CHEWY ALMOND SQUARES （0039）

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Yield: Makes 9 squares.

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter (1 stick, 112 g), melted, plus butter for greasing the pan

1 cup tightly packed light brown sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon of almond extract

1 cup (128 g) all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup toasted, blanched almonds, chopped

Whole almond halves for decoration

 

One 8x8-inch baking pan

Method

1 Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking pan with butter. Toast blanched almonds if you have not already done so, and when cool, roughly chop them.

2 In a mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until there are no more lumps of brown sugar. Whisk in the beaten egg and almond extract.

3 In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and pinch of salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until smooth. Stir in the chopped almonds.

smooth surface of batter in pan make surface cuts to mark squares, place an almond in the middle of each

4 Pour into the prepared baking pan and smooth the surface. You can "cut" the surface with a knife to make it easier to see where you will want to make cuts once the squares are done. Place an almond half, cut side down, in the middle of each square.

bake until done

5 Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting into squares.