More Baking

I finished the Scandinavian Almond Bars and got them into the freezer before I could eat them up. This is a recipe in Better Homes and Gardens Cookies for Christmas. They're time-consuming, but my son Brandon always asks for them, and that's saying a lot because of how picky an eater he is. These make a nice addition to the cookie tray. They are sweet and crispy and have a nice almond flavor.

I'm thinking about playing around with the recipe and making round cookies with chopped pecans and maple flavorings. I've been itching to do some sort of a maple cookie with either a maple frosting or maple glaze. I'm running out of time to do all the cookies I wanted to do, so I'll need to limit my selection.

Scandinavian Almond Bars

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
8 ounces unsalted butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
nonfat milk
1 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped
Icing:
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons nonfat milk

1. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, cream butter until softened. Cream sugar into the butter and beat until fluffy. Add egg and extract and beat well. Add flour mixture and beat until well mixed.

2. Divide dough into eighths (about 70 mg. each). Form each into a flattened rectangle, two per cookie sheet, measuring about 3 inches by 12 inches. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes to allow gluten to rest.

3. Brush flattened rolls with milk and sprinkle with almonds, pressing almonds slightly into dough.

4. Bake at 325° for 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Rotate baking sheets halfway through cooking.

4. While cookies are still warm, cut them crosswise at a diagonal into 1-inch strips.

5. Cool. Drizzle with icing.

6. ALMOND ICING: Stir together ingredients with enough milk to make of drizzling consistency.

Makes about 80 cookies.

Tips: Lightly dampen fingertips if they stick to the dough. Don't worry about small ridges; the dough will puff slightly as it bakes and the marks will disappear.

Cut the baked cookie into strips and remove the strips to a rack to cool as soon as possible. The cookies will harden as they cool. They will crumble when cut and will stick to the baking sheet if you wait too long. If this happens, place in the oven for a couple of minutes to soften.

Use a plastic bag with the tip cut off to pipe the icing onto the cookies - using a spoon to drizzle is too difficult to control the amount of icing that drops onto the cookies, especially when starting a new spoonful.