Awesome Almond Bars

I made these Awesome Almond Bars you should make for a light sweet ending to Sunday dinner at my house and they were delicious!

I love anything almond, so it was not a tough sell for me, but other family and friends who tried them gave them a “thumbs up,” too! That’s because their mouths were full of almond bar goodness!

These were very easy to make, and I had everything easily on hand in my pantry, though, I guess anyone who isn’t as addicted to almonds like I am might need to make sure they had sliced almonds.

The steps were easy: beat butter and sugar together until fluffy, beat in two eggs, then add flour and other dry ingredients. Dump that into a buttered pan and press it in evenly. Brush with milk, sprinkle with almonds and bake. Mine took a wee bit longer than the recipe, but I think that if you used a bit larger of a pan, they would be thinner and cook faster.

After baking, let them cool about 15 minutes and cut them apart; put the cut ones on a cooling rack to cool completely. Ice them while they are on the rack, but put a cookie sheet under to keep the mess to a minimum.

I think they would be a little more crunchy if you used a large rimmed cookie sheet that the recipe called for; I used a large casserole dish and mine were a bit cake-y, which I loved. It does make a large amount of bars! Enough to share at work the next day!

I altered this recipe and only made about half the glaze, because I don’t love a ton of glaze. I’m glad I did! They would be too sweet for my bunch with a lot of sugary icing all over them. You should try these awesome Almond Bars you should make!

Almond Bars

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons milk (any variety)
• 1 cup sliced almonds

icing:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons milk (any variety)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Generously butter (or use baking spray) on a half sheet pan (approximatedly 18″x13″). Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in eggs and almond extract. Beat until combined. Slowly add in flour mixture. Mixing until well blended.
4. Press this dough into the bottom of your prepared baking dish. Use your fingers or a pastry roller to smooth the top of the dough.
5. Using a pastry brush, brush the milk to the top of the dough (you may not need to use all of it). Sprinkle with sliced almonds, pressing them lightly into the dough.
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes until done. You don’t want to brown these bars.
7. Cool for about 15 minutes, then cut them with a knife into bars. If they are too soft to cut, allow to cool a little bit more. Carefully remove them to a wire rack to continue cooling.
8. Once cooled, you can make your glaze by whisking the sugar with the almond extract and milk. Drizzle over the bars and allow to set.
9. Enjoy!