Chocolate Almond Cookie Bark

Yay! Brand spanking new layout! What do you guys think?:)

After having such a busy and colorful one for a while I realized I needed a change to something new and simple and not so color packed :p. I originally loved this at first….but now I’m not as happy with it…maybe its because I spent a few too many hrs on it? Fixing the glitches and tweeking this and that? Lol You guys should let me know what you think...is it just me? Or is it missing something?:/ (Also, how does it look in your browser? Everything working right? I only tested it on my browser [firefox])

Anywho, moving on to these yummy yummy bars!
I made these a little while back as Christmas gifts for some friends. They didn’t turn out how I intended them to originally….I was going to sprinkle some butterscotch and white chocolate chips that I had left over all over them…but they went…weird….

I think they may have gone bad? It was the WEIRDESS thing…it WOULD NOT melt! Just turned into this gunk thing…and smelled like cow manure :P SO suffice to say I had to throw it out…but I needed to put SOMETHING on there! So I decided to toast some almonds and sprinkle them on top…and omg am I glad I did! They are SO good! I intend to make these again…and omit other chocolates and just do the almonds!

The original recipe is from Bon Appetite but I got it off recipegirl.com (to give credit where credit is due ☺ ) The only difference between this recipe and hers is that she dropped on 1 cup chopped Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses and 2 ounces of white chocolate instead of the almonds.



Also, I’ve decided to start rating my recipes… both for my own reference and for my readers. SO, here’s my rating scheme:

1 star = DISGUSTING …..5 stars = its good…nothing AMAZING but its good…average…. And 10 stars = AMAZING FOOD SENT FROM HEAVEN

I intend to rate pretty harshly yet fairly, so I will rarely give anything a 10 (unless it really deserves it…and my readers will KNOW its THAT amazing), nor will I rate things a 1 often (lets hope I don’t have to!)

For this recipe I would give it a solid 8 stars….reallyyyy yummy :)

Chocolate Almond Bark Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped (or use chocolate chips)
½ - 1 cup toasted sliced almonds (to taste)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 13×9x2-inch metal baking pan with nonstick spray. Line bottom of pan with long strip of 9-inch-wide parchment paper, leaving overhang on both short sides of pan.

2. Whisk flour and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar. Continue beating until mixture is light and fluffy, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl, about 3 minutes. Beat in vanilla, then egg yolk. Gradually add flour mixture, beating on low speed just to blend.

3. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls into prepared baking pan, spacing evenly. Using moistened fingertips, press dough to form even layer over bottom of pan. Pierce dough all over with fork.

4. Bake cookie base until light golden brown and slightly puffed and edges begin to come away from sides of pan, about 30 minutes. Place pan on rack; immediately sprinkle bittersweet chocolate over. Let stand until chocolate softens, about 3 minutes. Using small offset spatula, spread bittersweet chocolate over top of cookie in thin even layer. Immediately sprinkle toasted almonds. Chill until set, about 30 minutes.

6. Using paper overhang as aid, lift cookie from pan and transfer to work surface. Using large knife, cut cookie into irregular pieces.

Cooking Tips:
*DO AHEAD Can be made 1 week ahead. Store in refrigerator (or freezer) in airtight containers between layers of waxed paper or parchment paper. Can be stored in the freezer for several weeks.

Yield: About 36 pieces

a few of the Christmas gifts I gave this year :)