This is it, the final countdown before the holidays and the end of the year. As you prepare your home for those family parties, be sure to have this on your list of desserts as they are sure to make any gathering complete. Your guests will eat these throughout the entire night and may even take a few along with them to have with their coffee on their drive home (that is, if there are any left). With few ingredients and simple directions to follow, you can have buttery and smooth toffee bites that look decorative and upscale with their almond accents on top. Happy holidays and as always, enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter

• 1 cup finely ground walnuts

Directions

On a foil lined baking dish (11x7) Advertisement

[ Pala Mesa Resort ] or in a silicone brownie bite pan (with 24 bites), arrange almonds in a single layer. Set aside.

In a heavy pan, combine butter, sugar, vanilla and salt. Cook over medium-high heat with a wooden spoon until butter melts, stirring constantly.

Bring mixture to a rolling boil. Continue boiling and stirring for an additional 5-7 minutes until candy turns the color of almonds (about 300 degrees). Pour over almonds. If using the brownie bite pan, use a small metal scoop to get toffee into each bite, working quickly. Cool completely.

When candy is cooled and set (about 2 hours), spread chocolate over top of toffee. Sprinkle generously with ground walnuts. If doing both sides, use only half of the chocolate and walnuts. Allow top to set before flipping over and doing bottom. When set, pop out of silicone pan and store in an airtight containers or cut into pieces.