Holiday Almond Bars Recipes

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream the butter, almond paste and 2 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and extract. Gradually add flour just until moistened., Spread into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining sugar; top with almonds. , Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into squares. Store in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• Beat together the eggs and sugar until lemon-colored. Add the butter, flour, and almond extract; mix well.
• Spread the batter in an even layer on a buttered 13x9-inch baking pan. Sprinkle the top of the batter with sliced amonds if you wish; otherwise leave the top as is.
• Bake at 325° for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Remove pan from the oven and dust the top with a light sprinkling of confectioner's sugar, if you wish. Leave cookies in the pan to cool completely.
• When cooled, cut into bars. (I usually cut 9 vertical rows and 4 horizontal rows, to get 36 bar cookies.).

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a mixer beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and almond extract and beat well. Slowly add flour mixture and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Turn the dough onto a clean work surface, and, with a sharp knife, divide the dough into 4 even pieces. Roll each piece into a 12 by 3-inch roll (or whatever size you like).
• Place 2 rolls on an ungreased cookie sheet, 4 inches apart. Repeat with remaining rolls. Brush rolls with milk and sprinkle with almonds. Bake until edges are lightly browned, about 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through cooking. While cookies are still warm cut them crosswise at a diagonal into 1-inch strips. Cool on a wire rack.
• For the glaze:
• In a small bowl, mix the sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle over almond cookies. Let sit until glaze is set, about 15 minutes.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until lemon-colored. Beat in butter and extract; gradually stir in the four and mix well. Spread into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. , Bake at 325° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• Make crust and topping:
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Beat together butter and brown sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes with a standing mixer or 3 minutes with a handheld. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour and salt just until a dough forms. Pat two thirds of dough evenly over bottom of a buttered 8- by 2-inch square metal baking pan. Bake crust in middle of oven until edge is golden, about 12 minutes. While crust is baking, work almonds into remaining dough with your hands until crumbs form, then reserve for topping. Cool crust in pan on a rack.
• Make filling while crust cools:
• Dissolve espresso powder in vanilla in a small cup. Beat together cream cheese and sugar with cleaned beaters at medium-high speed until creamy, about 2 minutes, then add egg and espresso mixture and beat well. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Pour filling onto cooled crust and crumble topping evenly over filling. Bake in middle of oven until edges are golden, about 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely in pan on rack. Cut into 16 bars.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
• In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg and almond extract; mix until fluffy. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt; mix well.
• Divide dough into 4 pieces, and roll each one into a log about 12 inches long. Place 2 logs per cookie sheet 4 to 5 inches apart. Flatten each roll by hand until it is about 3 inches wide. Brush flattened roll with milk and sprinkle with sliced almonds.
• Bake in preheated oven 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are slightly browned. While the cookies are still warm, cut them crosswise at a diagonal, into slices about 1 inch wide. When cool, drizzle with almond icing.
• Almond icing: In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar, almond extract, and milk until smooth. Drizzle over the cookies.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°.
• Stir together flour, baking powder and salt.
• In a large bowl beat margarine or butter till softened.
• Add sugar and beat till fluffy.
• Add egg and the 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract and beat well.
• Add the flour mixture and beat till well mixed.
• Divide the dough into fourths, form each portion into a 12 inch roll.
• Place 2 of the rolls 4 to 5-inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
• Flatten each roll till it is about 3 inches wide.
• Repeat with the remaining rolls.
• Brush each flattened roll with milk and sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of almonds each.
• Bake in a 325° oven for 12-14 minutes or till edges are lightly brown.
• While still warm, cut crosswise on the diagonal into 1 inch strips.
• Cool completely on a wire rack.
• Stir together the powdered sugar, the almond extract and enough of the 3-4 teaspoons of milk to make a drizzling consistency.
• Drizzle over the cool bars.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.
• In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy; beat in egg yolk. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Stir in almonds.
• In a small bowl, whisk jam to loosen. (Stirring the jam with a fork or a whisk will enable it to spread smoothly over the dough.) Gently press half of dough into bottom of prepared dish. With the back of a spoon, gently spread jam over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border so the jam doesn't stick to the sides of the pan. Sprinkle remaining dough over top all the way to the edges; press gently to form top layer.
• Bake until top is golden, 25 to 30 minutes; cool completely in dish. Cut into bars with a serrated knife.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, stir cookie base ingredients until soft dough forms. Spread in ungreased 13x9-inch pan. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until light golden brown.
• Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat almond paste, sugar and 1/4 cup melted butter with electric mixer on low speed until blended. Add 2 eggs; beat until well blended (mixture may be slightly lumpy).
• Spread almond paste mixture over partially baked base. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup almonds. Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until filling is set (filling will puff up during baking). Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• In 1-quart heavy saucepan, melt white chocolate and shortening over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Pour and spread over cooled bars. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup almonds. Let stand about 30 minutes or until topping is set. For bars, cut into 8 rows by 4 rows. Store covered at room temperature.