Valentine’s Day is coming up! Want to impress a loved one?? You should totally make these Almond Joy inspired candies. Not only are they super easy to make, you won’t be that person scrounging around for an overpriced bouquet of long stem roses at the last minute. Are you that person? Don’t be that person! Don’t wait til the last minute. People always know. I hope you at least write something sweet & thoughtful in your card!

By the way, I overheard your sweetheart saying that they’re not really into roses! They were telling their coworker how much they dig coconut! They especially love it covered in chocolate! They also LOOOOVE salty, crunchy roasted almonds and guess what?? There’s one waiting in the middle of EACH. ONE. OF. THESE. CANDIES.  Make a batch of these and you’ll totally seal the deal. You’ll make up for that god awful ratty teddy bear you bought last year.  You know why? Because people are always impressed when you make candy. ALWAYS.

And we’re off!

4 ingredients. That’s right FOUR.

Mix that ooey gooey sweetened condensed milk with the coconut.

There it is….all mixed up. Pop it in the fridge! Get your fingers out of the bowl.

Take a spoon and scoop out out a ball of the coconut mixture. Roll it in you hands.

Add your roasted almond in the middle. Push it into the center.

Hide the almond and roll it up again.

Place the balls in the fridge and wait a bit.

Put the chocolate chips in a bowl. Pop it in the microwave & melt!

Plop a ball in the melted chocolate. Roll it around and cover it thoroughly.

Line the dipped coconut balls up on some parchment paper.

MMMMMMM. Yes.

Put the chocolates in the fridge & when they’re set place them in mini cupcake wrappers.

Have a few…

And share some with your loved one(s)!

The Joy of Almond & Coconut Candies

makes 14

(recipe from Everybody Likes Sandwiches who adapted it from Gourmet)

• 1 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
• 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 14 roasted salted almonds
• 1 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

In a medium bowl, combine the coconut with the sweetened condensed milk until thoroughly mixed. Cover and place in the refrigerator for an hour. With a small spoon, scoop the coconut mixture and place in your hand. Add an almond to the center of the ball and fold the coconut mixture over the almond. Roll into a ball with your fingers. You should have about 14 total. Place on a plate & chill in the fridge until you are ready with your melted chocolate.

In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate for about 1-1 1/2 minutes until completely melted. Be sure not to burn. Dip the chilled coconut balls into the chocolate mixture. (I used two forks to help fish out the covered coconut balls). Place on a piece of parchment paper and chill for 2 hours or overnight.

Shutterbean Notes:

-I made a double batch of these! I actually ran out of chocolate because I didn’t have enough for two batches. Guess what? They taste REALLY good without chocolate on them. We kept them in the fridge and snacked on them all week.

-White chocolate would be a good substitute for the bittersweet! It would look super pretty too!

-The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 cup sweetened coconut. I didn’t want to make it too sweet so I used half a cup of unsweetened coconut.