Almond Fruit Bars Food

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:

• In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until lemon-colored. Beat in butter and extract; gradually stir in the four and mix well. Spread into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. , Bake at 325° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

DRIED-FRUIT BARS

Steps:

• To prepare crust: Combine 3/4 cup nuts (or oats), whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar and salt in a food processor; pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add butter; pulse until well incorporated.
• Whisk egg, oil, 1 teaspoon vanilla and almond extract in a small bowl. With the motor running, add the mixture
• to the food processor. Process, then pulse, scraping down the sides, if necessary, until the mixture begins to clump, 30 to 45 seconds (it will look crumbly). Measure out 1/2 cup of the mixture and combine in a bowl with the remaining 1/4 cup chopped nuts (or oats). Set aside for the topping.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Generously coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
• To prepare fruit filling & assemble bars: Combine 2 cups dried fruit, cider, sugar and cornstarch in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is very thick, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 1/4 cups dried fruit and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
• Transfer the dough to the prepared baking dish. Spread evenly and press firmly into the bottom to form a crust. Spread the fruit filling over the crust. Sprinkle the reserved topping over the filling.
• Bake the bars for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and bake until the crust and topping are lightly brown, 25 to 30 minutes more. Let cool completely before cutting into bars, at least 1 1/2 hours.

ALMOND BARS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• In medium bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a mixer beat together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and almond extract and beat well. Slowly add flour mixture and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Turn the dough onto a clean work surface, and, with a sharp knife, divide the dough into 4 even pieces. Roll each piece into a 12 by 3-inch roll (or whatever size you like).
• Place 2 rolls on an ungreased cookie sheet, 4 inches apart. Repeat with remaining rolls. Brush rolls with milk and sprinkle with almonds. Bake until edges are lightly browned, about 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through cooking. While cookies are still warm cut them crosswise at a diagonal into 1-inch strips. Cool on a wire rack.
• For the glaze:
• In a small bowl, mix the sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle over almond cookies. Let sit until glaze is set, about 15 minutes.

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.