Dark Chocolate Almond Hearts
Dark Chocolate Almond Hearts are rich, elegant, and irresistibly simple to make with just dark chocolate and crunchy almonds. These heart-shaped chocolates are perfect a Valentine’s Day candy for gifting, or anytime you just want a homemade treat that looks fancy but takes minutes to make.
If you are looking for other simple sweet treats for Valentine’s Day, try Olive Oil Raspberry Brownies, Valentine’s Day S’More Bars, Eggless Chocolate Strawberry Cookies, Valentine’s Day Charcuterie Board, Eggless Chocolate Heart Cake, or Valentine’s Day Peanut Butter Cookie Skillet.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Dark Chocolate Almond Hearts
- Ready In: 20 minutes
- Makes: 30 candies
- Main Ingredients: dark chocolate, almonds
- Flavor Profile: dark chocolate with roasted almonds
- Dietary Info: vegan, gluten free, no seed oils
- Difficulty: Easy!
- Why You’ll Love It: simple 2 ingredient candy recipe
Summarize & Save This Content On
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- 3 Ingredients: You'll love this simple vegan Valentine's Day Candy recipe as it only requires recipe only 3 ingredients, making it simple and pure!
- Easy: This recipe for homemade dark chocolate covered almond candy is incredibly easy. Just melt chocolate, add almonds, and you can add decorating sugars on top but that's totally optional!
- Festive and Simple: I love creating desserts that are simple but still can be festive. This recipe for vegan Valentine's Day candy checks those boxes. It's not so much work that you don't want to bother, but they are so cute that they're fun and simple to make!
- Vegan Valentine’s Day Candy: This recipe for homemade dark chocolate covered almond candy is naturally vegan. These are vegan Valentine’s Day candies as long as you use dairy-free dark chocolate and plant-based naturally colored sugar
If you love simple homemade candy like Salted Almond Dark Chocolate Bars, Chocolate Covered Raisin Clusters, or Homemade Crunch Bars then you are going to love this vegan Valentine's Day candy twist on classic chocolate hearts.
Skip the store bought chocolate hearts this year and make these instead. Perfect for gifting, or just when you want a small bite of something sweet, similar to Vegan Dark Chocolate Mini Peanut Butter Cups. You can keep these in the freezer for when a chocolate craving hits!
Ingredients
- Dark Chocolate: I use Nuts.com Organic Dark Chocolate Mini Chocolate Chips for ease, no chopping required. Plus, these are great for melting as they don't have any stabilizers in them.
- Almonds: You'll need organic whole almonds. I'm using ones that are roasted and salted, but raw is also fine if you prefer.
- Sprinkles: I use India Tree Nature’s Colors Red Sugar and India Tree Nature’s Colors Pink Sugar for a little Valentine's Day sparkle! These sugars are naturally colored with plant-based dyes.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Flavor Variations
- Sea Salt Finish: Add a tiny pinch of flaky sea salt on top in place of decorating sugars
- Toasted Almonds: You can use toasted almonds for an even deeper almond flavor
- Add Coconut: You can sprinkle the tops with toasted coconut in place of decorating sugars for an Almond Joy candy vibe
Baker's Tips for Dark Chocolate Almond Hearts
- Use a high quality dark chocolate that's meant for melting. I use the Nuts.com organic mini dark chocolate chips, which are free of stabilizers. This is why they work great here. But, most chocolate chips have stabilizers in them, which will hinder melting. Stabilizers are ingredients such as soy lecithin or sunflower lecithin can hinder chocolate melting. For the smoothest coating, use couverture or melting wafers, or choose chips that melt fluidly. Some chocolate chips are formulated to hold their shape, so they may melt thicker—add gentle heat and stir well, or use a chopped bar.
- You can use raw or roasted and salted whole almonds, either works. It just depends on preference. The raw will give you a lighter flavor while the roasted and salted will have more flavor and that little bit of salt.
- You can skip the decorating sugars if you like, but this is what makes them festive for Valentine's Day. If you want even more color in a natural way (without artificial colors) then you can use a darker pink or red sprinkles. I have listed all my favorite plant based dyed sprinkle options in my Amazon Shop list.
How to Make Dark Chocolate Almond Hearts
- Using a double boiler, add 80% of the chocolate chips and melt until it reaches 115°F.
Remove from heat, and add in the remaining chocolate chips and stir to combine completely. Allow chocolate to come down to 91°F. (Alternatively, you can use a microwave safe bowl and melt all the chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring between each one, until the chocolate is completely melted.) Transfer the chocolate to a piping bag (don’t cut the hole yet). Once the chocolate is transferred and you are ready with your molds, then you can cut a small hole. You want to be completely ready as the chocolate is liquid and will just run out, so it should be ready to use right away.
Place the heart molds on a baking sheet. This helps as the silicone is very flimsy, so this helps keep them stable as you are filling and transferring them. Now cut a small hole in your piping bag. Fill the molds halfway full of chocolate. Bang the tray to remove air bubbles in the chocolate. Add in 2 almonds into each heart mold. Use the larger parts of the almonds on top and smaller parts on bottom to create a heart shape (see the video).
