National Almond Buttercrunch Day

Delicious, delicious almond buttercrunch, is there anything that’s better than this crunchy buttery caramelized candy? National Almond Buttercrunch Day is a great day to indulge in this rich flavorful treat, and maybe even to learn a little bit about its history. This delicious treat is the foundation of some of the most mouthwatering confections out there, and is generally agreed to be best accompanied by any sort of chocolate you care to name!

This treat was particularly popular back in the days of World War II, it’s ease of shipment making it the perfect taste of home to wrap up and send along in care packages. One of the most recognizable forms of this candy is that produced by the company ‘Brown & Haley’ out of Seattle, WA. They started the tradition of wrapping them in their signature gold wrappers and storing them in tins to help keep them delicious and ready to consume on arrival.

Toffee is made by mixing together the base ingredients, which is quite simply caramelized sugar and butter, and boiled until it reaches the hard crack stage (roughly 149-154 Celsius, or 300 to 310 Fareneight) . Just before it reaches this stage, the almonds are added, making the simply toffee crunch into Almond Buttercrunch! The Almond Roca brand is cooled, dipped in chocolate, and then rolled in crumbled almonds to create it’s signature look and taste.

How to celebrate National Almond Buttercrunch Day

The best way to celebrate National Almond Buttercrunch Day is to share the wonderful taste and joy that is this delicious candy. You can buy candies that are based on this wonderful base and hand them out to friends, family, and co-workers. If you’re in the Seattle area you can go on a tour of their factory, or for that home-made authentic taste, stop by a local candymaker in your town. If you’re feeling truly adventurous, you can even use the below recipe and make it yourself!

You’ll be needing:

• 4 ounces (1 full stick) butter (not margarine!)
• 3/4c firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1.5 cups chopped and toasted whole almonds
• 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

The recipe is about as simple and straight forward as it gets. You’ll want to prepare ahead of time by spraying coating non-stick foil with butter or a non-stick cooking spray, and lining an 8×4 breadpan. Then, using a small sauce pan, melt the butter, corn syrup, salt, and brown sugar together, stirring slowly on medium-high heat until the brown sugar has dissolved. Start a timer once the brown sugar is melted, and cook it for approximately 6 minutes, a candy thermometer can help this, and should reach 143c or 290f before you remove it from the heat.

Stir in the almonds, and pour/scrape it into the bread pan in a layer approximately ½ in thick, allowing it to cool for 3 minutes after doing so. Proceed to pour the melted chocolate over the top and sprinkle with more nuts, and then cut into bars of your preferred size. After this, put them into the fridge to let the chocolate set, and then put them in an airtight container. They should be able to store for about two weeks in the fridge. These are best served at room temperature however.

This is just one of a variety of delicious recipes you can make with almond buttercrunch, there are even chewy varieties if you prefer a softer snack! So take the plunge, stir up this recipe, and deliver it to your favorite people to celebrate National Almond Buttercrunch Day!