This Almond Roca Recipe is what your buttery toffee dreams are made of! This is my most requested Christmas recipe ever. I’ve made countless batches of this recipe over the years, and my time-saving hack will guarantee success every time you try it.

It costs approximately $17.86 to make this recipe. The recipe makes twenty-four servings for around $0.74 per serving.

A pile of the finished Almond Roca Recipe on a white platter.

Five ingredients never tasted so good! The buttery toffee in this Almond Roca recipe is incredibly delicious.

Folks have told me this recipe is even better than See’s Candie! It’s now become a tradition that every Christmas season, I make batches and batches of this Almond Roca recipe to give away as gifts.

What You’ll Love About This Almond Roca Recipe:

  • Quick and Easy Recipe: I use chocolate bars to lay on top of the almond butter mixture to melt instead of melting down chocolate chips. This is an easy and convenient time-saving hack for making brittle. My step-by-step photos show you just how easy this recipe is. 
  • Rich Taste: The toasted almonds take plain almond roca to the next level, intensifying the flavor and creating an irresistible almond butter crunch.
  • Great for Gifting: This recipe makes twenty-four pieces, making it an ideal homemade gift during the holiday season.

Ingredients and Estimated Cost:

Per Serving Cost: $0.74

Recipe Cost: $17.86

  • 2 ½ cups toasted almonds – $5.33
  • 1 ½ cups brown sugar – $0.86
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract – $0.34
  • 1 ½ cups salted butter – $4.34
  • 6 – 1.55 ounce Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars – $6.99

NOTE: The recipe prices are calculated by using grocery store websites. The recipe cost is calculated by the amounts needed for the recipe. The actual cost of the recipe will vary depending on what ingredients you already have. I updated the pricing for this recipe in November 2023.

All of the ingredients needed to make this recipe.

How To Make Almond Roca

***For complete recipe instructions, see the recipe card below.

  1. First, butter a 9×13-inch pan and then chop the toasted almonds. 
  2. Place 1 ½ cups in a small bowl and the other cup of chopped almonds in another bowl. 
  3. Using a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. 
  4. Stir in the brown sugar and stir until the mixture reaches 300 degrees F on the instant read thermometer.
  5. Remove the mixture from the heat, and add the vanilla and  1 ½ cups of toasted almonds. 
  6. Evenly pour the mixture into the prepared pan and set the chocolate bars on top of the mixture to melt for about four minutes. 
  7. Next, use the back of a spoon to spread the chocolate over the mixture evenly. 
  8. Sprinkle the remaining cup of toasted almonds over the chocolate, gently pressing them into the chocolate. 
  9. Finally, cover and chill the brittle for at least four hours, then use a knife to break it apart after it reaches the hard crack stage.

A picture collage showing how to make this recipe.

Almond Roca Recipe Tips and Variations:

  • After you break the Almond Roca apart, you’ll be left with about ¼ cup of brittle shards. These little shards are a delicious topping to quality vanilla ice cream. 
  • You can use dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate Hershey bars.
  • Instead of almonds, you can use walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or macadamia nuts.

Storage Tips:

STORE: Store the finished Almond Roca recipe in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 weeks. You can also refrigerate for 4-6 weeks. 

FREEZE: Transfer the brittle to a freezer-safe container. Freeze for 2-3 months.

THAW: Thaw at room temperature or overnight in the refrigerator.

The finished Almond Roca Candy in the pan before it's broken apart.

Almond Roca Recipe FAQs:

What are the ingredients in Almond Roca?

I make this Almond Roca Brittle using five simple ingredients: almonds, brown sugar, vanilla, butter, and milk chocolate.

How is Almond Rocs made?

This recipe relies on three things to help make it so incredibly yummy.

  1. TOASTED ALMONDS – make an effort to toast the almonds and not use raw ones. It is worth it. 
  2. A CANDY THERMOMETER  – you want to ensure you heat the butter and sugar mixture to exactly 300°F. You can’t “eyeball” this one. I tried to on my first few batches and ended up burning the mixture. It is important to use a good candy thermometer for this step.
  3. FINEST QUALITY INGREDIENTS – it is important to use real butter to achieve the best-tasting classic almond roca butter toffee flavor.

Why does butter separate when making almond roca?

