"Layers of crumbly shortbread crust and topping, with a sweet filling of cream cheese and almond paste, spiked with a hint of bourbon"
Almond Cream Cheese Shortbread Crumb Bars
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- Recipe Card
Prep time 10mins
Cook time 1hr
Serves or Makes: 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, diced
Filling
ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 8 ounces almond paste (not almond pastry filling)
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon good-quality bourbon (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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.
Step 3
Meanwhile, beat the filling ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth. Carefully spread the filling over the hot crust, and sprinkle the filling with the reserved crumbs. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the topping is a pale golden. Cool completely before cutting into squares.