Cocoa Almond Nougatine Cups filled with White Chocolate Cherry Mousse

If you enjoy crunchy and creamy textures in your dessert you’ll love these Cocoa Almond Nougatine Cups filled with White Chocolate Cherry Mousse that I made using Planter’s Seasonal Nuts as part of a #GoNutsForNuts campaign for #CollectiveBias.

Each little dessert is completely edible. The bowl is made of a crispy crunchy almond nougatine, which is somewhat like a nut brittle, only really thin and not quite as hard. The nougatine is filled with Planter’s Cocoa Almonds, so not only is it nutty, but it’s chocolaty too. It’s wonderful all on it’s own, but when it’s topped with a luxuriously creamy white chocolate cherry mousse, it’s a-mazing!

I served these along with a few other desserts to some friends who were here for lunch this week and I noticed that only a few had put one of these desserts on their plate. That was until those few started to rave about the combination of flavors and textures, then everyone else had to try them.

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They do look a little unusual, I guess. The bumpy little edible bowls are a bit scraggly looking, but don’t let their unrefined appearance fool you. They really taste like an elegant dessert.

I love the combination of almonds, cherries and chocolate but wanted all the texture to be in the almond nougatine cups, so I chose to flavor my white chocolate mousse with almond extract instead of using bits of cherries. The mousse has a lovely cherry flavor without being overpowering. I topped each dessert with a bright red maraschino cherry, to add some color and an additional pop of cherry flavor.

I found all the ingredients to make these dessert cups including the Planter’s Cocoa Almonds at Walmart. The nuts are on a display with all their other holiday nuts. Some stores have a cool sleigh display. Mine just had the nuts on a shelf, but I was happy to find them.

I prefer these Cocoa Almonds over any other I’ve tried in the past. I’m not a big fan of bitter cocoa powder covered nuts so I was so happy to find that Planter’s Cocoa Almonds are mildly and pleasantly sweet and incredibly chocolaty.

The Cocoa Almonds are a limited edition holiday product, but I do hope they add them to their everyday lineup, so I can make more yummy desserts like these nougatine cups.

Cocoa Almond Nougatine Cups

filled with White Chocolate Cherry Mousse

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Cocoa Almond Nougatine Cups –

Ingredients:

4 ounces (1 cup) Planter’s Cocoa Almonds
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Special Supplies:
6 small round metal tart pans or use a muffin tin
a round metal cookie cutter about 1/4 inch larger than the top of the tart pans

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. If using mini tart molds, set them on a baking sheet.

Chop almonds into small pieces and toss with flour and salt. Set aside.Heat butter, corn syrup, and sugar in a small saucepan over medium high heat until butter melts. Stir gently. Then allow it to come to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in floured almonds.

Pour onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet and spread thin. Set another piece of parchment paper on top and use a rolling pin to roll it out as thin as possible. Remove top piece of paper then place baking pan in oven.

Bake for 10-14 minutes until the edges start to look set and the bubbling starts to subside.Butter the cutting edge of a round metal cookie cutter.

Remove nougatine from oven, and immediately use the cutter to cut circles in the hot candy. Being careful to not touch the hot candy, it will burn! You may need to use a knife to cut a clean edge. If needed, pop the pan back in the oven for a minute to reheat the nougatine so you can cut 12 circles out.

Use a metal spatula or knife to pick up a cut piece of nougatine and place it over a mini tart mold. Repeat until all 6 of your molds are covered. Place them back in the oven for a minute or two to allow the candy to soften. Remove and press the back of a wooden spoon or a tart tamper into the center of each nougatine disc. The nougatine should be soft enough to sink down into the tart mold. Allow to harden for 30-60 seconds then remove from mold and repeat process creating a total of 12 nougatine cups.White Chocolate Cherry Mousse-

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
7 ounces white chocolate callets, a finely chopped bar, or white candy melt wafers
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
12 maraschino cherries

Heat 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream and white chocolate in microwave on high for 30 seconds. Stir, then heat another 30 seconds, let sit 2 minutes, then stir. If not melted heat for 15 second increments, stirring after each until melted. The chocolate should feel warm to the touch.

Beat the remaining 1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream to stiff peaks. Fold in 1/3 of the cream to the warm chocolate. Fold in another 1/3rd, then fold in the final 1/3rd.

Spoon or pipe into Cocoa Almond Nougatine cups. Top with a maraschino cherry.

These cups are quite festive and fun. If you would like to have a little bit more fun, check out The Blippar app, which can be downloaded via iTunes or Google Play stores for free. Once you’ve downloaded the app on your phone or android device, you can scan any of the Planter’s products and magically Mr Peanut will appear on your screen. You can take a selfie with him, check out all the seasonal nuts from Planter’s, and even see tips and recipe ideas using the nuts. Learn how to download at: https://blippar.com/en/. There’s also a video that helps explain how to use the ap.I found a fun tip. They suggest warming their Winter Spiced Mix in the oven, so I tried that and it was like being at a winter festival eating the sweet glazed nuts that have just come out of the roaster. I’ll be doing this from now on. Yum!

If you need more inspiration, check out the Cooking Up Good website. They have recipes, sweepstakes, loyalty programs, coupons and more. If you’re looking for a new dinner idea or a chance to win some awesome prizes, be sure to check it out.

More Holiday Dessert Recipes
from Hungry Happenings