Scandinavian Almond Bars (traditional and gluten free recipes

• Vegetarian
• Gluten free

• Refrigerated

  • 1 Egg

• Baking & Spices

  • 3/4 tsp Almond extract
  • 2 tsp Baking powder
  • 1 cup Brown rice flour
  • 3/4 cup Oat flour
  • 1/4 cup Potato starch
  • 1 cup Powdered sugar
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 1/2 cup Tapioca starch
  • 1/2 tsp Xanthan gum

• Nuts & Seeds

  • 1/2 cup Almonds

• Dairy

  • 1/2 cup Butter
  • 2 tbsp Milk

Found on barefeetinthekitchen.com

Description

Ingredients

• Main ingredients:
• 1 cup brown rice flour *
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch *
• 1/4 cup potato starch *
• 3/4 cup oat flour *
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum *
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• * if you are not in need of a gluten free version of this recipe, simply use 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour for the items marked with an *
• Topping:
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
•  
• Icing:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1-2 tbsp milk

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Whisk together the flours, xanthan gum, baking powder
• and salt and set aside. Cream together the butter and the sugar. Add the
• egg and the almond extract and then mix until light and fluffy. Slowly
• add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until combined. 
•  
• Press the dough into the bottom of a thoroughly buttered 9x13 pan. Press with
• your fingers or a pastry roller to smooth the top of the dough. The gluten free dough is a bit stickier than the traditional version. I found that it was easiest to place a sheet of parchment or wax paper on top of the dough and press it into the pan with my hands that way.
•  
• Using a
• pastry brush, brush a tiny bit of milk across the top of the dough.
• Sprinkle with sliced almonds and very lightly press them into the top of
• the dough. Bake for 18-22 minutes. The Gluten Free version required a full 22 minutes to finish baking. Remove from the oven when they are just barely beginning to brown and they look dry around the
• edges. Do not let them actually brown at all. If they brown, they will
• be much more crunchy than desired, once they cool. The goal is a very
• soft shortbread texture.
•  
• Let the bars cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then cut into bars. If they
• are too soft to cut, let them cool for a few more minutes. Remove them
• carefully (they will be quite soft) to a wire rack to cool completely
• before icing. Prepare the icing, adding just a tiny bit of milk at a time. If the
• consistency is too thick, it wont drizzle nicely over the bars. If it
• is too thin, the icing will just melt into the bars. If you are unsure,
• test a bit of it on the edge of one bar before drizzling the icing over
• the entire batch.
•  
• Leave the bars on the wire rack until the icing is firm enough to
• handle. These bars store quite well in the freezer. I can usually fit 2
• dozen in a gallon size ziploc bag, with a sheet of wax paper separating
• the layers. When you are ready to eat them, just set them on the counter
• about half an hour before hand. I typically plate them while they are
• still frozen, because they are easy to handle that way. Enjoy!