These homemade Almond Joy Bars taste exactly like the real thing. But in my opinion, they’re fresher and creamier. The filling is soft and thick (thanks to cream cheese and butter), the almonds stay perfectly crunchy and the chocolate coating sets into that satisfying shell.
If you’ve ever had trouble dipping chocolate at home, our method here is intentionally designed to be beginner-friendly and frustration-free.
Almond Joy Bars Ingredients
You will need:
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (plus more for dusting/shaping candies)
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 60 whole almonds
- 3 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
- 4.5 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided (I used Crisco)
Substitution Guidelines For Milk Chocolate Chips In This Recipe
If you prefer milk chocolate chips over semi-sweet, you can absolutely swap them in. We don’t recommend using anything darker than semi-sweet, as it can make the chocolate taste too intense and slightly bitter.
You can also use chocolate almond bark or melting wafers. If you choose either of these, skip the vegetable oil and melt them according to the package directions instead.
Tips For Making This Recipe
Cream the base until completely smooth. The cream cheese, butter, and coconut extract need to be fully blended before the sugar goes in. Any small lumps now will stay visible later, so take the extra 30 seconds to beat until creamy.
Adding in the powdered sugar two cups at a time prevents the mixture from turning gritty or over-beaten. Once all four cups are added, the filling should be thick and stiff — exactly what you want for shaping.
Don’t skip the chill. A 30–60 minute chill firms the filling into a moldable dough. If you try to shape the bars right away, the mixture will stick to your hands and lose its form.
Use powdered sugar on your hands to keep the filling from sticking to your hands as you’re forming tight, clean ovals.. It also helps smooth the surfaces of the bars so they look uniform.
Once shaped, add the almonds before freezing. They’ll bond to the chilled surface and stay put when dipped into the warm chocolate.
Freeze until completely solid for clean dipping. The bars should be firm enough that they don’t bend when you lift one. This keeps the warm chocolate from melting the filling or causing fingerprints or dips in texture.
Work with one bar at a time. Only take a single bar out of the freezer for dipping so the rest stay ice-cold. Cold filling + warm chocolate = flawless coverage.
After dipping, gently tap the fork against the side of the bowl. This shakes off excess chocolate, smooths the surface, and prevents thick puddles from forming at the base.
Use a toothpick to slide the bars off neatly. A small nudge unhooks the bar from the fork without leaving a dent or pulling the chocolate.
Are these the same as Mounds bars? The only difference between Mounds bars and Almond Joy is that the Almond Joy has added almonds on top.
Storage Instructions
These bars store really well. Once the chocolate coating has fully set, place them in an airtight container and refrigerate. They keep their shape, texture, and shine for several days — and they taste even better the next day after the filling has chilled through. They can also be frozen for longer storage; thaw them in the refrigerator so the chocolate doesn’t sweat.
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Almond Joy Bars
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 tablespoons salted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (plus more for dusting/shaping candies)
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 60 whole almonds
- 3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
- 4.5 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided (I used Crisco)
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, use a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium speed, to cream together the softened cream cheese, salted butter, and coconut extract until smooth.
- Beat in 2 cups of the sifted powdered sugar until fully incorporated. Add the remaining 2 cups and beat again until all the powdered sugar has been incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Your mixture will be very thick.
- Stir the sweetened shredded coconut into the cream cheese mixture until evenly incorporated.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
- Line two 9×13 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Using a 1½-inch cookie scoop, scoop out a ball of Almond Joy filling and shape it into a 1½-inch by 2¼-inch oval. You will need to have a bowl of powdered sugar handy to use to lightly coat your hands, or the ball of filling, to help shape the Almond Joy bars if they are too sticky when handling.
- Place the shaped bars onto the two parchment-lined baking trays. Once you have shaped all your Almond Joy bars, you will top each bar with two whole almonds.
- Place the baking trays into the freezer for a minimum of 1-2 hours to allow the bars to get really firm. This will allow them to stand up to the heat of the melted chocolate.
- Once your Almond Joy bars have hardened in the freezer, you will want to melt your milk chocolate.
- To a microwave-safe bowl, add half of the semi-sweet chocolate chips and half of the vegetable oil. Heat in 30-second increments, stirring between, until the chocolate is melted and smooth.
- Dip one frozen Almond Joy bar at a time into the melted chocolate. You can use a spoon to fully coat the top of the candy with melted chocolate.
- Using a large dinner fork, lift the chocolate-coated bars out of the chocolate and tap the side of the bowl to allow any excess chocolate to drip off and back into the bowl.
- Place each dipped Almond Joy bar back onto the parchment paper. You can use a toothpick to carefully push the bars off of the fork if needed. This will help keep the chocolate looking nice on your bars.
- Place the trays of chocolate-coated Almond Joy bars into the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes to set the chocolate. Once the chocolate has firmed up, you can place the Almond Joy bars on a serving plate or into a storage container.
Notes
- If the entire batch of coconut mixture is not firm enough after keeping it in the fridge for 30 minutes, place it back in the fridge for another 30 minutes.
- You have to work really fast if you want to get them all dipped in one batch, as the coconut mixture comes to room temperature quickly.
- If you are not someone who works quickly with dipping/coating items in chocolate, then you can melt your chocolate in two separate batches. This helps ensure that the chocolate melts smoothly and decreases the chance of your chocolate seizing up halfway through dipping your candies, which makes the chocolate unusable.
- It is helpful to split the formed candies in half, placing them on two separate trays and keep the batch of Almond Joy candies not yet dipped in chocolate in the freezer to keep them firm.
- If you prefer milk chocolate chips over semi-sweet, you can absolutely swap them in. We don’t recommend using anything darker than semi-sweet, as it can make the chocolate taste too intense and slightly bitter.
- You can also use chocolate almond bark or melting wafers. If you choose either of these, skip the vegetable oil and melt them according to the package directions instead.
- Make sure you are using the sweetened shredded coconut found in the baking aisle of your grocery store for this Almond Joy recipe. This is not the time for a natural or unsweetened coconut.
Nutrition
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