Blonde Orange Brownies

Yield: 24 Brownies
This recipe needs 2-3 fresh oranges for juice & zest

Ingredients:

Blonde Orange Brownie:
1 cup (250g) unsalted butter
375ml (1½ cups) sugar
3 large eggs
10ml pure orange extract (can substitute 30-45ml freshly squeezed orange juice)
5ml orange zest
5ml salt
250ml (1 cup) all-purpose flour

Orange Cream Glaze:
250g (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
60g unsalted butter, softened
30ml orange zest
45ml freshly squeezed orange juice
500-750ml (2-3 cups) powdered sugar (depending on taste & desired consistency)




Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 180*C (350*F).

Cream butter with sugar. Add eggs, mix well. Add orange extract/juice & zest. Scrape bowl. Add salt & flour, mix until just combined.

Spread into a greased 13x9x2" pan. Bake at 180*C (350*F) for 30 minutes; edges & top should be lightly browned.

Make glaze: Combine cream cheese & butter. Cream until no lumps appear. Add orange zest, orange juice & powdered sugar until desired consistency & taste.

Pierce the entire sheet of brownies with a fork while still hot. Spread glaze over the top & let cool to room temperature cut & serve. Keep refrigerated if not serving right away.

From Amber of Dessert Now, Dinner Later

Cookies, Biscuits and Sweet or Energy Bars

When you have a houseful of kids, 

cookies, biscuits, and sweet or energy bars always go down well. 

I have a delectable selection of these to share with you today. 

I'm sure they will bring out the 'kid' in you. Enjoy!

Chocolate Pecan Cookies

Coconut Cut Out Cookies

I want to Marry You Cookies

Cheesecake Cookies

Caramel apple cookies

Flourless Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

Raspberry Breakfast Bars

Nutella Swirl Cheesecake Bars

Pineapple Coconut Chess Bars

Chocolate Coconut Blondies

Ginger Apple Upside Down Squares

Lemon White Chocolate Blondies

Broadway Brownie Bars

Ooey Gooey Spice Bars

Scotcheroos

Lemon Crumble Bars

Chunky Monkey Energy Balls

Coconut Cookie Dough Bites

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Biscuit Bars

Ingredients:
125g butter, softened at room temperature
80ml peanut butter
250ml (1 cup) soft brown sugar, pressed down
125ml sunflower oil
2 eggs
15ml vanilla extract
625ml (2 1//2 cups)  oats
500ml (2 cups) flour
60ml chopped nuts (walnuts, macadamia, nibbed almonds)
60ml desicated coconut
5ml  bicarbonate of soda
5ml salt
200g dark chocolate chips

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180˚C. Grease and line a 9x13 inch baking tray with baking paper.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar together until the sugar is all taken up. Add the oil and beat it together, before adding the eggs, one at a time and the vanilla extract. 

In a separate bowl mix together the oats, flour, chopped nuts, coconut, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter and egg mixture and mix until the dough comes together. The dough will be quite sticky and may seem heavy, but that is fine. Mix in about 2/3 of the chocolate chips until they are homogeneously spread through the dough. Reserve the rest of the chocolate chips for the top of the biscuits.

Turn the dough into the prepared baking tray, pushing the dough into the pan and spreading it to the sides. scatter the reserved chocolate chips over the top and push them slightly into the top of dough.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Allow the bars to cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before cutting into squares.

These bars can be kept in an air tight container for up to one week.

Carrot Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients:
375ml cups all-purpose flour
250ml white whole wheat flour
5ml baking soda
1.25ml salt
2.5ml baking powder

2.5ml ground cloves
10ml ground cinnamon
250ml oats (not instant)
190ml brown sugar
60ml white sugar
250ml coconut oil (or 2 sticks butter, softened)
2 large eggs
10ml vanilla extract
500ml grated carrot (3-4 carrots)
125ml flaked coconut
200ml chopped walnuts
icing sugar
milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 180ºC. In a medium bowl, combine flours, baking soda, salt, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon and oats. Mix well and set aside.

With a mixer, beat together sugars and coconut oil in a large bowl. Add eggs and vanilla and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.

Add carrots, coconut and walnuts; blend until combined. Batter will be a lumpy.

