Almond Joy

I came across a recipe for almond bars on the back of the Market Pantry (Target brand) almond extract box. Random, huh?

Since I LOVE almond, this was a no-brainer.

I was going to make them yesterday, but forgot that I hard boiled the last 4 eggs in the fridge for dyeing last weekend.

Then I forgot to pick some up at the store.

Getting back to the hard boiled ones…we never got around to coloring them last weekend. Terrible, I know. Elliott has asked me a MILLION times if we can dye the Easter eggs! She doesn’t care that it’s almost a week later. We still had quite a bit going on this past week, so we FINALLY got around to coloring our 4 measly hard-boiled eggs this morning.

Dropping the eggs into the dye:

Simmering:

Still waiting:

The expression on her face = pure guilt for not doing this LAST weekend:

More guilt:

We did FOUR eggs people…can you imagine the excitement and glee a whole dozen would have created?

Next year, kids. Next year.

I really do love to dye eggs. Really. It’s just I need a controlled environment to do so. All that dye makes me a little nervous. But next year I am going to pick up my favorite cheap Paas dye, vinegar, a dozen and a half eggs and let them go to town.

OK, now getting back to the almond bars…

I’ve been dreaming about these since I discovered the recipe around Valentine’s Day. They really are very easy to make even though there are three steps: crust, filling and glaze.

Trust me, they are a hit. Imagine a light, crumbly shortbread crust married with a smooth, cheesecake filling only to be finished with crunchy toasted sliced almonds and a drizzle of sweet almond icing.

Sound like too much almond? Well, it’s not. They are perfection.

For the glaze, I mixed it up and transferred to a zip lock, snipped off the tip ever so slightly and drizzled over the uncut bars:

Perfection on a pedestal:

Here is what you need…..

Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 stick butter, softened

1/3 cup powdered sugar

Filling:

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. pure almond extract

3/4 cup sliced almonds

Glaze:

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. pure almond extract

4-5 tsp. milk

Heat oven to 350*F.

Combine crust ingredients at low speed until crumbly. Press mixture in bottom of ungreased 13×9-inch pan. Bake 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden.

Meanwhile, beat filling ingredients, except almonds, until smooth. Pour over partially baked crust; sprinkle with almonds. Bake 15-2o minutes or until set. Cool.

Mix glaze ingredients; drizzle over bars.

Enjoy!

Store in refrigerator. (If there are any leftover!)

I think these would also be delish with some apricot preserves spread in between the crust and the filling. Whatcha think?

Here are a couple more random snapshots from our Saturday morning:

*****

Up tomorrow: Crock pot carnitas!