Easy to make, 3 Ingredient Chocolate Almond Clusters are perfect for holiday parties or as a delicious surprise to include with cookie boxes.

Christmas baking season is here and wouldn’t you LOVE an easy to make, special treat to include with your usual (and time consuming) decorated cookies? Allow me to show you how easy it is to make Chocolate Almond Clusters at home. The best part might be that they only require 3 ingredients.

a cluster of chocolate covered almonds on a pink background with fairy lights and surrounded by crumbs of almonds.

Behold Chocolate Almond Clusters 😍

Nut clusters were a staple in those gifted cookie assortments traded by my parents and their friends every Christmas. Part of what made the 1970s so wonderful at the holidays were the delicious homemade treats everyone made and shared.

Enjoy this is fun, delicious, retro treat that will create instant vintage vibes on your holiday cookie trays.

You might like these for YOUR Christmas cookies:

Not only are Chocolate Almond clusters delicious, the nuts themselves are reported to have wonderful health benefits as reported from Medical News Today.

Although almonds are high in fat, they have no cholesterol.
In a 2015 study, the authors identified a two to three times lower risk of breast cancer among individuals who consumed higher quantities of peanuts, walnuts, and almonds, compared with those who did not.
In a study from 2014, scientists found that almonds significantly increased the levels of antioxidants in the bloodstream, reduced blood pressure, and improved blood flow. The participants were all healthy males from 20–70 years of age who took 50 g of almonds per day for 4 weeks.
Almonds contain relatively high levels of vitamin E. Vitamin E contains antioxidants, such as tocopherol. One ounceTrusted Source (28.4 g) of plain almonds provides 7.27 milligrams (mg) of vitamin E, which is around halfTrusted Source a person’s daily requirement.
There is some evidence that almonds may help manage blood sugar levels.
Almonds contain calcium, magnesium, manganese, copper, vitamin K, protein, and zinc, all of which contribute Trusted Source to bone health.

Ingredients:

Raw Almonds (affiliate link)
Milk Chocolate melts. My favorite is from Ghirardelli. (affiliate link)
Sea Salt (which is optional but I recommend using it). I love to use Fleur de Sel (affiliate link) for anything in baking or sweets.

(Recommended) Tools:

A chocolate pot which is an easy way to melt chocolate (affiliate link)without having to constantly watch it or be worried about it over heating and seizing. Use your favorite method, but honest to goodness, I LOVE this chocolate pot. I’ve had it for at least 20 years, and it’s surprising how much I use it.
A half sheet pan (affiliate link) lined with parchment paper. (affiliate link)
A large mixing bowl. (affiliate link) My favorite is from Mason Cash.
A small ice cream scoop. (affiliate link) You can also do the 2 spoons method to portion out your clusters, but the scoop is an easy way to portion your clusters more easily. Also the scoop is perfect for scooping cookie dough.

chocolate wafers in an electric chocolate pot

pouring melted chocolate over roasted almonds

How to make Chocolate Almond Clusters:

Roast the almonds flat on a parchment lined half sheet pan. I buy the raw almonds in bulk and keep them in my freezer so they last a LONG time.
Anytime I make a recipe that uses melted chocolate, I reach for melting wafers from Ghirardelli. I am brand specific in this case, and I’ve stashed away SEVERAL pouches of it in my pantry. I liked the milk chocolate version better than dark chocolate for my almonds, but you should use what you prefer. You don’t want to use chips because chips are designed to hold their shape and are not the best option for melting.
Once the almonds have roasted and cooled off a bit, pour them into your large mixing bowl. When the chocolate is melted, pour all of it over the nuts in the bowl. Using a large spoon, stir the almonds and chocolate until everything is coated.
Using the cookie scoop, scoop the chocolate covered almonds and place them on the parchment lined sheet pan. You can reuse the same setup you roasted the almonds on moments earlier. The main thing is to keep them piled up so that when the chocolate dries, it creates the cluster.
While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle with a touch of your favorite sea salt. I love Fleur de Sel for any sort of sweet or dessert type recipe.
The clusters need some time to set up and dry. So it’s best to leave them sitting in a cool location over night.
Store them in a covered container to preserve freshness.

Tips and Tricks for making the best Clusters

Using melting wafers in a chocolate pot yields the smoothest chocolate coating that dries to a beautiful glossy finish. It’s virtually mistake proof given the perfect temperature of the chocolate pot. Microwaving and stirring is always an option for melting chocolate, but over doing it by even a couple of seconds promises a bowl of unusable, seized chocolate.

Raw almonds freeze for a LONG time. The ones I used in the pictures for this recipe have been in my freezer since the early days of the 2020 health crisis. And they are delicious. Roasting almonds at home gives a richer flavor profile that pairs beautifully with the chocolate.

Thoroughly mix the roasted almonds with the melted chocolate. Stir and stir again to get them all coated. A large spoon is the best way to evenly coat the nuts.

a large bowl of almonds stirred up with melted chocolate

chocolate covered nut clusters on a tray

Once the clusters are scooped onto the parchment lined trays, let them sit in a cool room over night. This gives the chocolate a chance to set up and that is what holds the clusters together.

Including a few Chocolate Almond Clusters in your cookie gift boxes is a delicious treat and an easy way to make your gift even more special.

Also, a pound of almonds make A LOT of clusters for not a lot of work.

Which is always a huge bonus! They are beautiful and really special.

Lastly, these ingredients are items that can be stored in a pantry for at least the medium term…say 2-4 years. I am a huge proponent for having a sizable pantry to smooth out the crazy ups and downs of life (including inflation and food shortages). Being able to make something delicious and special is wonderful way to take some of the bite out of an uncertain situation. But hopefully we only need nut clusters for Christmas.