Almond Joys

It was Eric's birthday last week. He's not a huge fan of desserts but there are a few things he absolutely loves: turtle bars. Coffee cake. And these homemade almond joys from a great recipe book that I got a few years ago by Karen Solomon, "Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It". So instead of a birthday cake he got these. And he was happy :)

They are incredibly rich and decadent. But very messy to make and to eat. I always make the mistake of making them slightly too large. I have to remember to make them smaller next time.


2 egg whites
Scant 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flaked coconut
24 almonds (you could use roasted and salted or plain; I've used both before and either type is good)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Additional salt to sprinkle on top of chocolate (optional; but delicious)

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a cookie sheet with a thin coating of oil.

Combine egg whites, sugar, vanilla and salt in a bowl and mix with a fork till incorporated. Fold in the coconut.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons of batter into your hand and form into a 1 1/2" log. Press two almonds on top of the log and place on the prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes or until bars are brown at edges. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

To coat bars: heat chocolate in a microwave or a double boiler. Using two forks, drop bar into the melted chocolate and coat lightly on all sides. Transfer to a sheet of waxed paper to cool completely.