator.
With clean hands, shape one tablespoon of coconut into a little log about 2 inches long and 3/4-inch thick.
Press the coconut mixture together very well so they don’t crack when dipped.
Place the log on the lined baking sheet and continue until all of the coconut mixture is gone.
Rinse hands occasionally if they get too sticky. Press an almond on top of each coconut log. It might not completely stick. That’s ok.
Place the baking sheet in the freezer to chill while you melt the chocolate.
In a medium, microwave safe bowl, melt chocolate in the microwave 2-4 minutes at 30 SECOND intervals until chocolate is melted.
Remove the coconut candies from the freezer. Place one coconut almond log on a fork (I use my meat fork to my silverware set).
Use a spoon to scoop a bit of chocolate over the almond. This will help the almond stick to the candy and not fall off during dipping.
Lower fork into chocolate and spoon chocolate over candy to coat. Lift the fork and gently shake to release some of the chocolate.
Scrape the bottom of the fork along the side of the bowl and place it on the lined baking sheet.
You might need a toothpick to help get the candy off the fork. Repeat until all candy is coated in chocolate. If the chocolate gets thick, just return it to the microwave and heat it for another 30 seconds.
Let dipped candy harden for 45 minutes. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
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