Carres Aux Framboises (raspberry Bars)

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup almonds, sliced, blanched
• 1 egg, beaten (for the dough)
• 10 ounces butter, unsalted, softened and cubed
• 1 egg, beaten (for the egg-wash)
• 3/4-1 cup raspberry preserves, thick
• 1/2 cup turbinado sugar (coarse sugar, approximate (for sprinkling)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350°f; have a cookie/half-sheet pan ready.
• 2 place sugar and almonds in food processor and process until finely ground (don't overmix).
• 3 add flour and process until combined.
• 4 add the egg and butter and pulse until dough comes together.
• 5 remove to counter and divide in two.
• 6 roll out the first half between two sheets of parchment; the dough should be a rectangle 10x14-inch and about 1/8" thick.
• 7 remove the top piece of parchment and place the dough, still on the parchment paper, onto the cookie sheet.
• 8 brush a 1" border around all the edges of the pastry with the beaten egg.
• 9 spread a 1/4" thick layer of preserves over the pastry, leaving the 1" egg-washed border uncovered.
• 10 roll out the second half of the pastry as you did the first; remove the top piece of parchment and then lift the dough, paper and all and up-end it on top of the raspberry coated dough (the tricky part). if you have a problem or it breaks, it's very forgiving dough--just position it as best you can.
• 11 press the edges of the pastry together gently with your fingertips or the tines of a fork.
• 12 with a fork or a docker, prick holes all over the surface of the pastry; brush the surface lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with the turbinado (sugar in the raw).
• 13 bake until golden, about 25 to 30 minutes.
• 14 cool slightly, then trim off the sealed edges so that the jam shows; cut into rectangles; 3x2-inch size yields about 16 bars.