Add flour mixture and blend at a low speed until just combined. Do not overmix.

Drop by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets and bake for 13-15 minutes. Watch them so they don't brown too much! Immediately transfer cookies to a cooling rack.

If you want your cookies a little sweeter, blend a small amount of icing sugar with a small amount of milk in a bowl. Add milk or powdered sugar until to the perfect consistency you like. Drizzle it over the cookies and serve. 

Enjoy!

Triple Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

200g bittersweet chocolate, chopped
140g unsweetened chocolate, chopped
125ml butter
80ml all-purpose flour
1.25ml baking powder
1.25ml salt
250ml white sugar
190ml packed brown sugar
4 eggs
60ml finely chopped pecans, toasted
Chocolate Drizzle (see recipe below)

Method:

In a 2L saucepan combine chocolates and butter. Heat and stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Let cool for 10 minutes. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, and 1.25ml salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine sugars and eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 2 to 3 minutes or until colour lightens slightly. Beat in melted chocolate. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture; heat until combined. Stir in pecans. Cover surface of cookie dough with plastic wrap. Let stand for 20 minutes (dough thickens as it stands).

Preheat oven to 180˚. Line cookie sheets with baking paper and drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2” apart on prepared cookie sheets. Bake in the preheated oven about 9 minutes or just until tops are set. Let stand for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool. Spoon Chocolate Drizzle over cookies.

Makes 60 cookies.

Chocolate Drizzle
Ingredients:

250ml semisweet chocolate pieces
20ml shortening

Method:
Combine semisweet chocolate pieces with shortening in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until the chocolate melts and is smooth. Remove from heat. Place cooled cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or waxed paper. Drizzle melted chocolates over tops. Place the entire cookie sheet in the freezer for 4 to 5 minutes or until chocolate is firm.

Cheese Fingers

Ingredients:
210 g butter
500ml grated cheese
500ml cup plain flour
3-5ml ground pepper
2.5ml salt
extra cheese for topping

Method:
Cream the butter and cheese together.

Add in flour, pepper and salt. Combine till a soft dough is formed.

Roll out on floured board into 5 mm thick, cut into fingers ½ inch wide.

Transfer into baking sheet. Sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes at 160˚C until light golden colour.

Potato Chip and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

580ml All-purpose Flour
5ml Salt
5ml Baking Soda
150g Unsalted Butter
190ml Light Or Dark Brown Sugar
125ml Granulated Sugar
1 Large Egg
1 Large Egg Yolk
10ml Vanilla
30ml Whole Milk
500ml Chocolate Chips
250ml Crushed Salt Flavour Potato Chips

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160˚ C. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, salt and baking soda. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan melt butter over medium heat, swirling in the pan until begins to brown. Once browned, transfer the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add brown sugar and white sugar and mix on low speed.

Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract and milk, mixing until combined. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed, making sure not to over mix. Fold in chocolate chips.

Into a small bowl, add the crushed potato chips. Scoop out a tablespoon of the cookie dough to form a small ball. Roll the ball in the crushed potato chips, pressing down to flatten the ball. Transfer the ball to a baking sheet that you’ve lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Space the cookies 1 1/2 to 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

Bake until the edges are golden brown, 13-15 minutes.Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for 5-10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Cinnamon Roll Biscuits

Ingredients:
310g butter
125g softened cream cheese
15ml vanilla extract, divided
5ml dry active yeast
250ml sugar
3 ¾ cups flour
2.5ml salt
125ml brown sugar
20ml cinnamon
45ml whole milk
1 cup icing sugar

Method:

Mix 10ml vanilla extract with 5ml of dry active yeast. 

Cream the butter, cream cheese, vanilla with yeast, and granulated sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy—2-3 minutes. Turn the mixer on low. Add the salt, then slowly add the flour. Scrape the bowl and mix until well combined.

Press the dough into a flat disk. Wrap and refrigerate the dough for (at least) 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 190°C.

Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.

Cut the dough in half and leave one half in the fridge while working with the first half. Flour a piece of wax paper and roll the dough into a 7 X 18 inch rectangle that is approximately ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar over the dough leaving 1 1/2 inches bare along the long edge. Starting on the cinnamon covered side, carefully roll the dough tightly toward the bare edge. You may want to cut the dough into two sections to make the rolling easier. 

