Award Winning Almond Bars
- By Amy Dong
- Published Nov. 21, 2023
- Updated Dec. 22, 2023
These unbelievably delicious Almond Bars are so good, they won 1st place at a local baking contest. The baker of these bars was kind enough to share the recipe with us.
In This Article
Video: Watch Us Make This Recipe
Why This Recipe Stands Out
These buttery, custardy Almond Bars took home 1st place in a local baking contest! Special thanks to Jim Schmidt, who was kind enough to share this recipe with us. Here’s why we love this recipe:
- Layers: These almond bars have 3 delicious layers of buttery shortbread, creamy custard, and an almond-infused buttercream frosting.
- Simple Ingredients: Most of the ingredients are like our recipes that use simple pantry staples – you probably already have them on hand.
- Smells: The almond extract in this recipe will have your kitchen smelling like a dream for hours!
- Freezable: Just like many of our favorite dessert bar recipes, these Almond Bars freeze wonderfully making them a great meal-prep breakfast or dessert.
- Versatile Frosting: The almond frosting is so good, you’ll want to put it on everything! It’s a great topping for cakes and cupcakes.
- Gatherings: This recipe can easily be doubled or quadrupled making it great for parties, holidays, and potlucks.
Key Recipe Ingredients
- Crust – This recipe uses a simple shortbread crust made with butter, powdered sugar, and all-purpose flour.
- Cream Cheese – Cream cheese makes the filling extremely creamy and custardy. It also perfectly balances the sweetness in this recipe.
- Almond Extract – The key ingredient for this recipe, almond extract, is added to both the filling and frosting for serious almond flavor.
- Buttercream Frosting – The bars are covered in a sweet, creamy, and buttery almond frosting that melts in your mouth.
Substitutions And Variations
Take a look at some fun flavor variations and serving suggestions for these sweet and buttery almond dessert bars:
- Add Coconut: We love a good coconut treat from time to time, like these mouthwateringly delicious Samoas Cookie Bars. If you’re a coconut-lover, try mixing coconut shreds into the custard and sprinkling more on top as a garnish.
- Add Chocolate: We love the combo of almonds and chocolate. Feel free to drizzle on dark, milk, or white chocolate once these bars have cooled. You can also use this Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce.
- Make It Gluten-Free: To make these almond dessert bars gluten-free, simply substitute the all-purpose flour in the crust for 1:1 GF Baking Flour.
- Serve with Ice Cream: We absolutely love serving a scoop of ice cream alongside our favorite desserts. For homemade options, check out these easy recipes for Egg-Free Vanilla and Chocolate Ice Cream.
Step-By-Step Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Then, gently add flour and mix on low speed until combined. The mixture should be crumbly.
- Press dough evenly into the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan, and bake at 350F for 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven.
- While crust is baking, combine eggs, very-soft cream cheese, and sugar in a large bowl until creamy with no lumps. Add almond extract and mix to combine.
- Pour the filling over crust, using a rubber spatula to scrape all filling from the bowl. Bake 15-20 min or until set. Let cool completely before frosting.
- In a bowl, whisk together all frosting ingredients until smooth with no lumps. Once the bars are completely cooled, frost evenly.
- Cover, chill, and serve almond bars with almond slices on top. Enjoy!
For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.
How To Prep Ahead
There are so many ways you can prep these dessert bars ahead of time to make enjoying them super easy. Take a look at our favorite prep-ahead strategies:
- Crust: Feel free to make the dough for the shortbread crust ahead of time. Simply form it into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap, and store in the fridge for up to a week. When you’re ready to bake, give it some time to warm so you can work with it.
- Frosting: The buttercream frosting can also be made in advance. Just store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. When you’re ready to use it, let it warm to room temperature and give it another good mix.
- The Bars: These almond dessert bars are a great make-ahead dessert. After they’ve completely cooled, you can store them in the fridge for up to 4 days. If you want them for longer, they also freeze amazingly! We recommend storing them in a gallon bag in one layer or with parchment paper separating layers. They’ll freeze well for up to 3 months.
Commonly Asked Questions
Store these bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can also freeze them in a bag in a single layer or with parchment paper separating layers for up to 3 months.
You’ll know the almond bars are done baking when the custard filling has set. You don’t want anything other than the very edges to brown. The rest should stay fairly light.
These almond bars have three layers: a shortbread crust, an almond custard filling, and an almond frosting. So, you’ll get a super buttery flavor and a creamy, dense texture with that amazing taste that almond extract brings.
If your almond bars didn’t set, you may not have baked them long enough. You’ll want to wait to take them out of the oven till they set. Otherwise, you may not have let them cool long enough. They’ll continue to set as they cool and are actually easiest to cut after they’ve sat in the fridge around 30 minutes.
You technically can, but it’s not a big deal. Overmixing buttercream won’t affect it as much as it would something like whipped cream. The more you mix this kind of frosting, the more light and airy it will get. For this recipe, we just whisk until it’s smooth.
Did you make this?
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Almond Bars
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 cup salted butter, softened to room temp
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 cups all purpose flour
For Filling:
- 2 large eggs, room temp
- 8 oz cream cheese, regular, fully softened
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp almond extract
For Frosting:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup salted butter, softened to room temp
- 1 ½ TB milk, I used whole milk
- 1 tsp almond extract
- Garnish: Almond slices or slivers
Instructions
For the Crust
- Preheat oven to 350F with rack on lower middle position. Grease a 9×13 pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the butter and powdered sugar; using electric mixer or stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix together on medium high speed until light and fluffy, 3-4min.
- Gently add flour and mix on low speed just until combined. Mixture will be crumbly, so use hands to form a dough ball.
- Press evenly into prepared glass pan to form bottom crust.* Bake 18 minutes or until lightly browned and set. Remove from oven, but leave oven on.
For the Filling
- While the crust is baking, combine eggs, very-soft cream cheese, and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk together until creamy and no lumps remain (it really helps if your cream cheese is quite soft to start with).
- Add almond extract and mix to combine. Evenly pour the filling over crust, using rubber spatula to scrape all filling.
- Bake 15-20 min or until set. Let dessert cool completely on wire rack.
For the Frosting
- In a bowl, combine all frosting ingredients. Whisk until smooth and no more lumps.
- Once dessert is fully cooled, evenly frost the top. Cover and chill. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before slicing. Cut into bars and place almond slices on top to serve.
Equipment
Notes
- I use the bottom of a flat glass cup to press crust down evenly in pan before baking.
- This recipe can be made a day ahead of time. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
- Plan for the cooling time needed before frosting.
- Dessert is easiest to slice if you take it out of the fridge 30 min before serving.
- Leftover bars can be covered airtight and chilled for up to a week.
- If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating. We ❤️ hearing from you!
Nutrition (per serving)
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