Apricot Almond Squares

Sunshine has been in scarce supply around here this week. In spite of the rain, however, I do think the days are brightening and when the sun does shine, it's brilliant! 

I spent much of the afternoon in the kitchen, getting ready for next week. A pot of vegetable soup, a double batch of meatballs, vegetables prepped, and a pan of squares baked. 

After all of that I sat down with a cup of tea, a candle and a freshly baked Apricot Almond Square. 

As I cut the squares I thought about the size of things. Have you noticed how HUGE cookies are now? Our local grocery store offers free cookies to toddlers to munch while their parents shop. They last the entire shopping trip. Recipes used to say, "drop by heaping teaspoonfuls" but judging by the size of these cookies, they are measured out by cup fractions. Bar cookies, (called squares here) are much the same. I think the increased size encourages us to eat too much, don't you? I still make my cookies on the small side. And cut my squares about 2". 

Moving on...

Here's the recipe:

Apricot Almond Square

Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour (I use 1 cup white and 1/2 cup whole wheat)
2/3 cup icing sugar
3/4 cup butter

Whirl the above together in a food processor until it comes together in a crumbly dough that can be pressed together. Without a food processor the mixture can be mixed by hand or with a mixer. Press into the bottom, and about 1/2 inch up the sides of an ungreased 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.

Topping:
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup apricot jam (I used homemade jam, any flavour would work, except you'd have to change the name!)
1 Tablespoon melted butter 
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sliced almonds

Mix the egg, jam, butter and vanilla together. Spread over the hot crust. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake for a further 15-20 minutes. Cool and cut into squares.

Linking with Sunlit Sunday, hosted by Karen of My Little Home and Garden.