Old Fashioned Almond Squares Recipes

ALMOND BARS

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.).

ALMOND BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. Cream together the butter and the sugar. Add the egg and the almond extract and then mix until light and fluffy. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until combined.
• Press the dough into the bottom of a well-greased 9x13 pan. Press with your fingers or a pastry roller to smooth the top of the dough. Using a pastry brush, brush a tiny bit of milk across the top of the dough. Sprinkle with sliced almonds and very lightly press them into the top of the dough.
• Bake for 18-20 min, or until just barely beginning to brown around the edges. Do not let the bars brown at all. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then cut into bars. If they are too soft to cut, let them cool for a few more minutes. Carefully transfer the bars to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.
• To make the icing: Add just a tiny bit of milk at a time to the powdered sugar. If the consistency is too thick, it won't drizzle nicely over the bars. If it is too thin, the icing will just melt into the bars. If you are unsure, test a bit of it on the edge of one bar before drizzling the icing over the entire batch.

ALMOND SQUARES II

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cream butter in a large mixing bowl; gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk (reserve egg white), almond paste, and flavoring; beat until well blended. Stir in flour.
• Spread mixture in a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan. Beat egg white (at room temperature) until foamy; brush over entire surface of dough, and sprinkle with almonds. Bake for 35 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool thoroughly, and cut into 2 inch squares. Store in airtight containers.

ALMOND SQUARES I

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 inch square baking pan.
• To make crust: In a large bowl, cream shortening, white sugar and brown sugar. Separate egg and beat in yolk and vanilla, stirring until well blended. Slowly add in the flour and blend well. Mixture will be stiff.
• Press dough evenly into baking pan. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until top is golden brown.
• Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over low heat. Spread the melted chocolate over warm crust. Sprinkle top with almonds. Let cool on wire rack before cutting.