Almond Roca
Template:Infobox prepared food Almond Roca is a brand of chocolate-covered, almond butter crunch, hard toffee with a coating of ground almonds. It is similar to chocolate-covered English toffee. The candy is manufactured by the Brown & Haley Co. of Tacoma, Washington, founded in 1914 by Harry Brown and J.C. Haley.
Background
Almond Roca was invented in 1923.<ref>http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/Brown-and-Haley-Almond-Roca-Copycat-Recipe.html</ref> The candy's name is said to have been inspired by Tacoma's head librarian, who chose the Spanish word "roca", meaning "rock" in English, to describe the hard, log-shaped confection.<ref name="history">Template:Cite web</ref> Brown & Haley first used Almond Roca's trademark pink tin can containers in 1927 to extend the product's shelf life.<ref name="history"/> Individual pieces of Almond Roca candy are wrapped in gold-colored aluminum foil.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2009 the Washington state legislature attempted to designate Aplets & Cotlets the "official candy of the state of Washington". The proposal ultimately failed; some legislators from Western Washington thought the designation should go to Almond Roca.<ref name="epicurious">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Ingredients
Almond Roca contains sugar, almonds, butter, palm oil, palm kernel oil, cocoa powder, whey, skim milk powder, soya lecithin, chocolate, and vanilla.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
By company tradition, a small amount of the original 1923 batch of toffee is carried over into each subsequent batch of candy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Empirical studies have shown that the chocolate and almond coating of the candy includes the equivalent of two average sized almonds.Template:Citation needed
Other varieties
Since 2003, Brown & Haley has expanded its line of chocolate-coated toffee, with dark chocolate, cashew, macadamia nut, mocha (coffee-flavored), peppermint and sugar-free varieties.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>