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!