Almond and blueberry bars with leftover pie filling

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Whether it’s cheesecake or pie, the part that I always look forward to is the crust. I have a soft spot for graham cracker crusts, but unfortunately, that would be blasphemy on a pie. What I always wonder about, is, how can people gulf down portions of pie loaded with a over-sugared filling, especially those that lack a proper portion of pastry crust?

I have this distant aunt who always brings my grandmother pies during Christmas. Each year, I am the lucky recipent of the pie (everyone knows how much I love dessert) and each year, I throw out a good chunk of the filling, simply because my teeth cannot muster the strength to stand the sugar. This year, in honor of the recession, I felt it would be too wasteful to throw expensive blueberries away, no matter how over-sugared they may be. Instead, I scooped half the filling out and left it aside to bake with.

So I thought to myself, could I recreate another blueberry pie, but in a different form? Since the fund I work for started cutting expenses, I’ve been left to fend for myself at lunch. It’s always nice to enjoy a dessert of some sort at lunch, so I wanted to create a blueberry pie on the go.

What I ended up with were pop tart looking and tasting creations. The crust has crushed almonds, giving it an explosive nutty flavor while a thin layer of leftover blueberry pie filling provides just enough sweetness for the average sweet tooth. Topped off with almond flakes, this bar is surely ready for its debut.

The following recipe, baked in a 13 x 9in pan, makes 30 bars.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almonds
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/4 confectioners’ sugar
• 1 1/2 stick unsalted butter (softened)
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 1/4 cups of pie filling (blueberry, preferably!)

Topping:

• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tsp clear honey
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds (flakes)
  

Recipe:

1. Grind the almonds in a food processor and put in a bowl. Sift the flour, spcies, and sugar.
2. Add the softened butter and egg yolks. Using your hand, mix and knead until a dough forms. It’s going to get messy and sticky, but it’s still worth it.
3. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
4. After dough is chilled, split the dough in half. Roll out one half to fit into base of the pan. Spread the pie filling evenly over the dough and roll out the remaining dough to place on top of the filling.
5. To achieve a shiny and somewhat cracked look for the topping, beat the egg and honey together. Brush over the top of the dough and sprinkle the almond flakes evenly over the top.

Side Notes:

• I’m sure this recipe will work with any pie filling and with just about any type of nut. Originally, this was a recipe for Hazelnut and Raspberry Bars out of “The Cookie and Biscuit Bible.” Obviously, I’ve butchered the star ingredients.
• Bake for 10 minutes then lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes. The bars are ready when they are golden brown.