Almond Bars

Rich, nutty and delicious… this recipe for Almond Bars is a new favorite in our house!

These cookie bars might look a bit plain, but they are surprisingly good!

My husband and girls kept sneaking back into the kitchen to see if I had any “extras” after their first sample.

I normally lean toward cookies or desserts that are gooey, or chocolaty or covered with frosting… these bars are nothing like that, and yet I still love them!

These bars are buttery and flavorful, with the texture of a thick and slightly chewy sugar cookie.

These Almond Sugar Cookie Bars would be the perfect addition to a holiday cookie tray, they can be made a few days in advance, and are also great to ship!

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I created this recipe in partnership with Sprouts Farmers Market.

I love heading to Sprouts when the inspiration hits to do some baking… which is quite often!

I always head right to the bulk bin area when I can find so many of my favorite baking staples… flour, sugar, nuts, dried fruits, chocolate chips… and some snacks for the kids like trail mix and pretzels.

For this recipe, I stocked up on beautiful sliced almonds.

I know I can rely on Sprouts for high quality at great prices all year round, but this weekend is extra perfect to shop… thanks to Sprouts Incredible Bulk Bin Sale!  December 8th-10th all scoopable bulk bin items are 25% off!  It’s the perfect time to stock your pantry for lots of holiday baking!

So make your shopping list now, and then shop at Sprouts all weekend long!

This recipe is inspired by an old recipe I recently stumbled upon in one of my moms cookbooks… Almond Strips, from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, 1989.  I love being reminded how delicious simple ingredients can be!

I adjusted the original recipe by replacing a simple glaze topping with a baked topping that makes these bars perfect to make ahead, and great to ship to friends and family!

In fact, I shipped off a batch of these Almond Bars to fellow Sprouts bloggers, Cheryl of Pook’s Pantry and Erin of The Speckled Palate.  They both created beautiful recipes to celebrate Sprouts Incredible Bulk Bin Sale too… so be sure to check out Cheryl’s Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti and Erin’s Ginger Rosemary Shortbread.

Be sure to follow the hashtag #IncredibleBulkBinTreatExchange on Instagram to see the delicious treats several other bloggers have shared!

How to Make Almond Bars

Almond Bars

Buttery, nutty and delicious! These bars might look humble, but you'll be surprised how flavorful and delicious they are!

5 from 3 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 20

Calories 166 kcal

Ingredients

 

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping

• 1 egg white
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 2 teaspoons coarse sugar turbinado sugar or sparkling sugar

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Prepare a 9" x 9" baking pan by greasing lightly with butter.  Set aside.
• In a medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt, then set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until smooth.  Add sugar and blend until well combined.
• Add egg, almond extract and vanilla extract and blend 30 seconds or so (until all ingredients are fully incorporated).
• While slowly mixing, pour in flour (a bit at a time).  Blend just until all of the flour is incorporated and the dough is pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
• Scoop dough into the prepared pan and use a spatula to spread it a bit.  Then, lay a piece of plastic wrap on top of the dough and use your hands to press the dough into the pan in as even a layer as possible.  After you've gotten it pretty flat and even with your hands, with the plastic still on top, use the flat bottom of a measuring cup (or something similar) to level the dough just a bit more, until the top of the dough is nice and level and flat. Then remove (and discard) the plastic wrap.
• In a small bowl whisk together the egg white and milk.  Use a pastry brush to brush a layer of the egg/milk mixture on top of the dough.  You will not need all of the liquid.
• Sprinkle the sliced almonds in an even layer all over the dough.  Sprinkle a bit of raw sugar or sparkling sugar on top of the almonds..
• Bake in preheated oven for 25-28 minutes, or until the edges are getting a bit golden.
• Keep the pan in the oven and adjust oven temperature to broil and broil for 1-2 minutes, just until the almonds have a bit of golden brown all over (do not walk away from the oven while broiling and watch carefully so you don't burn the almonds/bars).

Notes

Generally when I'm making cookie bars I like to line my baking pans with parchment paper, but in this case I recommend simply using butter directly on the pan. It helps create just a bit more browning on the bottom of the bars (versus with parchment) and for this recipe I like all the edges (and top and bottom) of the bars to have a bit of browning (for flavor and texture).

Nutrition

Calories: 166kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 3gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 97mgPotassium: 63mgFiber: 1gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 154IUCalcium: 39mgIron: 1mg

Keyword almond bars

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Happy baking!

Disclosure – I created this recipe in partnership with Sprouts Farmers Market.  Partnering with brands I love allows me to provide you with high quality content at no cost to you.  I only work with brands I use and love.  All images, text and opinions are my own.