High altitude almond amaretto bars with layers of buttery shortbread, moist almond cake, and sweet amaretto icing topped with crunchy almonds. These soft almond bars are full of delicious almond flavor in every bite!
You might also love these high altitude recipes for Italian almond cake, classic almond shortbread cookies, and Christmas almond sugar cookies.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
For Almond Lovers. I’ve always loved almond pastries and cakes, so you’ll find quite a few almond desserts on this website. And if you love them as much as I do, today’s almond amaretto bars are definitely for you!
Moist for Days. The almond cake layer is a smaller version of my one layer almond cake, and it’s incredibly moist, dense and tender.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Crust
- The shortbread crust is a simple crumble mixture of flour, sugar and salt, flavored with a little vanilla, and butter to add flavor and to hold it all together.
Cake
- Butter. To add the most incredible flavor to this cake, don’t skip the step of browning the butter first.
- Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
- Eggs. Gives the cake structure and helps the batter to hold together.
- Vanilla + Almond Extracts. Flavor.
- Whole Milk + Sour Cream. Adds fat and moisture for a moist, tender cake.
- Amaretto. This is an almond flavored liqueur that adds more flavor to these bars, but can be replaced with milk for an non-alcoholic version.
- Flour. All-purpose flour gives the cake structure and strength.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the almonds.
- Baking Powder. Leavening agent, so the cake rises when it bakes.
- Almond Flour. The almond flour not only adds more almond flavor, but also moisture and a nutty richness that makes these amaretto bars just so good. You can also use very finely chopped almonds if you don’t have almond flour.
Icing
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the icing.
- Meringue Powder. This is optional, but it helps to set the icing.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Amaretto Liqueur. Thins the icing to a drizzly consistency and adds almond flavor.
- Sliced Almonds.
Instructions
Getting Ready
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, or lightly spray the pan with non-stick baking spray.
Crust
- In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the vanilla and cold butter, and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter in until moist and crumbly.
- Press the crumbs into an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Set aside while you make the cake batter.
Cake
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter until nutty, golden brown milk solids form at the bottom of the pan. This process might take about 10 minutes. First the butter will hiss and splatter as the water evaporates, then as it quiets down, a layer of foam will form on top of the butter. This means the butter is done. Immediately remove from the heat, and scrape the butter, including the brown milk solids, into a large bowl. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- In a bowl, whisk together the cooled brown butter with the granulated sugar, egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, almond extract, sour cream, milk and amaretto, until combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the almond flour, then whisk until everything is evenly distributed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, whisking just until moistened. Gently spread the cake batter over the crust.
Bake
- Bake the almond bars for about 35-40 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack to cool for 1 hour, before adding the icing. As the bars cool, the puffed center may settle back down and sink slightly, which is totally normal.
Icing
- In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add the vanilla and amaretto, and whisk until smooth.
- Spread the icing over the bars, then sprinkle the icing with the sliced almonds.
- Let the icing set and the bars cool completely before cutting into squares.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make these almond bars without the amaretto?
To make this recipe without the alcohol, simply replace the amaretto with the same amount of milk in both the cake batter and the icing, and add 1/2 tsp. almond extract to the icing.
How should I store these bars?
Store leftover bars in an airtight container for up to 3-5 days.
You Might Also Like
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High Altitude Almond Amaretto Bars
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup unsalted cold butter, cut into slices
Cake
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk (save the extra white for another use)
- ¾ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
- ⅓ cup full fat sour cream
- 3 tbsp milk
- 2 tbsp amaretto liqueur
- 1 cup all purpose flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ⅓ cup almond flour, or very finely chopped almonds
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 ½ – 3 tbsp amaretto liqueur
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
Instructions
Getting Ready
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, or lightly spray the pan with non-stick baking spray.
Crust
- In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. Add the vanilla and cold butter, and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter in until moist and crumbly.
- Press the crumbs into an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Set aside while you make the cake batter.
Cake
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter until nutty, golden brown milk solids form at the bottom of the pan. This process might take about 10 minutes. First the butter will hiss and splatter as the water evaporates, then as it quiets down, a layer of foam will form on top of the butter. This means the butter is done. Immediately remove from the heat, and scrape the butter, including the brown milk solids, into a large bowl. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- In a bowl, whisk together the cooled brown butter with the granulated sugar, egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, almond extract, sour cream, milk and amaretto, until combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the almond flour, then whisk until everything is evenly distributed.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, whisking just until moistened. Gently spread the cake batter over the crust.
Bake
- Bake the almond bars for about 35-40 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set the pan on a cooling rack to cool for 1 hour, before adding the icing. As the bars cool, the puffed center may settle back down and sink slightly, which is totally normal.
Icing
- In a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and meringue powder. Add the vanilla and amaretto, and whisk until smooth.
- Spread the icing over the bars, then sprinkle the icing with the sliced almonds.
- Let the icing set and the bars cool completely before cutting into squares.
What adjustment might this recipe need to make at lower altitude?
Please see my FAQs: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/baking-faqs/
Do you think it would work to double this and bake in a 9×13” pan?
I’m sure it would work just fine. I haven’t tested the bake time for a double batch, though.
Even though I’m in Atlanta, this recipe baked perfectly as is! Are your almonds on top salted or unsalted?
So glad to hear it! I use unsalted raw sliced almonds that I buy at Costco.
What could I use instead of meringue powder?? We don’t have any here
You can leave it out, but your icing won’t be as set. There’s not a good replacement for it, unfortunately.