Almond Bark - Vanilla and Chocolate Candy CoatingYou want to make candy coated pretzels, dipped chocolates, homemade truffles, etc. but are lost when you read a recipe that calls for almond bark.
What is almond bark?
No, almond bark has no almonds.
No, it has no nuts at all.
No, it's not the finished confection you buy in a candy shop with bits of nuts or candy in it.
No, it is not bakers chocolate, unsweetened chocolate or anything similar to those.
Yes it is in your grocery store.
Yes it is near the chocolate chips - usually on a bottom rack.
Yes it comes in chocolate flavor or vanilla
Yes it comes in large blocks that you either cut apart with a large knife or bang on the counter top to break apart. (Much much larger than tiny baker's chocolate blocks.)
Ingredients List straight from the package;
Sugar
Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil
Whey (milk)
Soy Lecithin
Artificial color
Artificial flavor
Sugar
Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil
Whey (milk)
Soy Lecithin
Artificial color
Artificial flavor
For Anonymous asking about vanilla bark: YES it is! The white one is vanilla bark and of course the brown is chocolate. Enjoy your holiday recipe! :)
Anonymous.... Hello again! I feel so bad for you - trying so hard to find this! I am not sure where you live, but I've seen this everywhere in the United States - from California to Tennessee to Minnesota and even in tiny little towns in Alabama. It's carried in almost every grocery store, but sometimes if they just have it around the holidays it will be on an end cap or a special baking session. Super Walmart and most medium to large groceries carry it year round. Amazon has it too (although they may be sold out this time of year.
Look for Log House brand or Gurley's as the two 'main' suppliers.
If you cannot find it YES you can use other substitutions.
- White Chocolate
- Vanilla Chips - right by the chocolate chips in the baking asile
- Wilton vanilla (white) melting disks in the candy aisle of Michaels, JoAnn Fabrics, etc.
*note*
A recent comment asks how many candy discs would be the equivilant of a square of the almond bark. It's the type of ingredient that doesn't have to be precise as when you are dipping or drizzling the amounts will change based on many factors but in general, I would say about 15-ish disks for one square. Would my other readers agree or do any of you have these on hand to try? I don't have any candy discs or I would gladly do a melt-test! Ha ha. For the record, I have never actually measured or worried about amounts. I just eye-ball it and melt as many squares or discs as I think 'look' like it's enough to cover. Run short? I just melt more.
Just a little FYI, there has to be something almond in this coating because my mother in law in allergic to almonds and she cannot eat this! We tried!
ReplyDeleteAlmond Bark does not contain almonds but that does not mean that it was not manufactured in a facility that processes almonds and other nuts.
ReplyDeletethe "whey" might be almond milk... ??
ReplyDeletemaybe she's allergic to something else like the coconut oil in it
ReplyDeleteDoes this taste like almonds or coconut? I do not like the taste of coconut at all.
ReplyDeleteThis is a yummy vanilla choclate bar to me .
ReplyDeleteon the label of mine it says processed in a place with nuts
ReplyDeleteI am looking for almond bark for a popcorn recipe, but can only find vanilla bark (no mention of almond) in the stores. Is this the same thing?
ReplyDeleteI can not find almond bark anywhere. Can you use white chocolate instead?
ReplyDeleteAlmond Bark can absolutly be found in WalMart food stores.They have a very nice baking isle all ready for the Hloidays.ENJOY and Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteI don't know why this hasn't been address, but "Vanilla Bark", "Almond Bark", and "Vanilla Candy Coating" are all the same thing. And if you'll look closely at the package of "Almond Bark", the full labeling says "make your own ALMOND BARK and covered candies". Because the words "Almond Bark" are in bold, that's what you see... and what people call it. "Almond Bark" is in fact the completed confection containing almonds and chocolate. The fact that people are calling this product by that name because of the big lettering on the package doesn't change that. Might help to make sure you list the regional names for things as well, as where you live makes a difference as to what things are called. Hope that helps!
ReplyDeleteI live in NJ and "almond bark" is not sold anywhere here. Not in the grocery stores, Target or Walmart, etc. We do have the candy coating discs in Michael's and AC Moore though. But when a recipe calls for "two squares of almond bark", I have no idea how many candy coating discs that equals. I've also seen a recipe that called for reduced fat almond bark. Not sure how that is even possible, but there is definitely no such thing as reduced fat candy coating..
ReplyDelete