Almond Scented Cranberry Bars

I didn’t have time to buy blanched almond slivers, but they’re best with almonds sprinkled on top. They’re just as good without them though…Read the recipe after the jump!

For 9” square pan:

• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/2” pieces
• 2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 3 cups fresh cranberries
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1/4 c. water
• 1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 c. blanched almond slivers

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with greased foil. Mix the cold butter, flour, salt, and 1/3 cup granulated sugar. It should look crumbly, like an apple crisp topping. I don’t have a food processor so I did it by hand (they used hands not machines, back in the day!) without melting the butter. Bake the crumbly part until it turns slightly golden with the sides of it pulled away from the pan; its starting to look like a solid mass! Meanwhile, cook fresh cranberries, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, almond extract, and water in a saucepan over medium heat.

Make sure that berries burst and the mixture starts to thicken like maple syrup. Pour cranberries over crust and bake until the edge of the bars are golden brown, for about 25 minutes. Sift powdered sugar over top and sprinkle blanched almonds on top; let the bars cool completely in pan on a rack. Lift them of pan and sift more sugar on it. Cut them into small squares. They should cool enough that the cranberry topping starts to stiffen and solidify a little bit (like cheese!):