White Toasted Almond Bark with Sea Salt

I attended a gathering a couple of weeks ago and was invited to lead a discussion and present a gift display of ideas for INEXPENSIVE CHRISTMAS GIFTS.  One of my talented friends who is known far and wide for her bread making abilities brought this yummy gift to share.  

Dawn often gives warm loaves of bread at Christmas time to her neighbors and friends.  She said she worries about her friends that cannot have gluten or are on low carb diets and decided to come up with a gift that was just for them.  She's always thoughtful like that.   

Well...I think this Almond Bark is good for anyone and everyone, including me!  It's delicious!

The toasted taste of the almonds and the white chocolate, with a hint of sea salt gets my taste buds dancing!  Dawn says this is a quick and easy holiday treat. 

White Toasted Almond Bark with Sea Salt 

Ingredients

1 cup whole raw almonds, skin on

2 10 oz bags of white chocolate chips or 20 oz of any good white chocolate, chopped in pieces 

sea salt, ground fairly fine

Instructions

Set oven to 350F

1. Put the nuts on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Give the pan a shake from time to time, and watch carefully for the last 5 minutes. You want the almonds to get dark roasted, but not burnt. Set the pan aside and let the nuts cool on the pan.
2. Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat, parchment paper, or non stick foil.
3. Put the white chocolate in a glass microwave safe bowl and heat on 50% power for a minute. Keep heating, checking, and stirring until the chocolate is melted. If you are using chips they won't look melted until you stir them.
4. When the chocolate is melted and smooth, add in the almonds and quickly spread out the mixture on the lined baking sheet.
5. Dust the warm chocolate with sea salt, being careful to get it evenly distributed across the bark.
6. Set the pan in the refrigerator to cool until fully set, at least an hour.
7. Break apart the bark into whatever size pieces you choose.
8. Try not to eat it all before you can give some of it away.

Notes

If you have trouble melting chocolate in the microwave, you can always do it in a double boiler. Set a bowl or pan over another pan of gently simmering water and slowly melt the chocolate while stirring.