So Nutty Shortbread Bars

Don’t you love it when you set out to make one thing and end up with something totally different but delicious? Earlier this week, I was going to make a caramel nut tart- a tart with with a caramelized walnut filling topped with a baked almond pastry cream (or frangipane). I had just finished preparing my shortbread crust ingredients when I realized that my can of walnuts, which I thought was full, was not so full. (Guess I reached in to snack one too many times!) Still craving something really nutty, I decided to use Nutella for my filling and to make it even nuttier, I added some sliced almonds for crunch. One change led to another and my nut tart soon became these very nutty Frangipane Nutella Shortbread Bars…

These are the chocolate drizzled versions of my bars. I used just a touch for decorative purposes and to add a bit more chocolate flavor. If you think almond, hazelnut, and chocolate flavor with a little crunchiness all rolled into buttery goodness might please your taste buds then these bars are for you. Once your bars are in the oven though be careful with that Nutella jar. Here’s what happened to mine while I was waiting…

Recipe (makes 16 2×2 bars)

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar (divided into 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup)
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup unsalted butter (divided into 1/2 cup and 3/4 cup)
1 cup almond flour
1 egg
3 1/2 tsp corn starch
10 mL of chocolate liquer or any liquer of choice (optional)
1/2 cup Nutella
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup melted and cooled semisweet chocolate chips (optional)

For the crust:
Grease an 8×8 pan with butter and line it with parchment paper. Combine the all purpose flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup of cubed butter and cut it into the dry mixture with a fork or pastry blender. Mix until the butter is the size of small lentils. Press the crumbly mixture into the bottom of the pan and smooth it out with the back of an offset spatula. Chill the pan in the refrigerator while working on the frangipane.

For the frangipane:
In an electric mixer, cream the remaining butter, sugar and almond flour until light an fluffy. Add the egg and mix to combine. Add the corn starch and mix. Finally add the optional liquer and mix.

Assembly:
Spread the nutella on the shortbread crust as evenly as possible. Cover this layer with the sliced almonds, covering all the nutella and keeping the almonds flat and not overlapped. (You can adjust the amount of almonds to your liking). Carefully spread the frangipane over the almonds without disturbing the layers. Make it as smooth as possible on the top. Bake at 350 F for 20 minutes or until the almond cream is evenly browned and set. Let the bars cool completely in the pan before cutting. Drizzle or pipe a decoration with melted chocolate chips if desired.

Tagged as: cookies, frangipane, nuts, recipes