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Easy Recipe for Scandinavian Almond Bars – Oma's Mandelkekse

Make lots of almond cookies easily with this almond bar recipe. They look absolutely scrumptious and taste divine drizzled with chocolate! A Christmas MUST for us! 

Called bar cookies, they are made on a cookie sheet. The dough is formed into rolls that are flattened and then baked. The warm almond bars are then cut into cookies and iced.

Servings:

Makes about 48 cookies

Ingredients:

• ½ cup (114 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• ½ teaspoon (3 milliliters) almond extract
• 1¾ cups (228 grams) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons (8 grams) baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon (1.5 grams) salt
• about ¼ cup (60 milliliters) milk
• ½ cup (50 grams) sliced almonds
• 1 cup (170 grams) bittersweet chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Line two 11x17-inch cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Beat in egg and almond extract until light and fluffy.
3. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt together. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and beat until well mixed.
4. Divide cookie dough into four portions. Form each into a roll about 12 inches long.
5. Put two rolls about 4 to 5 inches apart on one cookie sheet and flatten rolls with fingers to about 3 inches wide. Repeat with the remaining dough.
6. Using a pastry brush or rubber spatula, brush just enough milk to cover all the dough, then sprinkle almonds on top. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are just slightly browned.
7. Remove from oven and immediately cut into 1-inch diagonal strips by carefully cutting down with a knife. Do not saw back and forth or the delicate cookie bars will break. Let cool for about 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.
8. Put chocolate chips into a small bowl and melt in the microwave, or melt in a small saucepan over low heat. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the bars.

Notes/Hints:

• Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week or keep in the freezer.
• The original recipe used ungreased cookie sheets. I find that lining cookie sheets with parchment paper works much better.
• Try drizzling with melted white chocolate.
• If you're not overly fond of too much almond flavor, try replacing the almond extract with vanilla extract.

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11.26.2021 revision update