Headed out on a road trip tomorrow, so I am prepping a few things to take with us that are easy to store, easy to eat. That includes these Black Currant Almond Streusel Bars. As with all of my crumble and struesel bars, these are super-easy to make, really versatile to swap out flavors and pack up really nicely. Also perfect to take along as a picnic or biergarten snack or dessert.
Ingredients
1 cup plus 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled to just warm
3 cups all purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups plus 3 tablespoons flour
2 cups black currant jam or jelly
1/2 cup almond slices
Directions
Preheat oven to 325F. Create a foil or parchment sling for your 9 x 9 inch baking dish or spray generously with baking spray.
In a medium bowl, mix together butter, sugar, salt, egg yolks and almond extract with a spoon until smooth. Add in the flour and mix until just combined. Take 2 cups of the crust mixture and press into the lined pan. Set the unused portion of the crust aside covered with plastic wrap, but not in the refrigerator. Place the pan in the freezer for 15 minutes or so; the chilling of the crust prevents it from expanding and rising too much during baking.
Remove the crust from the freezer and place in the oven to bake for 20 minutes, or until the sides are lightly browned. Then remove from the oven, and increase oven temperature to 350F. Spread the black currant jam on top, and sprinkle the left over crust mixture and almond slices on top. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the streusel is lightly browned.
Allow the pan to cool completely before taking the bars out of the pan. Remove the bars by lifting out with the sling and cut.
