RASPBERRY SHORTBREAD BARS

This is the best recipe I've tried in a long time. I found it over on "The Domestic Rebel"....my picky-picky husband is in love with this sweet treat!!!

The bottom crust is a deliciously TENDER shortbread, then there is a simple layer of raspberry jam, nuts and more shortbread pieces on top. It couldn't be easier!!! The original recipe didn't have a frosting, but I think every cookie bar needs a drizzle, don't you? (My tweaks to this recipe are in blue).

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3/4 cup butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1   teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond  extract

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup raspberry jam (I used 1/2 cup)

1 cup slivered almonds (I used 3/4 cup of toasted pecans, chopped)

Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8"x 8" pan with foil, spray the foil with cooking spray. (I lined an 8" x 8" baking pan with parchment paper and used NO spray. Leave the parchment ends long, so you can grab onto them to lift the bars out of the pan after they are cooked and cooled.)

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In a large bowl (I used my stand mixer) beat the room temperature butter, powdered sugar and extracts until creamy (about 2 minutes).

Add the flour and beat until it all comes together. The dough may be a little crumbly but that's OK. (Dough comes together perfectly using a stand mixer....a smaller mixer might leave it a little crumbly).

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Remove 1/2 cup of this dough, wrap it in plastic and freeze for 10 minutes. (I patted the 1/2 cup reserved dough into a thin disk and then put it in the freezer)

Pat the rest of the dough onto the foil (or parchment) lined pan, in an even layer. Top with 1/2 cup of slivered almonds and jam, spreading almost to edge of dough. I put toasted pecans UNDER the layer of jam.

Crumble the remaining dough on top and finish with remaining slivered almonds. (I cut up the frozen dough into very thin slivers with my pastry cutter and sprinkled evenly over the jam layer, then I topped that layer with the final 1/4 cup toasted chopped pecans.)

Bake 45 to 50 minutes at 350°F or until the top is light golden brown and center is set. Cool completely. My electric oven took exactly 45 minutes to get nice and golden on top. The original recipe said "bake until center is set", but there is nothing in the center to 'set' in this recipe, so I would ignore that idea.

The original recipe didn't have a frosting, but I thought it needed some, so I just mixed a little melted butter with some powdered sugar and vanilla and a couple tablespoons of milk (sorry, I never measure my frosting's). Just mix it well and drizzle over the cooked bars....you can't go wrong.

Cool completely before cutting into squares.

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ENJOY !!!

Baca Juga