I would consider myself a fairly disciplined person when it comes to eating, but my one can’t-say-no-to type of dessert is anything with almonds. Lucky for me that Ryan loves almond desserts too. Some of our favorites are this raspberry frangipane tart, the almond cake from The Art of Simple Food, these almond cloud cookies, and of course, these Apricot Almond Shortbread Bars. I usually vary the cookies that I make each holiday season, but I almost always try to include these because I never get tired of them. With the holidays approaching, I was thinking about putting these cookies on my Christmas baking list and then I remembered I had actually made these for my son’s cello recital a few months ago and never posted the photos and recipe. I am actually thinking about making these twice in one year so considering that I hardly ever make the same dessert twice ever, that says a lot! What sets these bar cookies apart from other cookies that may look similar is the almond paste, which contributes to the splendid almond flavor and incredible chewy texture. Apricot preserves complement the almond flavor nicely although I imagine raspberry preserves would also be lovely. These are delicious slightly warm, at room temperature, and also cold. They freeze well so they can be made in advance and thawed when ready to serve.

Apricot Almond Shortbread Bars

Ingredients

3/4 cup apricot preserves
1-2 tablespoons rum
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup natural cane sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup packed almond paste, crumbled (about 2.5 ounces)
1/2 cup sliced almonds, divided

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325. Butter a 9×9-inch or 7×11-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, stir together the almond preserves and rum. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on high speed. Beat in the almond extract. Add the flour and salt and mix together on medium speed until flour is just incorporated. Transfer 1 cup of dough to another small bowl and add the crumbled almond paste. Use fingers to mix together until small clumps begin to form. Mix in 1/4 cup sliced almonds. Put mixture in refrigerator to chill for a few minutes.
Use hands to press the remaining dough in the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Spread preserves evenly over the dough. Crumble the slightly chilled almond paste mixture over the preserves and sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup almonds on top. Press the topping lightly into the preserves.
Bake until shortbread bars start to brown and become golden, about 50 minutes. Cool for at least 1 hour before cutting into squares.