As the days carry on..

I've decided that I'm a particularly bad blogger. Other people have excuses for not blogging, kids, work, sickness, etc... Not me, I am at home, at the beach, doing laundry, or baking most of the time. So I have no excuse.
Anyway, my moaning aside I will tell you about this great recipe I tried last night.  We had just finished dinner, a fancy oven baked pizza and salad (not every night can be stunning), and my husband wanted something sweet. So I consulted the baking goddess, Martha Stewart, to see what I could make with minimal time, effort, and ingredients. The recipe I decided on was the following:

                                Almond Fruit Bars

1/2 c. (1stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinammon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 c. packed light-brown sugar
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
3/4 c. sliced almonds
1/2 c. fruit jam such as cherry, strawberry, or grape. I used grape :)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish. In a bowl wishik together flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.  
In a mixing bowl, cream buter and sugars on high speed until light and fluffy; beat in egg yolk. Reduce speed to low; gradually mix in flour mixture. Stir in almonds.
In a small bowl, whisk jam to loosen. Gently press half of dough into bottom of prepared dish. Gently spread the jam over dough leaving a 1/4 inch border. Sprinkle remainign dough over top all the way to the edges; press gently to form top layer.
Bake until top is golden, 25-30 minutes (mine took a lot less time); cool completely in dish. Cut into bars with serrated knife.

Can I just admit to how delicous these were without sounding too proud? The entire stick of butter, while not being that great for you or your dress size, makes this a tasty crumbly dessert that is quite delectable. I can imagine that they would taste good with coffee. Mom, I know that Dad would love these. :)