This can happen when the heat changes during the melting process. Keep the temperature on medium heat to avoid burning the mixture. 

A hand picking up a piece of homemade Almond Roca.

More From Food Folks and Fun:

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Three pieces of Almond Roca on a white plate.
4.84 from 6 votes

Almond Roca

Recipe Cost $ $17.86
Serving Cost $ $0.76
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 35 minutes
24 pieces
This Almond Roca Recipe is what your buttery toffee dreams are made of! This is my most requested Christmas recipe ever.

Ingredients
 
 

  • 2 ½ cups toasted almonds chopped and divided
  • 1 ½ cups tightly-packed brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups 3 sticks salted butter
  • 6 (1.55 ounce) Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars

Instructions

PREP PAN:

  • Butter a 9 x 13 pan.

MAKE BRITTLE:

  • Chop the toasted almonds and place 1 ½ cups in a small bowl, and the remaining 1 cup in another small bowl.
  • Unwrap the chocolate bars and set aside.
  • In a medium or large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter stops foaming, add the brown sugar and stir. Once the mixture bubbles, place in the candy/instant-read thermometer and stir constantly until the mixture reaches 300°F.
  • Remove the mixture from the heat and add the vanilla and 1 ½ cups of toasted, chopped almonds. Pour mixture into the buttered pan and smooth the mixture so it sits in the pan evenly.
  • Place the chocolate bars on top of the mixture and let it sit for about 4 minutes so the chocolate has a chance to melt. This will make spreading easier (you’ll know it’s ready to spread when it gets all nice and shiny).
  • Using the back of a spoon spread the chocolate in an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of toasted almonds over the chocolate and gently press it in.

CHILL AND FINISH:

  • Cover and chill the Almond Roca Brittle for at least 4 hours before breaking it apart (I personally like to chill it overnight).
  • Use a knife to break the brittle apart.

Notes

This recipe makes about 6 cups of almond roca candy. 

Nutrition

Serving: 0.25cup | Calories: 246kcal | Carbohydrates: 23.66g | Protein: 1.47g | Fat: 16.63g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 109mg | Potassium: 86mg | Fiber: 0.6g | Sugar: 22.15g | Vitamin A: 850IU | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 0.5mg

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22 Comments

  1. Ohhhh this looks DELICIOUS!!! LOVE that it’s soo easy to make too 🙂 Thanks for sharing & have a very Merry Christmas!

  2. Yummmy.. this looks AMAZING.. LOVE… Hope you had an AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL Christmas with your family.. : )) Wishing you a successful and HAPPY NEW YEAR TO COME.. Thanks for being a great bloggy bff this year.. Cheers to SO much more.. xoxoxoxox..

  3. OMG this looks amazing. Thank you for sharing and LOL “look at all that butter, Paula Deen would be SO proud”…XD

  4. Rebecca Hubbell says:

    Loving all the flavors! This will be a huge hit for the holidays!

    1. Exactly! My family requests it year after year. 🙂

  5. Manila Spoon says:

    I am all about easy and delicious recipes and this is certainly it!! Love the butter toffee in it, too! YUM!

    1. The butter toffee is the best!!!

  6. Matt @ Plating Pixels says:

    I love almond Rocha candies. Totally need to make this!

  7. It looks delicious and with your step by step photography looks very easy to make.

  8. Cleo @ Journey to the Garden says:

    This recipe is exactly what I’ve been looking for! I love Almond Roca, but would rather have a homemade version. Thanks so much for the detailed instructions.

    1. You’re so welcome. Enjoy! 🙂

  9. Ayngelina says:

    Brittle is one of my favourites, I only eat it at Christmas but I do eat a lot of it.

    1. It’s one of my favorites, too!

  10. Jillian…I would eat an embarrassing amount of this stuff! I think I feel that way about your other recipes too 🙂 Thanks for sharing!

    1. Aww, you’re so sweet. Thank you! 🙂

  11. Could you use pecans instead??

    1. Sure! Pecans would be delicious as well!

  12. My butter keeps separating from the sugar. What am I doing wrong?

    1. You might be heating the mixture too quickly.

  13. Hi!
    I have blanched slivered almonds. Would this work if I toasted them?

    Thanks for your reply!

    1. Yes, that will work.