Almond Bars

This is a recipe from a book called “Blissful Brownies”.  My Minneapolis princess sent it to me years ago and I go to it for innovative ideas.  This is a great recipe – just a few ingredients that come together in one bowl (well a medium size bowl for the dry ingredients and a soup bowl for the lightly beaten eggs).  “No mixers were involved in the making of this bar” – in a booming theatrical voice.  It could also be gluten free as it does not contain any wheat product.  Almond meal and milk powder are the main ingredients followed by sugar.

But what got me to make this was the use of saffron threads.  I’m very fortunate to have some wonderful friends who love to pick me up various spices as they travel, so I happened to have some of these “threads of gold” in my cupboard.  I use them judiciously, really no other way to use it.  So make these today.  I can’t say the taste of saffron is overwhelming, and I’m sure it could be left out if saffron isn’t your thing, but try it once with the saffron. You can see the flecks of red threads in the picture below.   As always – enjoy!

3 eggs
1/3 cup ground almonds
1 1/2 cups milk powder
1 cup granulated sugar – the jury of testers in my house were split on if it was sweet or not (regardless they said it was delicious). To make it less sweet, remove about 1 tbsp. from the cup
1/2 tsp saffron threads – a pinch of threads rubbed between your fingers
4 oz/115 g unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp. slivered almonds – to be different, I used whole almonds with the skin on, pulsed in the processor to give me a chunky grind, and I used about 1/4 cup

Preheat the oven to 325F/160C
Grease an 8″ square baking dish
Lightly beat the eggs
Combine the ground almonds, milk powder, sugar and saffron threads in a large mixing bowl – whisk together
Melt the butter on the stove top or in 5 – 10 second bursts in the microwave
Add the melted butter to the almond mixture and stir to combine – it will look like wet sand that is drying out
Add the beaten eggs and mix well – it will form a thick batter, pour into the baking dish – spread evenly
Sprinkle the chopped nuts over the batter and bake for 40 – 45 minutes. Check at 40 minutes by inserting a toothpick into the center of the bar – it should come out clean and free of crumbs/gooey stuff (technical term I spent a lot of money to learn about 🙂 )
Remove from the oven, let cool and slice into wedges, squares etc.  It’s a rich dessert so a small piece goes a long way in satisfying a sweet tooth!
As always – enjoy!