- Fill the molds with chocolate to cover the almonds completely. Bang the baking sheet on the counter to even the chocolate out and ensure the molds are completely filled. Place the baking sheet in the freezer to set, at least 20 to 30 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and remove the hearts from the molds by popping them out and place them on the baking sheet or plate. Drizzle remaining chocolate on one side of each heart and top with the red and pink sugars. Make sure to top with the sugars immediately after drizzling with the chocolate as the hearts are cold, so that chocolate will set quickly. And, it’s the only thing that will allow the sugars to stick. So drizzle, then sprinkle.
- Then they are ready for gifting! Or you can store in an airtight container in for up to 2 weeks. If you didn’t temper the chocolate, then store in the fridge to prevent sweating.
Recipe FAQ's
Yes, but most milk or white chocolate is not vegan unless you are buying a specific option. So depending on your needs, you can use any chocolate you like that is made for melting.
Yes, but the roasted and salted just have more flavor. Totally up to you though if you prefer raw almonds.
Yes, you can but the almonds really make the perfect shape of a heart so they fit the mold very well. But, if you want to use a cashew or break a walnut in half that would probably also work too.
Yes, if you don't want nuts you can just fill the molds completely with the dark chocolate for plain chocolate hearts.
No, you do not need to. Tempering just provides a more glossy finish that won't melt or sweat at room temperature. But, feel free to skip this step and just melt the chocolate. You may need to store in the fridge if you do not temper.
Yes, you can use either. Just ensure you are using a chocolate that is made for melting. If you are using a chocolate bar, ensure you chop it into small pieces so it melts evenly.
Store in a cool, dry place (or in the fridge) for up to 2 weeks. You can freeze them for up to 3 months.
Valentine's Day Chocolate Box Ideas
If you want to make a Homemade Valentine’s Day Chocolate Box, these chocolate heart candies make a wonderful addition! You can pair them with other Valentine's Day chocolate candies like Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffles With Cream Cheese, Strawberry Cream Drops, Strawberry Chocolate Bars, Chocolate Cream Drops, or Pink Peppermint Ice.
More Valentine's Day Recipes
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Dark Chocolate Almond Hearts
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Heatproof Mixing Bowl
- Heart Molds
Ingredients
- 340 grams mini dark chocolate chips
- 60 whole almonds
- India Tree Nature’s Colors Red Sugar
- India Tree Nature’s Colors Pink Sugar
Instructions
- Using a double boiler, add 80% of the chocolate chips and melt until it reaches 115°F.
- Remove from heat, and add in the remaining chocolate chips and stir to combine completely. Allow chocolate to come down to 91°F. (Alternatively, you can use a microwave safe bowl and melt all the chocolate in 30 second intervals, stirring between each one, until the chocolate is completely melted.) Transfer the chocolate to a piping bag (don’t cut the hole yet). Once the chocolate is transferred and you are ready with your molds, then you can cut a small hole. You want to be completely ready as the chocolate is liquid and will just run out, so it should be ready to use right away.
- Place the heart molds on a baking sheet. This helps as the silicone is very flimsy, so this helps keep them stable as you are filling and transferring them.
- Now cut a small hole in your piping bag. Fill the molds halfway full of chocolate. Bang the tray to remove air bubbles in the chocolate.
- Add in 2 almonds into each heart mold. Use the larger parts of the almonds on top and smaller parts on bottom to create a heart shape (see the video).
- Fill the molds with chocolate to cover the almonds completely.
- Bang the baking sheet on the counter to even the chocolate out and ensure the molds are completely filled. Place the baking sheet in the freezer to set, at least 20 to 30 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and remove the hearts from the molds by popping them out and place them on the baking sheet or plate. Drizzle remaining chocolate on one side of each heart and top with the red and pink sugars. Make sure to top with the sugars immediately after drizzling with the chocolate as the hearts are cold, so that chocolate will set quickly. And, it’s the only thing that will allow the sugars to stick. So drizzle, then sprinkle.
- Store in an airtight container in for up to 2 weeks. If you didn’t temper the chocolate, then store in the fridge to prevent sweating.
Video
Notes
- Use a high quality dark chocolate that's meant for melting. I use the Nuts.com organic mini dark chocolate chips, which are free of stabilizers. This is why they work great here. But, most chocolate chips have stabilizers in them, which will hinder melting. Stabilizers are ingredients such as soy lecithin or sunflower lecithin can hinder chocolate melting. For the smoothest coating, use couverture or melting wafers, or choose chips that melt fluidly. Some chocolate chips are formulated to hold their shape, so they may melt thicker—add gentle heat and stir well, or use a chopped bar.
- You can use raw or roasted and salted whole almonds, either works. It just depends on preference. The raw will give you a lighter flavor while the roasted and salted will have more flavor and that little bit of salt.
- You can skip the decorating sugars if you like, but this is what makes them festive for Valentine's Day. If you want even more color in a natural way (without artificial colors) then you can use a darker pink or red sprinkles. I have listed all my favorite plant based dyed sprinkle options in my Amazon Shop list.
Nutrition
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These are delicious!!! A new favorite for my kids. Can’t wait to make them again for Valentine’s Day.
Amazing!
The chocolates were delightful. They’re great for a small afternoon chocolate treat!
Thank you Michelle!