"The best almond cookie bar you'll ever eat, with a buttery shortbread crust that also serves as the crumb topping. In between is a filling of cream cheese and sweetened almond paste, subtly flavored with a hint of cinnamon and bourbon."
Almond Cream Cheese Shortbread Cookie Bars
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- Recipe Card
Prep time 10mins
Cook time 1hr
Serves or Makes: 9-16
Recipe Card
Crust and Topping
ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt
- 3/4 cup cold, unsalted butter, cut into chunks
Crust and Topping
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 350 and spray an 8x8 baking dish with non-stick spray.
Step 2
In a food processor, or with a pastry cutter, combine the crust ingredients until pea-sized pieces of butter remain. Reserve one cup of the crumbs for the topping, and press the remainder of the crumbs firmly against the bottom of the baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes.
Filling
ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 8 ounces almond paste (not almond pastry filling)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Filling
Step 1
While the crust is baking, beat the filling ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth. After the crust has baked for 20 minutes, remove the pan from the oven.
Step 2
Carefully spread the filling over the hot crust, and sprinkle the filling with the reserved 1 cup of crumb topping. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the topping is a pale golden.
Step 3
Cool completely before cutting. Yields about 9-16 servings.