Homemade Almond Bark!

I found this recipe when I was looking for an alternative to the hard store bought almond bark. It was very easy, however far too soft for my needs, so I'll use it again, but cook to a firm-hard ball, rather then the soft ball stage. I cut and pasted the information below from https://exploratorium.edu/cooking/candy/sugar-stages.html 230° F–235° F sugar concentration: 80% At this relatively low temperature, there is still a lot of water left in the syrup. When you drop a little of this syrup into cold water to cool, it forms a liquid thread that will not ball up. Cooking sugar syrup to this stage gives you not candy, but syrup—something you might make to pour over ice cream. 1. Soft-Ball Stage 235° F–240° F sugar concentration: 85% At this temperature, sugar syrup dropped into cold water will form a soft, flexible ball. If you remove the ball from water, it will flatten like a pancake after a few moments in your hand. Fudge, pralines, and fondant are made by cooking ingredients to the soft-ball stage. MP4 2. Firm-Ball Stage 245° F–250° F sugar concentration: 87% Drop a little of this syrup in cold water and it will form a firm ball, one that won’t flatten when you take it out of the water, but remains malleable and will flatten when squeezed. Caramels are cooked to the firm-ball stage. MP4 3. Hard-Ball Stage 250° F–265° F sugar concentration: 92% At this stage, the syrup will form thick, "ropy" threads as it drips from the spoon. The sugar concentration is rather high now, which means there’s less and less moisture in the sugar syrup. A little of this syrup dropped into cold water will form a hard ball. If you take the ball out of the water, it won’t flatten. The ball will be hard, but you can still change its shape by squashing it. Nougat, marshmallows, gummies, divinity, and rock candy are cooked to the hard-ball stage. MP4 4. Soft-Crack Stage 270° F–290° F sugar concentration: 95% As the syrup reached soft-crack stage, the bubbles on top will become smaller, thicker, and closer together. At this stage, the moisture content is low. When you drop a bit of this syrup into cold water, it will solidify into threads that, when removed from the water, are flexible, not brittle. They will bend slightly before breaking. Saltwater taffy and butterscotch are cooked to the soft-crack stage. MP4 5. Hard-Crack Stage 300° F–310° F Sugar concentration: 99% The hard-crack stage is the highest temperature you are likely to see specified in a candy recipe. At these temperatures, there is almost no water left in the syrup. Drop a little of the molten syrup in cold water and it will form hard, brittle threads that break when bent. CAUTION: To avoid burns, allow the syrup to cool in the cold water for a few moments before touching it! Toffee, nut brittles, and lollipops are all cooked to the hard-crack stage.

I made this as directed using my candy thermometer and followed directions exactly, Unfortunately it didnt set up, It had a lovely sweet taste to it and I ended up putting it back in the pot and got an Almond brittly fudge type stuff which I will salvage in some way as I hate wastage. Maybe it just wasnt my day ;)

Came across this recipe while looking for an alternative to the almond bark candy coating found at the local supermarkets, which have artificial flavorings. I was looking to use the candy for dipping pretzel rods. While I have not had a chance to try that particular endeavor, I have made the candy (without the almonds), and must say that it is quite yummy. My girls have tried nibbles of it as well and their faces light up when they taste it. It actually tastes like ice cream, believe it or not. Great treat!