Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Toast the pecan halves on a baking sheet in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Combine 1 1/4 cups of sugar and the lemon juice in a 2 1/2-qt saucepan. Stir with a whisk to combine (the sugar will resemble moist sand). Caramelize the sugar for 8 to 10 minutes over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a whisk to break up any lumps (the sugar will first turn clear as it liquefies, then light brown as it caramelizes) . Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the unsweetened chocolate and stir gently to blend. Pour the chocolate-caramel mixture over the pecans and stir with a spoon to completely coat the pecans with the chocolate caramel; spread the mixture evenly over the bottom of the baking sheet. Freeze the chocolate pecan crunch for 20 minutes. Remove from the freezer. Chop the chocolate pecan crunch into 1/4" pieces. Store in a sealed plastic container in the freezer until needed. |
