Almond Marmalade Slice

We had some sun, but it is fleeting and now it is rainy again. I chose these bars as a way to channel the sunny weather. I’m not sure that worked, but it is nice to bake something springy. These bars originally called for orange marmalade, but just like other interesting baking ingredients, I sometimes pick up interesting jams and jellies. I had a jar of Lemon and Lime marmalade, and this seemed like the perfect recipe for it.

This recipe is labeled as a “slice” which we would call a bar cookie in the States. This is an Australian recipe, which I have found to have excellent bar cookie recipes! The only challenge is that it calls for a 20 by 30 (or 19 by 29) centimeter pan. That isn’t something you can find readily locally, but I do have a tart pan that is the right size. If you don’t have this super special pan, a 9: inch square pan would certainly work just fine.

This recipe called for both plain flour and self-rising flour. In the UK and Australia, self-rising flour is very common. It’s just flour with baking powder, baking soda, and salt mixed in. I make my own, so for this recipe I have converted the amounts to the individual ingredients. I wasn’t sure what lemon and lime marmalade would taste like. In the bars it is subtle, sweet, but not bitter. They are ever so slightly reminiscent of lemon bars, but not as soft. They are delicate and buttery.

Almond Marmalade Slice

1 1/2 cups sliced almonds

1 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sugar

¾ cup butter, melted

2/3 cup marmalade

Preheat oven to 390 degrees. Line a 20 x 30 centimeter (or a 9” square) pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Place 1 cup of the sliced almonds in the food processor and process until ground. In a large mixer bowl, add the ground almonds, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Add the melted butter and stir on medium until the mixture comes together in large crumbs.

Reserve 1/3 of the crumb mixture; press the remaining dough into the prepared pan. Bake for 12 minutes. Allow the crust to cool slightly, about 20 minutes.

Spread the marmalade over the partially cooled crust. Mix the remaining ½ cup of sliced almonds with the reserved crumb mixture. Sprinkle the almond/crumb mixture on top of the marmalade.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the topping is lightly golden. Cool in the pan before cutting into bars.

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