At this point, you can place the rolls back in the fridge and save for weeks if needed. 

Press the seam firmly, then cut the roll into 1/3-1/2 inch slices and lay on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Repeat with the remaining dough and cinnamon sugar. 

Bake for 9-12 minutes. Cool completely. Then whisk the powdered sugar, milk and remaining vanilla extract together in a small bowl. Dip the face of each cookie into the glaze and set on a rack to dry.

Brown Butter Snickerdoodles

Made with browned butter and a heaping dose of brown sugar, these cookies are certain to be a hit!

Soft and gooey on the inside, crispy on the outside and packed nutty and caramel flavours. 

Simply incredible!

If you haven’t experienced browned butter yet, you are seriously missing out. It has a way of giving cookies a nutty richness and depth that regular plain butter just can’t replicate. And all of that brown butter really shines through in these biscuits!

Ingredients:

250g unsalted butter
700ml all-purpose flour
10ml cream of tartar
5ml baking soda
15ml plus 10ml cinnamon, divided
2.5ml salt
2 large eggs
15ml whole milk
250ml plus 45ml granulated sugar, divided
125ml packed light brown sugar

Method:

In a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat, melt butter. Continue cooking for 1-3 minutes, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed for 5-7 minutes to cool the butter to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, 5ml of cinnamon and salt together.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and milk until combined.

When the butter has cooled, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the browned butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar about 2 minutes until combined and no lumps remain. With the mixer on low, slowly add the egg mixture beating until well combined. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, beating just until the dough comes together. Cover the bowl and chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or up to 24.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 200°C . Line two baking sheets with parchment. Place the remaining 45ml sugar and 20ml of cinnamon for rolling in a shallow bowl.

Roll about two heaping tablespoons of dough into a ball between your palms, roll the ball in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, and then place it on the prepared baking sheet spacing the balls about 2 inches apart. If you desire a thinner cookie, flatten the tops of each cookie very slightly with your hand.

Bake cookies for about 10 minutes one sheet at a time, until tops slightly cracked and edges are just set. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the cookies cool on the sheet for 2 minutes, then using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to the rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Kissed Soft Spiced Honey Cookies

Ingredients:

4 cups flour, sifted
5ml salt
5ml bicarbonate of soda
5ml baking powder
10ml ground cinnamon
10ml ground ginger
2.5ml ground cloves
250g butter, softened
315ml (1 1/4 cups) honey
65ml sugar
1 egg ( or you can substitute 1/3 cup buttermilk)
250ml of chocolate chips for the kisses, more or less depending on the number of cookies.

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 180 C.

Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Into a large mixing bowl sift together the dry ingredients.

In a large saucepan over low heat, melt the butter and be sure not to burn it.

Add the honey and sugar to the butter and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Put the pot into refrigerator and cool until the pan is just warm and not hot. Remove from the refrigerator and beat in the egg (or buttermilk) until well combined.

Stir in the sifted flour mixture, a cup at a time until well mixed. About 20 strokes.

Make sure the dough is cool enough to handle for shaping and roll into 1 1/2 inch balls.

Place the balls 2 inches apart on the parchment paper to allow for spreading and press into place 5 chocolate chips on each cookie.

Put into the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cool on cookie racks.

Makes 3 to 4 dozen. Store cookies in an airtight container.

Swedish Cardamom Cookies

Ingredients:

225  butter, softened

125g icing sugar

275g flour, sifted, plus extra for dusting

1 egg, beaten

10ml ground cardmom

5ml grated ornge zest

200g chopped pecans

Method:

Place the butter in a bowl and beat until soft. Add half the icing sugar and continue to beat, then add the other half and keep beating until the sugar is fully incorporated. Next add the flour, egg, cardamom, orange zest and a pinch of salt, and continue to beat until well combined. Alternatively, place all the ingredients in a food processor and whizz briefly to combine. 

