Almond Raspberry Squares Recipes

RASPBERRY ALMOND BARS

Steps:

• Prepare pie dough for one crust unbaked shell. Line an 8-inch square ungreased cake pan with pastry.
• Spread with raspberry jam.
• Cream butter and sugar together thoroughly. Add eggs, beating until light and fluffy. Add flour and salt; blend well.
• Divide batter in half. Colour half pink and half green.
• First spread green layer, doing your best not to spread the jam onto the green batter. Once green is covering all of the jam, repeat with pink layer.
• Bake at 350°F for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely then frost.
• Frosting:.
• Beat frosting ingredients together until smooth and creamy, adding enough icing sugar to make a spreading consistency. Spread over cooled bars.
• Let set and then cut into bars.

CHEWY RASPBERRY ALMOND BARS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 9-inch square pan with baking spray with flour.
• In large bowl, mix oats, flour, brown sugar and salt. Cut in butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through mixture in opposite directions), until mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Reserve 1 cup mixture for topping. To remaining mixture, stir in egg until just moistened.
• Press dough firmly and evenly into bottom of pan, using fingers or bottom of measuring cup. Spread with jam. Arrange raspberries over jam. Stir almonds into reserved crumb mixture; sprinkle evenly over raspberries.
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until top is golden. Cool completely on cooling rack. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows.

RASPBERRY ALMOND SQUARES

Steps:

• Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with plastic wrap that extends over the sides, then coat the plastic wrap with the vegetable oil; set aside.
• In a 2-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, cook the jam, applesauce, and sugar until the mixture registers 240°F on a sugar thermometer (about 15 minutes), stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, stir in the lemon extract and chopped almonds, and turn the mixture into the prepared pan. Press the whole almonds on the top of the candy in evenly spaced rows of 8 across in each direction. Let the candy cool completely at room temperature (about 45 minutes).
• Remove the candy from the pan by lifting out the plastic wrap. Invert the candy onto a cutting board, peel the plastic wrap off the back, and reinvert the candy so that the nut side is up. With a large chef's knife, and using the whole almonds as a guide, cut the candy evenly into 1-inch squares.
• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper. Melt and temper the chocolate (see pages 25-30). Holding a square by the top half, dip the bottom and sides of the square into the chocolate, leaving the top exposed. Remove the square from the chocolate, carefully shake off the excess chocolate, and place the square onto the paper. Repeat with the remaining squares. Let the chocolate set up at room temperature, or chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Place each square in a paper candy cup. Between layers of waxed paper, in a tightly covered container wrapped in several layers of aluminum foil, the squares will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator. They are best eaten at room temperature.
• VARIATIONS
• Substitute blackberry jam or strawberry jam for the raspberry jam. Substitute other nuts for the almonds.

RASPBERRY-ALMOND SQUARES

Steps:

• Set the oven at 350 degrees.
• Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch pan.
• Line the pan with waxed paper, letting the sides extend over the edges.
• Butter the paper and dust it with flour.
• In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, work the sugar and almonds until they are finely chopped.
• Remove from the bowl.
• Cut the butter into pieces and add them to the processor with the flour and salt.
• Work in on-off motions until the mixture forms crumbs.
• Mix the yolk with the almond extract.
• Add it to the flour mixture.
• Add the nut mixture.
• Pulse just to combine them.
• Spread more than half the crumb mixture in the prepared pan, patting it down gently.
• Drop the jam over the mixture.
• Sprinkle with the remaining crumbs, patting them very gently.
• It's OK if jam peeks through the crumbs.
• Transfer the pan to the hot oven and bake the mixture for 40 to 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the jam is bubbling.
• Cool the pan on a wire rack.
• Using the sides of the waxed paper, slide the rectangle of dough onto the rack.
• Let it cool completely, then set it on a cookie sheet and chill the dough.
• Use a serrated-edge knife in a sawing motion to cut the dough into 18 bars.
• Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar before serving.
• Store in an airtight container.

SWEDISH RASPBERRY ALMOND BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour and mix well. Press onto the bottom of a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake 18-20 minutes or until lightly browned., Spread jam over crust. In a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, on high until stiff peaks form. Fold in coconut and 1/2 cup almonds. Spread over jam. Sprinkle with remaining almonds. Bake 18-22 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with additional confectioners' sugar if desired.