yummy sweet recipe

I typed this recipe up this morning to take to church. I have promised it to a few people who enjoyed it at coffee time last Sunday. Maybe you'll like it too. It sounds complicated but it's not.

Cream Puff Almond Squares (makes 40 small squares)
Adapted from a recipe in Sunset Magazine (a long time ago)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Farenheit

1. Make the pastry bottom layer:
1 ½ cup flour
¾ cup butter or margarine
3 Tbs sugar

Combine these ingredients and press them into the bottom of a 9X13” cake pan.

2. Make the cream puff middle layer:

In a saucepan bring to a boil:
1 ½ cup water
¾ cup butter or margarine

When the water is boiling, keep the stove heat on and dump in:
1 ½ cup flour

Stir over heat in the pan until the mixture forms a soft dough that pulls away from the sides of the pan and clumps onto the mixing spoon. Remove from the heat and immediately stir in, one at a time:
6 whole eggs

As you stir in each egg, whisk it into the batter. As soon as it’s mixed in, whisk in the next egg. Be quick.

Spread the batter over the pastry bottom layer in the pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and puffy.

3. Add the top layer:

Mix together:
1 ½ cup icing sugar
6 Tbs milk (adjust amount to make a thick glaze)
½ tsp vanilla or a couple of drops of almond extract

Drizzle the glaze over the pastry. Be generous. Top with:
2/3 cup slivered almonds

It will collapse a bit as it cools but that’s okay. It should be bumpy and sticky and crumbly and you will get almonds on your shirt and you will lick your fingers when you eat it. You can serve this warm as a brunch dish or serve cool. It has a best served fresh, and doesn’t freeze well so eat it up!

question: baked lately?

mompoet - thinking about an apple/plum/blueberry crisp for tonight