The Christmas cookies are gone, and southeast Nebraska is snowed in. What better time to bake up a pan of bars?
Technically, I don't consider brownies to be cookies - or even "bars." They're brownies - a category unto themselves. However, I found this in grandma's collection, and the marzipan lover in me could not resist. I manipulated this recipe a bit, but to begin, I'm going to post the recipe as it appeared in the (most likely) Chicago Tribune back in the day. I'll post my changes at the end along with the results of our taste test.
1/2 cup butter
1 cup ground blanched almonds
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose four
Brownie Layer (recipe follows)
Almond Paste Layer (recipe follows)
1/2 cup finely chopped unblanched almonds
Mix together butter, the 1 cup ground almonds, sugar and flour. Press mixture gently over bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan. Gently spread Brownie Layer over the top. Then top Brownie Layer with Almond Paste Layer. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup chopped almonds. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven, 50 minutes, or until sides begin to pull away from pan and center is firm. When cool, cut into 2-by-1-inch bars. 32 bars.
Brownie Layer
1/4 cup butter
1 square (1 ounce) unsweetened chocolate
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Melt butter and chocolate in saucepan over low heat, stirring often. Cool partially, then beat in sugar, egg and flour.
Almond Paste Layer
1-1/2 cups whole blanched almonds
1-1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 egg white
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup softened butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 whole eggs
1/8 tsp salt
5 drops food coloring
Grind almonds, a few at a time, in electric blender or food chopper, using fine blade. Combine with confectioners' sugar, egg white, almond extract and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Work to stiff paste; refrigerate in airtight container or plastic bag.
When needed, remove 1 cup of paste (return remainder to refrigerator for use at a later time), and crumble into a mixer bowl. Beat in softened butter, granulated sugar, whole eggs, 1/8 teaspoon salt and green food coloring.
The first adjustment I made was to use unblanched almonds in the bottom layer. I had whole almonds on hand and was too lazy to put them in boiling water and then work off the skins. I'm sure the whole blanched/unblanched thing has to do with appearance rather than taste.
The second adjustment I made was to substitute the unsweetened chocolate with 3 Tablespoons of Equal Exchange baking cocoa and 1 Tablespoon melted butter. I always have cocoa powder on hand and always use it instead of Baker's squares when making brownies.
The final adjustment I made was to use a can of Solo Almond Filling. I used it in place of the first six ingredients listed under "Almond Paste Layer." The only reason I did this was because I had the almond paste on hand. To that paste I added the remaining sugar, eggs, and salt, omitting the green food coloring. The taste test will tell if I should have also added the 1/4 cup of softened butter (actually, I meant to add it but just plain forgot). You'll notice in the recipe above that you're supposed to refrigerate leftover paste. By using the Solo canned paste, I eliminated the leftovers which would surely call to me to make another batch. As it is, it's going to take all my willpower to not pig out on these bars, so I don't need leftovers making my job harder.
The bottom layer was easy to make and pressed into the square baking pan very easily. The chocolate layer had the consistency of very thick fudge frosting, so it took a little bit of work to spread. The almond layer poured easily and self-leveled.
Simply put, these bars are delicious. The bottom crust is wonderful, and the brownie and almond layers are very cake-like and tasty. I didn't miss the extra butter at all. The bars are plenty rich without it. I'll definitely make these again sometime.
