This Almond Bars recipe is a sweet treat that has a shortbread-like texture and a delicious almond glaze on top! You’ll want to make extra and freeze them for later!
For more freezer friendly treats, be sure to whip up a batch of our favorite Shortbread Cookies! Or go easy on yourself and make some fudgy No Bake Cookies as a treat.
Our Favorite Almond Desserts
You know sometimes you search and search for the perfect recipe, and then you try it, and it’s not perfect. So you tweak it, and change it, and tweak it some more?
Then sometimes you land on the perfect recipe and no changes are needed! Today’s Almond Bars recipe was that gold mine treasure. The kind of recipe you make once and think “these are amazing and I’m not changing a thing.”
Yep. My friend Mary, over at Barefeet in the Kitchen, created these Almond Bars. I’ve just had the joy of eating them. Numerous times. And if you’re not following her blog, you better get over there now!!
I love almond desserts. Some people run out of vanilla extract, I am always running out of almond extract. I like to put a splash in nearly all my baked goods. It takes them to the next level!
Almond extract is a secret ingredient in my favorite Chocolate chip cookie recipe! And our almond kringle!
Why this Almond Bar is Best
Today’s recipe reminds me of my favorite swedish almond cake! Apparently our Scandinavian friends know how to make delicious almond flavored treats!
One thing I love about these bars is that they make SO MANY. You might be thinking, “what am I going to do with all these Almond Bars???”
Well if you’re not going to have a bake sale, then you eat them.
You could also FREEZE THEM. Seriously. They come out of the freezer in perfect condition. Nothing a couple hours at room temperature can’t fix, and you instantly have a sweet treat ready to go!
Hosting a holiday? Grab a bag out of your freezer the night before! Friends dropping over for coffee? These bars are the perfect pairing to your delicious cup of dalgona coffee!
PRO TIP: make cookies instead. Try our Almond Cookies for the same great flavor in a drop cookie.
How to make Almond Bars
The Pan. First, you’re going to need a sheet pan. Or I think it’s called a “half size sheet pan”. I bought mine on Amazon, and I followed Mary’s advice to purchase TWO. Because doubling this recipe and making a crap-ton of almond bars is genius.
They freeze beautifully! You can actually make the bars in a 9×13 as well, if you cut the recipe in half. But, more is ALWAYS better.
Dough. Next, you’ll want to create the “dough”. Once you’ve done this, you’ll press it into the bottom of your pan. I used a butter to grease my pan (just rubbing it onto the pan until it’s coated).
Add Milk. After your dough has been pressed into the pan, you’ll take a pastry brush and brush a small amount of milk over the top. Not only does it add a little extra moisture to the bars, but it helps the almonds stick!
Bake. But do NOT let these brown. Mine took exactly 20 minutes in a 325 degree oven. These will have a soft shortbread texture.
After they cool for about 5 minutes, cut them into bars. I found that if I cut them while they are warm, they looked and sliced better.
Did you know that if you use a plastic (disposable) knife your baked goods cut cleaner. True fact.
Finally, whisk your icing together. Add more or less milk for desired consistency and drizzle over the almond bars once they are cooled. It will only take about 10 minutes for the icing to set. You can now enjoy.
More Almond Recipes
- These Coconut Almond Bars are a delightful homemade candy bar recipe filled with toasted coconut and topped with chocolate, caramel, and crunchy almonds!
- Strawberry Almond Bars have a crunchy almond crust, chewy strawberry filling, and a creamy cheesecake topping. Perfect for holidays or weekend brunches!
- Brown sugar and oatmeal cherry almond bars are officially my new favorite sweet snack! The cherries are nice and tart, the almond scented crumble dough is chewy and butterscotch-y ~ these are a must make!
- Cranberry almond bars have a dense, almost gooey-like cake base and are topped with a hefty amount of streusel! With gluten-free and 100% whole grain options.
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Almond Bars Recipe
Ingredients
For the bars:
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
For the topping:
- 2 Tablespoons milk any variety
- 1 cup sliced almonds
For the glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 Tablespoons milk any variety
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Generously butter (or use baking spray) on a half sheet pan (approximatedly 18"x13"). Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in eggs and almond extract. Beat until combined. Slowly add in flour mixture. Mixing until well blended.
- Press this dough into the bottom of your prepared baking dish. Use your fingers or a pastry roller to smooth the top of the dough.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the milk to the top of the dough (you may not need to use all of it). Sprinkle with sliced almonds, pressing them lightly into the dough.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes until done. You don’t want to brown these bars.
- Cool for about 5 minutes, then cut them with a knife into bars. If they are too soft to cut, allow to cool a little bit more. Carefully remove them to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Once cooled, you can make your glaze by whisking the sugar with the almond extract and milk. Drizzle over the bars and allow to set.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- To freeze these bars, prepare as directed and allow glaze to set completely. Then place them in a single layer in a large gallon sized ziploc. You can fit one dozen into the bag. If you want to add more, separate layers with wax paper (or parchment). Freeze. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
- Did you know that if you use a plastic (disposable) knife your baked goods cut cleaner. True fact.
Made these cookies last night, my husband and I loved them. They were easy to make and I will definitely add them to my Christmas cookie assortment!
These were delicious!! Not too sweet or salty.
I made the bars today, I thought they had a bit of a salty taste, I would use maybe 2 t of baking powder instead of 4t
I agree Doris, definitely cut back on the baking powder.
Really?! 2 cups of sugar… too much sugar for me but it looks delicious.
It seems as if it would be, but honestly, they are not overly sweet, they came out just right 😊
Lol Luma! Only if you’re eating 36 of them!
I made a half-batch today. What a mistake. Since my family is fighting over them, I’m probably going to need to make another batch now. So good. I changed absolutely nothing.
What size dish did you use for 1/2 batch
I LOVE almond recipes. So much so that I purchased a big bag of almond flour at Costco. But most of the recipes I’ve found use all purpose flour and almond extract. Do you think I could use almond flour and no extract for this recipe?
I use gluten-free one to one baking flour I order it off of Amazon. It works perfect . I do this for all my recipes that call for regular flour.
I also used walnuts instead of almonds. I used gluten free flour, 1-1 flour. The large pan was a perfect size.
I made the dough as directed and was going to use an 11 X 17 pan but it didn’t look like enough to cover it. Will it spread as it cooks and how thin are the bars once done? Thanks for the recipe .
Curious if they don’t brown how do you know for sure they’re done?
Oops! My apologies for the question about freezing these! I was so excited about this recipe that apparently I did not read for understanding, except for the actual recipe itself, which is awesome! Thanks!
I made these today and my son said they are addictive! They are so tasty. I have a question, I thought they would have a shortbread texture ( more on the dryer side ) but mine were more moist and chewy. Could it be I mixed the egg too long or is that the way some shortbread is? Any way, they are delicious!
They definitely are not as dry as shortbread because of the egg in them.
If you like the taste of almonds you must make these . They were easy to make. I the dough did not quite make to the end of my half sheet pan but that was ok. I used a rolling pin because I didn’t have a pastry roller. Will buy one for the next time I make them. I let them cool for 5 minutes and used a pizza cutter to cut them. I can’t stop eating them.