I usually don’t like buying cookie mix or cake mixes since they never have the flavor that we get when baking from scratch. But with this cookie bar, it is a bit different. The main flavor and taste comes from the almond paste topping and the fruit preserves. The cookie dough was used just as a base to hold the almond paste bar. This came out really good and the almond flavor was amazing. I took this recipe from better homes and gardens website (http://www.bhg.com) and modified according to my liking.
Ingredients:
- 1 17 ½ oz package sugar cookie mix
- 2 oz cold butter
- 4 oz cream cheese
- ½ cup sliced almonds toasted and finely crushed
- 2/3 cup raspberry fruit preserves (or raspberry jam)
- 8 oz almond paste
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 medium egg
- 2 tablespoons ground almond
- drop of green food coloring
- 3 tablespoons milk
- ½ cup sliced almonds
Method:
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Add parchment paper to a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan and grease with butter. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with a pastry blender cut butter and cream cheese into cookie mix until mixture resembles coarse bread crumbs. Add finely chopped almonds and combine together.
- Reserve 1 cup of mixture. Spread the remaining mixture evenly on the cookie sheet and press gently. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes
- In a small bowl stir the fruit preserves to loosen up
- In a large bowl with an electric beater, beat egg lightly. Crumble almond paste and mix with beaten egg.
- Add sugar, ground almonds, and green food coloring and beat well. Beat in milk one tablespoon at a time until mixture is spreadable.
- Once cookie crust is done, spread fruit preserves evenly to within ¼ inch of the edge.
- Now spoon almond paste mixture into small mounds over the fruit preserves. Gently spread them evenly over the top of the fruit spread
- Sprinkle with reserved cookie crumb mixture and top with sliced almonds
- Bake in preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes or until the top lightly browned
- Cool completely on wire rack
- Cut into pieces. Yields about 32 large pieces