recipes

Because Gwenna hasn't much of anything else to say these days but the word count on VN2, I thought I'd post some of my Christmas cookie recipes over the next couple of weeks. I'm all about the "easy" when it comes to baking because frankly, my time is short. So some of what you see will be super easy and not entirely from scratch.

Today's recipe- Razz-Ma-Tazz Bars is one of those I get requests for all the time. When I bring in a cookie platter to work, these are pretty much the first to go.

Razz-Ma-Tazz Bars

1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine
2 cups (12 ounce package) white morsels or chips
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon seedless raspberry jam (I've also used blueberry and strawberry)
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and sugar 9 inch square baking pan. (I found glass works best)

Melt butter in medium, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH power for 1 minute; stir. Add 1 CUP morsels; let stand. Do not stir.

Beat eggs in large mixer bowl until foamy. add sugar; beat until light lemon color, about 5 minutes. Stir in morsel-butter mixture. add flour, salt and almond extract; mix at low speed until combined. Spread two-thirds of batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Remove from oven to wire rack.

Heat jam in small, microwave-safe bowl on HIGH power for 30 seconds: stir. Spread jam over warm crust. Stir remaining morsel into remaining batter. Drop spoonfuls of patter over jam. Sprinkle with almonds.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until edges are browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.