Scandinavian Almond Bars

  Made cookies today. We are going to have to go on a diet of no cookies for a while.

These Scandinavian Almond Bars from the Better Homes and Garden Cookies for Christmas were not hard to make, but I did have to chill the dough before rolling into a log and patting out. They were just to sticky. My kitchen was warm as I had made cupcakes earlier so that did not help. I still think that they need to be chilled which the recipe does not call for. 

  Also the cookie sheet looked wide enough, but the cookies spread and barely fit on the sheet. I will use a bigger pan next time. 

  You must cut these while they are warm, but not hot as I tried to with the first batch. I waited till they were cooled down some and they cut without tearing. Everyone thought they were excellent and I will make them again. Bettie’s boss is very fond of almond so these were mainly for him. A late edition to this post, Eric got his cookies and thought they were outstanding. Being the nice guy he is, he shared them and they received rave reviews from all. 

Scandinavian Almond Bars

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

½ teaspoon almond extract

Milk

½ cup sliced almonds coarsely chopped

Almond icing for a drizzle if desired

  Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat butter till softened. Add sugar and beat till light and fluffy. Add egg and almond extract. 

Beat till well mixed. 

   Beat in the flour mixture till well blended. Chill for at least ½ hour. Divide dough in 4 parts. Form each part into a 12 inch roll. On an ungreased cookie sheet, place two rolls. Pat each out to 3 inches wide keeping in mind that these spread. Brush the cookie rolls with milk and sprinkle with the chopped almonds. Do the same with the other two parts of the dough. Bake each pan for 12 to 14 minutes in a 325° oven. Bake till the edges are light brown. Cool on pan on wire rack. When still warm, cut in one inch wide strips on the diagonal. Let them finish cooling on wire rack off of the pan till cold. Drizzle with icing if desired. 

Almond Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

Just enough milk till it is thin enough to drizzle from a spoon