Almond Bars for the Dessert Plate

Almond Bars for the Dessert Plate keeps the shopping list focused on blanched slivered almonds, unsalted butter, and cinnamon. It serves 24 Bars.

Count on 15 minutes of prep, 29 minutes of cooking, about 44 minutes from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

For the Bars

• 1 ⅓ cups blanched slivered almonds
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg separated
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt

For the Glaze

• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter melted
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

How the cooking goes

Prepare pan

1. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with criss-crossed baking paper. A metal dish will produce a more evenly crisp bar bottom. You could also use a jelly roll pan.

Make bars

1. Warm the oven to 300°F.
2. In the bowl of a electric mixer or with a hand mixer, cream the butter. Add the sugar and cinnamon and beat to mix well. Beat in the egg yolk, but reserve the white.
3. Reduce your mixer speed to low and gradually add the flour and salt. Mix until the mix looks even.
4. Press your dough into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. You will want to spread and press the dough into the dish with your hands, and try to get it as even as possible. {But don’t try too hard. No one will see.}.
5. In a small bowl, beat or whisk the egg white until it is foamy. Use a pastry brush to brush the top of the dough with the whisked egg white. Spread all the almonds over the top of the egg white. Press them down a little so they will slightly adhere.
6. Oven-bake the bars in the preheated oven until the surface is deep gold. Mine took about 30 minutes. A minute or so before removing the bars from the oven, mix the glaze.

Make the glaze

1. In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, water, lemon juice, and confectioner’s sugar.

Assemble & enjoy

1. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the warm bars! You can spread it evenly with an offset spatula if it pools in areas.
2. Cool the bars for 20-25 minutes and then cut them into pieces. You find a serrated knife useful here. Allow your bars to cool until it is no longer warm on a wire rack, and enjoy!

After it comes off the heat

Cool the sheet on a rack before the pieces are stacked. A covered tin keeps them for a few days.

If you want another plate from Cookies, open Valentine’s Day Cookies Baked Until the Edges Set and Pfeffernusse for the Dessert Plate.