Chocolate and Almond Clusters

[EmeraldSue]

I took them to a birthday lunch and they were so popular that there weren't any left for me. Sob. (I should have kept one at home just for me). I often make them at Christmas time and give them as gifts. I will try Uni's idea of whole almonds too.
The cointreau is used to moisten the icing sugar so it sticks to the nuts and helps crystallise the sugar. There is just a subtle orange flavour from the Cointreau, so I think that orange juice or water with a little orange oil would work intead of the Cointreau .

[cookie1]

I'd be like Mandi and end up eating them all before anyone even knew I'd made them.

[Amy :-)]

*sigh*

At least you're honest girls lol

[courton]

I do not have Cointreau. However, I do have sambucca and rum - would either work as substitutes?

[judydawn]

I found this sauce on Taste.com Courton and they substituted Cointreau with sambuca.

Cointreau chocolate sauce: Reduce the cream to 160ml (2/3 cup). Replace the brown sugar with 60g (1/4 cup) caster sugar. Stir in 2 tbs of Cointreau liqueur at the end of step 3 (you can replace the Cointreau with Frangelico, Creme de menthe or Sambuca).
A cheaper version of cointreau is triple sec.

[courton]

Thanks for your help...yet again JD! 

[courton]

Well i used Sambucca and taste wise, it is good. Just a minor query emerald sue, do you put all the almonds in a lot of melted choc or do you dip the individual pieces? My version looks scrappy and not as good looking as yours since I tried the dip method.

[EmeraldSue]

No, I just pour all the almonds into the chocolate (or vice versa) and then use the two spoon method to drop spoonfuls onto the baking paper to set.

[courton]

Thanks - shall try it next time!