It’s Christmas cookie season! And every year, you can bet I’m going to make a batch or two of these Scandinavian Almond Bars.
Not only do they taste great, they’re unique because the cookies get cut into diagonal strips, instead of being a regular round cookie. They’ll definitely grab attention at your annual cookie swap or neighbor cookie plates.
They’re a little crispy, a little chewy, and have just the right amount of frosting to not be overpowering. If you like anything almond related, you will LOVE these cookies.
Before mixing the dough, roughly chop the sliced almonds – and make sure you used SLICED, not SLIVERED
Start by mixing the ingredients in “typical cookie order.” Cream the butter and sugar, add egg and almond flavor.
Combine the dry ingredients and mix with the wet ingredients.
Here’s a great part: NO chilling required!
Simply divide the dough into 4 parts and roll each into a 12-inch long rope.
Set a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and place two ropes of dough on one sheet, with about 4-5 inches between them.
Press each rope down to about 2.5 – 3 inches wide.
Use a silicone brush to spread some milk across the dough. This helps the almonds stick and also give a slightly crispy texture on top.
You’ll sprinkle about 2 TBS of almonds on each dough piece.
Bake at 350 (or just 325 if your oven runs hot) for 12-14 minutes. The cookies should start to get a tinge of brown on the edges.
As a note, less time creates a chewier cookie, and more time makes them crunchier. Try both to see what you like better!
When the cookie sheet comes out of the oven, slide the parchment paper with the cookies onto a cutting board or the counter so you can cut them while warm.
Cut diagonally about 1 inch wide, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Repeat with the second cookie sheet.
Mix up the icing ingredients and drizzle over the cut cookies. I like to leave the cookies on a cooling rack and set the whole thing on a cookie sheet. Or you can even set on a piece of parchment for even less clean up!
A small whisk works great to drizzle by the way.
If you make these cookies I would love to hear what you think and if they’ll make it into your holiday rotation.
Thanks for reading!
Scandinavian Almond Bars
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- milk (for brushing on the dough)
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds, very roughly chopped
- ICING
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 3 to 4 tsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 if your oven runs a little hot, or 350 if it's pretty accurate.
- Beat softened butter with a mixer then add sugar.
- Cream until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add egg and 1/2 tsp almond extract.
- Sift dry ingredients and add.
- Combine until mixed.
- Divide dough into 4 equal portions.
- Roll each portion into a 12-inch long rope.
- Place two rolls 4-5 inches apart on a piece of parchment laid on a cookie sheet.
- Then press down to about 3 inches wide. Repeat on a second cookie sheet.
- Brush dough with milk and sprinkle about 2 TBS almonds on each. (The milk helps the almonds stick, and give the cookies a slight crispiness too)
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the edges just start to get golden brown.
- While still warm, cut diagonally into 1 inch strips.
- Set on a cooling rack and mix up the icing.
- Drizzle icing across the cookies. They can be packaged when the icing is dry.
Notes
Less bake time gives a chewier texture, while more makes the cookies crunchier. Both are delicious!
A small whisk is a great way to blend the icing and then also drizzle across the cookies. I recommend setting the cooling rack on a cookie sheet for this step to minimize mess.