Frangipane Bars

Total Time: 45 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup ice water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 8 ounces almond paste, cut into small pieces
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350*. lightly butter a 15x10x1" baking pan.
• 2 to make the crust:.
• 3 in a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. ad the butter and shortening and using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. sprinkle with 1 tbls of ice water and toss with a fork until the mixture begins to pull together as a dough.
• 4 gather into a ball and place on a lightly floured work surface.
• 5 using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle large enough to cover the bottom and reach up 1/4 of the way up sides of pan. (trim as needed).
• 6 the crust will shrink slightly after it is prebaked. fit the dough into the pan and press into place.
• 7 bake the crust for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
• 8 cool on a wire rack. reduce the oven temperature to 350*.
• 9 if the cherry or strawberry preserves are especially lumpy, puree them briefly in a food processor until smooth. spread in a thin layer over the cooled crust.
• 10 to make the topping:.
• 11 in a large bowl, beat the sugar, almond paste and butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
• 12 add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• 13 beat in the flour, the vanilla dn almond extracts and salt until smooth.
• 14 spoon the topping over the cherry preserves, using a small spatula to spread it inot an even layer.
• 15 bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.(the frangipan will be browned on edges and slightly soft in the center).
• 16 cool thoroughly (the center will firm when cooled) on a wire rack before cutting into bars.
• 17 cut 7 acoss and 7 down.