Chocolate almond bars. I used a recipe for “chocolate mint squares” which calls for peppermint oil, but goodness knows where I’m supposed to find that, so I substituted almond extract instead. You prepare the dough by combining melted chocolate and butter with beaten sugar and eggs, a half cup of flour, and the almond extract. Then, in an unnecessary but quite welcome extra step, you create a glaze using an ounce each of melted chocolate and melted butter, and pour it over right after baking. The frosting is made with confectioners sugar (one cup), butter (2 tablespoons), a tablespoon of milk, and more almond extract. These bars — which should be pronounced with a Minnesota “R” — left me more than a little proud of myself when they came out unharmed; I’ve had a couple experiences lately making bars that turned into a liquid disaster, and it was probably because I didn’t use the right size of pan called for in the recipe; in this case, a 9×9 square. The chocolate almond bars ended up tasting very good, which isn’t a surprise; almond extract is the sriracha of baking, and if you use it then it doesn’t really matter what other ingredients you have.
(Photo: Sitges, Catalonia.)
365 Days of Food 