On a worktop lightly dusted in flour, roll the dough into a log shape approximately 4cm in diameter and 35cm long. Sprinkle the chopped pecans or sugar nibs onto a large piece of baking parchment or cling film, then roll the dough log in the sugar nibs to coat before rolling up the dough in the paper or cling film. If you are not adding the nuts or sugar, then simply roll up the dough log in the paper/cling film. 

Place the wrapped dough in the fridge to chill for a few hours or overnight and when you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 180C, and line two baking sheets with baking parchment. 

Remove the dough from the fridge and cut into slices 5–7mm thick. Transfer the slices to the prepared baking sheets and bake in the oven for 15–20 minutes (the time varying according to the thickness of the cookies) or until light golden. Unless you have a fan oven, you will need to bake the cookies in two batches. 

Using a palette knife or metal fish slice, carefully lift onto a wire rack to cool. 

Soft Baked Gingersnap Molasses Cookies

Ingredients:

3 cups of flour

5ml sodium bicarbonate

10ml ground ginger

7.5ml ground cinnamon

2.5ml ground cloves

2.5ml ground nutmeg

2.5ml salt

190g unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1/3 cup molasses

1 egg at room temperature

10ml vanilla extract

1/3 cup granulated sugar, for rolling

1 cup butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips or semi-sweet chocolate chips - optional

Method:

In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand or handheld mixer, cream the softened butter for about 1 minute on medium speed. Add the brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides as needed. Add the molasses, egg, and vanilla. Beat well, scraping down the sides as needed again.

Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet on low speed. Do not overmix. Cover mixed dough with foil and chill for 4 hours of overnight. I chilled mine overnight.

Preheat oven to 180 C. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll in granulated sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart. Bake for precisely 8-10 minutes, until the edges are just turning brown – cookies will be puffy and still appear soft in the middle. Remove from the oven and, if using any variety of flavour chip, immediately press 5-7 chips into the centre of each cookie.

Allow to cool on the baking sheet for two minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick or 115 grams) unsalted butter

1/4 cup (50 grams) light brown sugar

1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 Tablespoons (86 grams) pumpkin puree

1 and 1/2 cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 cup (90 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:

In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar together until no brown sugar lumps remain. Whisk in the vanilla and pumpkin until smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together with a large spoon or rubber spatula. The dough will be very soft.  Fold in 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. They may not stick to the dough because of the melted butter, but do your best to have them evenly dispersed among the dough. Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes, or up to 3 days. Chilling is mandatory.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.

Roll the dough into balls, about 2 Tablespoons of dough each. Slightly flatten the dough balls because the cookies will only slightly spread in the oven. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. The cookies will look very soft and under-baked. Keeping them in the oven for longer may dry them out.  Remove from the oven and press a few more chocolate chips onto the tops, if desired.  If you find that your cookies didn't spread much at all, flatten them out when you take them out of the oven.

Allow the cookies to cool for at least 10 minutes on the cookie sheets before transferring to a wire rack.  The longer the cookies cool, the chewier they will be. Let them sit out for at least 1 hour before enjoying. Their chewiness and pumpkin flavour is improved if you leave them for a day before consuming them. Cookies stay soft, moist, and chewy stored at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Freezing directions: 

Roll the chilled dough into balls and freeze in a large ziplock bag for up to 2 months.  Baked cookies may also be frozen up to 2 months.

Chocolate Chunk Breakfast Cookies

Ingredients:

• 4 Ripe Bananas
• 1/2 Cup Greek Vanilla Yoghurt
• 1/4 Cup Butter, Softened
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Tbs Vanilla
• 2/3 Cup Packed Dark Brown Sugar
• 2 Tsp Sodium Bicarbonate
• 2 1/2 Cups White Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 Cups Oats
• 1 Cup Oat Bran
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1/2-1 Cup Chocolate Chips or Chunks

Method:

Preheat Oven to 180 C.

Line your baking sheets with baking paper.

In a food processor purée the bananas, yoghurt, butter, eggs and vanilla until well combined. In a separate bowl, mix together brown sugar, baking soda, white whole wheat flour, oats, oat bran and salt. Combine wet and dry ingredients, stirring until combined but do not over mix.

Drop by scoops - use a small ice cream scoop - onto a baking sheet. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until they are lightly browned. Remove from oven and immediately remove from pan and transfer to a wire rack, allowing to cool.

