Almond Cherry Bars Food

ALMOND CHERRY PEPITA BARS

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F. Coat an 8-inch square glass baking dish with cooking spray. Line the bottom with a piece of parchment or waxed paper leaving a 4-inch overhang on two opposite sides and spray the paper with cooking spray.
• Put 1 cup of the rice cereal in a resealable plastic bag and crush to a fine powder with the back of the measuring cup. Combine the remaining 1 cup rice cereal, pepitas, almonds and cherries in a large bowl. Heat the rice syrup and almond butter in a small saucepan until warm and bubbling and remove from heat. Stir in the almond extract and salt, and pour into the nut mixture. Fold with a spatula until it is everything is moistened and well combined. Add the crushed rice cereal and continue to fold until evenly incorporated.
• Press the mixture very firmly and evenly into the prepared pan using the overhanging pieces of parchment to prevent sticking. Bake until beginning to brown, about 25 minutes. Cool 15 minutes on a wire rack, then press again to compact the mixture. Chill until firm but not completely set , about 45 minutes. Remove the block by the paper handles and invert onto a cutting board. Gently peel off the paper. Cut the block in half, then cut each half into 6 bars for 12 total. Refrigerate until fully set.
• Store the bars individually wrapped or layered between sheets of parchment or waxed paper in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. The bars will soften up and become chewy as they come to room temperature.

ALMOND CHERRY BARS

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF.
• Start by mixing the flour, almond flour, sugar, sugar, baking powder, kosher salt, and lemon zest in a bowl.
• Add the butter and mix with a spatula until the butter is incorporated into the dry ingredients. You can also use your hands to make this easier. There shouldn't be any chunks of butter in the dough, it should be totally incorporated with the dry ingredients.
• Add the egg, almond extract, and lemon juice.
• Fold to combine all the ingredients, until a soft dough has formed. It will be sticky, like a cookie dough.
• In a bowl, mix the pitted cherries, with 3 tbsp of granulated sugar, and 1 tbsp of cornstarch. Set aside.
• Line the bottom of a 9x9" or 8x8" pan with parchment paper.
• Spread half of the dough on the bottom of the pan.
• Pour the cherries over dough and spread evenly.
• Spread out the other half of the dough on top of cherries. Just drop equal amounts evenly distributed over the cherries. You can use a cookie scoop to do this, as I show on the video.
• Then use your hands to help spread out the dough and flatten it. If the dough is too sticky you may flour your hands lightly.
• Bake the bars for about 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
• Let the bars cool down before slicing.

CHERRY ALMOND BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven 350 degrees.
• Spray 9x13 inch baking dish with oil.
• In a bowl, using a fork, stir flour with 1/2 cup icing sugar; using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in the 1 cup of butter until coarse crumbs form.
• OR.
• Whirl flour with icing sugar in food processor until mixed. Add butter, pulse until coarse crumbs form.
• Press mixture over bottom of baking dish.
• Bake in centre of oven until light golden around the edges, 25 - 30 minutes. Remove from oven, set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a bowl, stir flour, baking powder and salt.
• In a separate bowl, put beaten eggs then stir in brown sugar.
• Gradually stir in flour mixture, then add almonds and cherries.
• Spread over warm base.
• Bake in centre of oven until filling is set, 25 - 30 minutes.
• To prepare topping - in a small bowl, using an electric beater, beat cherry juice with 3 tblsp butter and almond extract.
• Gradually beat in 2 cups icing sugar until fluffy.
• Cover and set aside. Cool bars, then spread icing evenly over top.
• Refrigerate at least 2 hours before cutting into bars.
• Store in an airtight container, refrigerate up to 1 week or freeze up to 1 month.
• Note: if you use the cherry juice for the frosting it will be a nice pink colour!

MERRY CHERRY BARS

Steps:

• In a bowl, combine flour and confectioners' sugar; cut in butter until crumbly. Press into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned., Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine brown sugar and eggs; mix well. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture. Stir in almonds and cherries. Spread over crust. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until bars begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool on a wire rack. In a small bowl, beat icing ingredients until smooth. Frost bars.

ALMOND FRUIT BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.
• In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy; beat in egg yolk. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Stir in almonds.
• In a small bowl, whisk jam to loosen. (Stirring the jam with a fork or a whisk will enable it to spread smoothly over the dough.) Gently press half of dough into bottom of prepared dish. With the back of a spoon, gently spread jam over dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border so the jam doesn't stick to the sides of the pan. Sprinkle remaining dough over top all the way to the edges; press gently to form top layer.
• Bake until top is golden, 25 to 30 minutes; cool completely in dish. Cut into bars with a serrated knife.

CHERRY-ALMOND BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 11x7-inch glass baking dish with foil. Combine first 3 ingredients in medium bowl; whisk to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add sugar and beat until light. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts. Add flour mixture and beat just until dough begins to come together. Mix in almonds. Press dough onto bottom of prepared dish. Pierce all over with fork. Bake until just firm to touch, about 45 minutes.
• Stir preserves in small saucepan over medium-low heat until melted and hot; spread over warm pastry. Bake until preserves bubble in center, about 15 minutes. Cool in dish on rack.
• Using foil as aid, lift entire cookie from dish; trim edges. Cut into 2x1-inch bars. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover and store in single layer in refrigerator.)

CHERRY ALMOND NANAIMO BARS

Steps:

• Bottom Layer: Cook butter, sugar, cocoa, vanilla and beaten egg in a saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat and stir in coconut, graham crumbs and almonds. Pat firmly into 9 x 13 pan. Chill for at least 1 hour.
• Filling: Cream butter, cherry juice and almond extract. Gradually beat in icing sugar to make a smooth spreading consistency. Stir in cherries. Spread over the first layer in the pan. Chill until firm.
• Top Layer: Heat chocolate and butter, stirring constantly until smoothly melted. Drizzle chocolate over filling. Chill.