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.
Preheat oven to 350F with rack on lower middle position. Grease a 9x13 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.