Makes approximately 32 cookies. Keep in the freezer to retain freshness. Either take out the night before and let thaw or just pop in the microwave for a few seconds to remove their chill. Enjoy!

Ginger Snap Cookies

Ingredients:
200g butter
250ml brown sugar
1 egg
200ml molasses
750ml flour
2.5ml slat
10ml bicarbonate of soda
2.5ml ground cloves
5ml ginger
5ml cinnamon
+/_ 125ml extra sugar

Makes 6-7 dozen biscuits.

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C
Beat the butter until creamy. 
Add the brown sugar, egg and molasses.
Mix together the dry ingredients and add to he sugar mixture. Blend together by folding in with a rubber spatula.
Cover and chill the dough.
Shape into balls of about 1 inch in diameter and roll each ball in granulated sugar.
Place balls 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Slightly flatten each ball with the bottom of a glass, which has been greased with a bit of butter and dipped in sugar. This keeps the dough from sticking to the glass.
Bake for about 10-11 minutes.
Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes before removing, baking paper and all, to a cooling rack.

Cook's Tip

Use a glass with a crystal pattern on the base 

to give a pretty design on the top of the cookies.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cream-Cheese Filling

Ingredients:
For the Cream-Cheese Filling:

3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


For the Pumpkin Whoopie Cookies:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cloves
2 cups firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups pumpkin puree, chilled
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Directions:

Make the cookies: Preheat oven to 180 C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves; set aside. In another large bowl, whisk together brown sugar and oil until well combined. Add pumpkin puree and whisk until combined. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk until well combined. Sprinkle flour mixture over pumpkin mixture and whisk until fully incorporated.

Using a small ice cream scoop with a release mechanism, drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto prepared baking sheets, about 1 inch apart. Transfer to oven and bake until cookies are just starting to crack on top and a toothpick inserted into the center of each cookie comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on pan.

Make the filling: Sift confectioner' sugar into a medium bowl; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add cream cheese and beat until well combined. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla, beat just until smooth. (Filling can be made up to a day in advance. Cover and refrigerate; let stand at room temperature to soften before using.)

Assemble the whoopie pies: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Transfer filling to a disposable pastry bag and snip the end. When cookies have cooled completely, pipe a large dollop of filling on the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, pressing down slightly so that the filling spreads to the edge of the cookies. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate cookies at least 30 minutes before serving and up to 3 days.

Yield: Makes 12 whoopie pies.

Scandinavian Almond Bars

Ingredients:

210g cups cake flour*

10ml baking powder

1ml salt

250ml sugar

125g butter, room temperature

1 egg, room temperature

2.5ml almond extract

* For a Gluten Free version of this recipe, simply replace flour with:

250ml brown rice flour *

125ml tapioca starch *

60ml potato starch *

180ml oat flour *

2.5ml xantham gum *

The Gluten Free version required a full 20-22 minutes to finish baking.

Topping:

15ml milk

125ml sliced almonds

Icing:

250ml powdered sugar

1ml almond extract

15-30ml milk

Method:

Preheat the oven to 170˚C. Whisk 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 thoroughly buttered 9x13 inch pan. Press with your fingers or a pastry roller to smooth the top of the dough. The gluten free dough is a bit stickier than the traditional version. I found that it was easiest to place a sheet of parchment or wax paper on top of the dough and press it into the pan with my hands that way.

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 16-20 minutes. Remove from the oven when they are just barely beginning to brown and they look dry around the edges. Do not let them actually brown at all. If they brown, they will be much more crunchy than desired, once they cool. The goal is a very soft shortbread texture.

Let the bars 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. Remove them carefully (they will be quite soft) to a wire rack to cool completely before icing. Prepare the icing, adding just a tiny bit of milk at a time. 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.

Leave the bars on the wire rack until the icing is firm enough to handle. These bars store quite well in the freezer. I can usually fit 2 dozen in a gallon size ziploc bag, with a sheet of wax paper separating the layers. When you are ready to eat them, just set them on the counter about half an hour before hand. I typically plate them while they are still frozen, because they are easy to handle that way. Enjoy!