ENCHANTED CHOCOLATES, OAK BLUFFS
This is the holiday gift that became an island bestseller. Enchanted Chocolates owner Kathleen Cowley has been making almond butter crunch for over forty years, first as a gift for friends, then selling it at her family’s candy store in Oak Bluffs and at the farmers market, layering hard almond toffee with dark chocolate and crushed roasted almonds. On any given day, customers drop in to buy boxes of butter crunch and fudge—or its brown sugar cousin, penuche—often reminiscing about their childhood summers on the Vineyard, then adding a box of taffy out of pure nostalgia.
Ingredients
- 4 cups slivered almonds
- 4 sticks (1 pound) unsalted butter, diced, plus more for pan
- 2 cups sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup dark chocolate wafers
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spread the almonds on a large baking sheet and roast until light golden, about 5 minutes. Cool slightly, then pulse in a food processor fitted with the metal blade into a mix of fine and coarse pieces. Lightly butter the same baking sheet.
- Combine the 4 sticks butter, sugar, and ½ cup water in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is golden brown or an instant-read thermometer reads 300°F, 12 to 15 minutes. (The mixture will bubble and stay pale for most of that time, then turn brown; watch carefully as it can burn quickly at this point.) To test, spoon a drop of caramel into a glass of ice water. If it hardens and is brittle enough to break with your fingers, it’s ready.
- Remove from the heat and stir in half the almonds. Add the vanilla and stir again. Pour onto the prepared baking sheet and spread with an offset spatula. Let it set until hard, about 10 minutes, then turn it over.
- Melt the chocolate wafers in a small saucepan over low heat or in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring and repeating until smooth. Spread half of the chocolate over the butter crunch, then sprinkle with half of the remaining almonds.
