Raspberry Almond Bars
We used to make cookie boxes to give our friends and family for Christmas. This tradition started when we were in high school (and, no, we won’t be telling you how long ago that was!). It was such a fun way for us to spend time together creating yummy treats and it gave us something very special to share with our loved ones. We had so much fun experimenting with other people’s recipes and creating a few of our own. We received very positive feedback on the cookie boxes and continued to make them for many years, adding more and more original recipes as time went by.
Our dear Grammie Irma didn’t eat chocolate, so we included an early version of these in our cookie boxes so she would have something she could enjoy. The recipe has evolved over the years – the original didn’t include almonds or a shortbread crust. Jenn offered this version at her bakery and it was one of the top selling bar cookies. It’s an excellent option for those who don’t like or can’t eat chocolate.
P.S. We had this in our Almond Macaroon recipe, but it bears repeating here:
A note about almond paste…
Commercially produced almond paste is available at most super markets on the baking isle. These almond pastes tend to contain 50% almonds and 50% sugar. For this recipe, we prefer a premium almond paste such as Mandelin, which is made with 66% almonds, resulting in a much better flavor and texture.
Raspberry Almond Bars
Base:
- 2/3 cup (5.4 oz) unsalted butter, preferably European style, room temp
- ½ cup (3.5 oz) granulated sugar
- 2 cups (9 oz) all purpose flour
- ½ tsp salt
Filling:
- ¾ cup (8.5 oz) seedless raspberry preserves
Topping:
- ½ cup (2.3 oz) all purpose flour
- ¼ cup (1.8 oz) granulated sugar
- 8 oz good quality almond paste
- ¼ cup (2 oz) unsalted butter, preferably European style
- ¾ cup (2.5 oz) sliced almonds, lightly toasted
- ¾ tsp salt
Heat oven to 350. Line 9″ x 13″ x 2″ pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in flour and salt until just combined (mixture will look crumbly.) Press into prepared pan and bake for 12 – 15 minutes until light brown around the edges.
While crust bakes, combine all topping ingredients using a pastry blender until crumbly. Stir jam until smooth.
Spread jam evenly over hot crust. Sprinkle 2/3 of topping over jam. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and then the remaining 1/3 of the topping. Bake for about 15 minutes, rotating pan 180 degrees halfway through baking time to assure an evenly golden brown topping.
Cool completely in pan. Using the edges of the foil, lift cooled cookies from pan. Carefully remove the foil and place on cutting board. We recommend cutting into 1 ½” bars, but you can cut them any size you prefer.
Makes 54 – 1 ½ ” bars