Almond-Dipped Strawberries & Homemade Crunch Bars

One of my latest creations was one that I made for my family this past Easter... Almond-Dipped Strawberries and Homemade Candy Bars. Everyone knows how much I love almond flavoring (if not, see my Almond Cupcakes for Two), and seeing as chocolate gives me migraines (no joke), I wanted to try something a little different than the cliché chocolate-covered strawberries. Enter almond bark. 

I had seen strawberries dipped in orange-colored almond bark before to imitate carrots, and figured Easter would be the ideal time to try and give this recipe a go.

I will be honest and say that although this recipe seems simple enough (melt and dip, right?), it actually is quite an art to try and keep the almond bark from crystalizing/hardening and taking the consistency of a thick icing. After a few cubes, I finally realized the trick was to heat it over the stove (not the microwave), turning the heat on low and off every few seconds while stirring. Also, don't worry about adding the food coloring until you have the consistency that you want (also, to use 3x more yellow coloring than red).

Knowing these secret tips now would really help speed up this process in the future for an easy and simple treat. But not knowing this along the way lead to the creation of my homemade candy bars (again, chocolate-free for those who are intolerant like myself... I'm literally sparing myself the headache here). Instead of a nice melting mixture, I had a whole bowl full of thick icing-like almond bark. Now when life hands you lemons, you find a friend with some sugar and vodka and have a party. When life gives you goopy almond bark, you add crunchy cereal and make your own (non-chocolate) Crunch bars.

Obviously both recipes are loaded with sugary-goodness and by no means fall under my "healthy" eating recipes, but they are both wonderful treats for a special occasion or party. Enjoy!

ALMOND-DIPPED STRAWBERRIES & HOMEMADE CRUNCH BARS

Servings: Enough to feed a party of 20+ people!

Nutritional Information:

WW Points Plus: 0+ for the strawberries, other points depend on amount of almond bark used...

Ingredients:

• Almond bark cubes
• Food coloring
• Strawberries
• Corn Chex cereal

Directions:

Almond-Dipped Strawberries:

1. Wash strawberries and dry using paper towel to remove any excess water. Set aside.
2. In a small stovetop pan, heat a few cubes of almond bark for a few seconds on low, consistently stirring the mixture. DO NOT allow the mixture to get too hot or it will crystalize and become hard, giving chunks to the dip. To prevent this, turn off the heat after a few seconds of melting.
3. When mixture is the correct consistency, add food coloring (3x as much yellow than red).
4. Dip strawberries into almond bark and set on plate covered in wax paper.
5. Allow strawberries to cool in order for the coating to harden.
6. Enjoy!

Homemade Almond Crunch Bars:

1. In either a microwave or small stovetop pan, heat a few cubes of almond bark on low. Stir in coloring food coloring.
2. Gradually add in crumbled Corn Chex (or any other type of crispy cereal), stirring into the mixture.
3. Pour mixture into cookie cutter shapes on top of wax paper and let set in the refrigerator.
4. When cool, pop out the shapes from the cookie cutters.
5. Enjoy!