I made these rich candy-like cookies last year on a sunny Sunday before Christmas. My daughters and grandchildren were here for lunch and I was looking for something to serve that would be “holly jolly”. This delicious confection adapted from a recipe on Mennonite Girls Can Cook was perfect.
CHOCOLATE ALMOND ROCA COOKIES
- 12 long graham crackers
- 1-1/2 cups sliced almonds
- 1 cup butter (not margarine)
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1-1/2 cups milk chocolate chips (Ghirardelli)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Line an 11×16 inch jelly roll pan (with lips to catch spills) with parchment paper. Lay the graham crackers in the pan to fit snugly. Sprinkle with almonds and set aside.
Place the butter and brown sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Bring to a full rolling boil – bubbles across the top surface of the mixture. Pour hot mixture carefully over the almond/graham cracker base, spreading to cover all of the crackers and nuts.
Place in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until bubbly all over. Remove from oven and sprinkle even with chocolate chips. Let cookies stand for a minute to melt the chocolate, then use a spatula to spread the chocolate in a thin layer.
Cool in the pan on a rack to room temperature. Place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to harden chocolate topping.
Using the spatula, lift and break the cookies in random size pieces.
This makes a large batch of delicious, rich cookies.

Completely yummy! Almond Roca was my mother’s favorite candy. I’ll bet she would have loved these!
I love this but have only ever had it made with saltines – graham crackers sound wonderful!!
I’m going to add this to my recipe box. Wish I could find a substitute for graham crackers that was gluten free.
Hi Betty Lou! I found a recipe where you can make your very own gluten-free graham crackers. Haven’t tried it yet, but it sure looks good! http://glutenfreegirl.com/gluten-free-graham-crackers/
I’ve made these with saltines and they were delish – I bet grahm crackers will be even better. cookie day with Mom is Sunday so I’ll try it then.
I’m going make this for Christmas and try to send some to my Grandma in the Philippines. She loves almond roca!
I’m sure the almond roca in the Philippines is delicious – hope she likes this take on it. Lillian
They look so good! I can almost taste them! 🙂