Scandinavian Almond Bars are soft, chewy shortbread bars jam packed with almond flavor ~ they freeze beautifully, and make fabulous holiday gifts…but don’t give them all away, save a few for yourself, you deserve it!
These bars are from my friend Mary, from Barefeet in the Kitchen ~ she’s made them for years, and every time she shares them on social media I start to lust after them. She says they’re one of her most requested recipes, and I can see why. If you love all things almond, this is a recipe for you.
Almonds lovers, you know it’s true ~ you can get a perfectly good ‘high’ just sniffing the almond extract bottle ~ it’s heaven!
I made sure to dose these bars with extra extract ~ you can never have too much. In fact there’s 3 layers of almond baked into these buttery babies, starting with the almonds themselves, along with the extract, and then almond meal. Each ingredient adds its own special ‘something’ to the mix and the result is pure almond bliss.
This is one of those super easy recipes to throw together, it’s even easier than making cookies because you’ll just pat the dough right into a pan. It’s similar to a shortbread, but the addition of an egg gives it a slightly chewier texture.
Mary says she often doubles or quadruples the recipe, especially during the holidays. You can cut these into bars, or squares, and they make a great addition to a holiday cookie assortment.
tips for making Scandinavian almond bars
- If you want a thicker bar, double the recipe and bake it in the same 9×13 pan. The baking time will be closer to 30 minutes. The texture will be similar to a blondie.
- The secret to these bars is that they need to be slightly under-baked. They cook at 325F and only long enough to set the dough. As they cool, they firm up, but retain a soft chewy texture. Don’t wait until they look brown to take them out of the oven!
“Thank you for this recipe – it is just what I was looking for – chewy, moist and almondy! Thumbs up from ten guests from a coffee morning!”
Julia
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Scandinavian Almond Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond meal or flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp milk or cream
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
glaze
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- milk or cream to thin
Instructions
- Set oven to 325F Butter a 9×13 pan and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
- Beat in the egg and the extract.
- Whisk the flours, baking powder, and salt together and add slowly to the bowl. Mix until everything is well combined.
- Press the dough into the pan with your fingers. I find it it easiest if I scatter the dough in crumbles across the pan and then pat it down. If you don’t have quite enough dough to fill your pan, you can stop it a little shy of one edge…the dough will stay put as it bakes. Take a little time with this step to ensure you’ve got an even layer of dough.
- Brush the top of the dough with the milk or cream, and then top it with the sliced almonds. Press them down gently with your hands.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes, or just until the dough is drying out and just beginning to brown along the edges. The bars will appear under-cooked, but will firm up as they cool.
- Let the bars cool for 5 minutes in the pan, and then slice them. If they seem too soft, let them cool a bit longer. Carefully remove the slices to a rack to cool completely before you ice them.
- To make the glaze, stir the sugar together with the extract, and enough milk or cream to thin to a glaze. Drizzle over the cooled bars.
Notes
- You can use cake flour for an especially tender bar.
- If you don’t have almond flour, just use all regular flour.
I am such a fan of bar cookies and these look perfect. Must squeeze a bake of these in to my schedule this week 🙂
Almond bars, cakes, pastries or anything with almond is a favorite! I cannot wait to make these today. Thanks for sharing.
I just saw this recipe for the first time…cannot wait to make them!!!
I have a question, though. How in the world do you get such a perfect drizzle? Do you use a special pitcher or spoon/ladle or something? I’ve always wondered how people do this. I seem to only get a not-ugly one if I make thin glaze, which isn’t always the point, often remains sticky, and and is sometimes hard to see.
I want to thank you, as well, for you attention to detail. You often answer the questions that pop into in my head as I’m reading your posts. It’s cool 🙂
Hey Kari! You can get that type of drizzle in two ways, one, just load the glaze into a baggy, snip a small bit off one corner, and squeeze it out, it works just like a piping bag. Another way is to use a plastic squeeze bottle, you can find them online, or in your supermarket, too. I think I’ll do a post on this, thanks for the question!
Sorry. I didn’t realize I was replying to an actual comment a minute ago …
I know my mom would love all this almond flavor. I’ll have to make them for her!
These look delicious! A beautiful addition to the holiday table or perfect with a good cup of coffee.
Velva
They look so good I kinda want to make them now;)
Yet everything is done..except for last minute things..next year..
Good for you Monique ~ have a wonderful one <3
3 layers of almonds? Yum! They sound amazing. I know my family would love them!
3, count ’em 3!! Thanks Chris 🙂
These bars certainly look drool-worthy, love almond baked goods. Happy Holidays!!
These almond bars look very inviting with white chocolate drizzle!
Just noticed the glaze is NOT white chocolate when I was writing the recipe down. Yes, I am going to bake a batch and bring them to the family dinner. And I am going to use white chocolate drizzle here.
You’re always thinking Angie!! Have a great week <3
I am so glad you love them, Sue! I have a batch on the counter this morning. I love that we both made them this year!
I had one for breakfast! Thanks for a great recipe Mary 🙂
I adore almond anything and these look and sound fantastic! I may have to bake one more batch of cookies before Christmas!