A traditional flaky Dutch pastry in bar form, with a chewy almond filling and sugary almond topping.
Midwestern Heritage Recipes
This nostalgic recipe for these Dutch almond pastry bars was adapted from my best friend’s family. Her family’s hometown has a Dutch settlement and is only about 60 miles north of my family’s hometown that has a German settlement. This is typical of many small Midwest towns and communities, as rural areas attracted clusters of immigrants in search of farmland. Many of these small towns and communities still carry on their heritage today by cooking and baking many of these heritage recipes.
While almonds date back to ancient times, many European bakers used almonds in their baked goods. Dutch recipes specifically feature almonds or almond flavoring. Dutch Letters, Dutch Banket and Dutch Butter Cakes all contain almonds or almond flavoring in some form. There are still several famous Dutch bakeries in my state that are known for these almond treats.
About this Recipe
This recipe for these Dutch almond pastry bars was adapted from my best friend’s family. A similar recipe was in her Grandma’s recipe tin and I also found several versions in numerous cookbooks of hers, one dating to 1959.
As with many old-fashioned recipes, the original recipe calls for all lard to be used. I found that using half vegetable shortening and half butter sets this flaky and rich pastry up similar to a pie crust. The pastry dough is also incredibly soft; chilling the dough for a short period of time before rolling it out helped solve the issue of the dough sticking too much.
After the filling is baked, it is chewy and almost resembles an almond paste. Only use pure almond extract for the filling in this recipe to get the best almond flavor.
I cut the pastry bars in small portions, as they are very rich. Since they are a flaky pastry, they will break apart some when they are cut.
Tips for Dutch Almond Pastry Bars
- Use only pure almond extract for the best almond flavor
- Pastry dough can be made in advance; allow to sit room temperature for about 30 minutes or until it is soft enough to roll out.
- The almonds can be toasted in advance. Toasted nuts will keep sealed in an airtight container for about two weeks.
- Store baked pastry in airtight container up to 3 days.
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Dutch Almond Pastry Bars
Equipment
- 8" x 8" baking dish
- parchment or waxed paper
- pastry blender or fork
- pastry brush
- sheet pan
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
For the pastry
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling pastry
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, chilled
- 2 1/2 tbsp cold water
For the filling
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 cup granualted sugar
- 4 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp pure almond extract
- 4 tbsp milk
For the topping
- heavy cream, for brushing
- granualted sugar, for sprinkling
- sliced almonds, toasted
Instructions
Toasting the almonds
- Spread sliced almonds on an ungreased sheet pan and bake at 350°F degrees for 6-8 minutes. Cool and store if not using right away.
For the pastry
- Whisk or sift flour and salt. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in cold butter and shortening until resembles corse crumbles.
- Slowly add in water until soft dough is formed. Use floured hands to shape dough into a ball.
- Chill dough ball 20-30 minutes.
- Divide dough into two portions. Roll each portion out into an 8"x8" square on floured surface or between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper. Set aside until ready to assemble.
For the filling
- Beat egg yolks and sugar. Add in flour, almond extract, and milk. Beat until well blended.
To assemble
- Place one dough portion into the bottom of an 8"x8" square pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Press dough up about 1/2 inch on the sdies of the pan.
- Pour the filling in pan over the dough.
- Place remaining dough portion on top and seal sides. Cut small slits with knife on the top crust, to allow steam to escape while baking.
- Brush the top crust with small amount of cream. Then, sprinkle with granualted sugar and toasted almonds.
- Bake at 350°F about 45 minutes or until pastry dough is golden brown on top. Filling will still be soft when removed from oven.
- Allow to cool completely before lifting bars out of pan using the sides of the parchment paper or foil.
- Cut into small strips and serve.
Notes
- Use only pure almond extract for the best almond flavor
- Pastry dough can be made in advance; allow to sit room temperature for about 30 minutes or until it is soft enough to roll out.
- The almonds can be toasted in advance. Toasted nuts will keep sealed in an airtight container for about two weeks.
- Store baked pastry in airtight container up to 3 days.