Pineapple Almond Bars

I loved those coconut lemon bars so much that I wanted to make more. But the second time around, I decided to change it up a bit. I had opened one of the large cans of pineapple tidbits when the idea hit me on the head. I didn't want to throw away all the delicious juice it came with. Sometimes I prefer the juice to the actual fruit. So pineapple bars it was!It's basically the same procedure as making the lemon bars. For the base I added some almond slices into the mix. Pineapple and almond do go well together.

Once baked, I put a tiny chunk of pineapple evenly space. It's best to do that part before the top layer of crust settles. One of the neat things is that after you sprinkle the powdered sugar on top. It melts into the little pineapple chunk, so it sort of looks like a tiny crater.

Makes 12 to 24 bars.

Pineapple Almond Bars

crust:
vegetable oil or cooking spray
3/4 c unsalted butter - 1 1/2 sticks - cold cubed
2 c all purpose flour
1/4 c brown sugar - packed
1/4 c confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar) - plus extra for dusting
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c almond slices

filling:
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 c granulated sugar
1/3 c all purpose flour
1 c pineapple tidbits
1 c pineapple juice

Preheat your oven to 350˚F

Grease a 9x13 - inch pan with the vegetable oil or cooking spray. Then line the pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides. Grease the foil as well.

In a food process, pulse the butter, flour, sugars and salt until it feels of a dough texture.  About a minute. If you don't have a food processor, mix and mash together with your hands until you get a doughy consistency. Pour the flour mixture into a bowl and add the almonds.

Place the dough in the pan and press evenly, making sure there are no cracks. Place in the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown, roughly 25 minutes.

While the crust bakes, make the filling. Whisk together, the eggs, yolks, sugar and flour until a smooth consistency. Add the pineapple juice.

When the crust is finished, remove from oven. Turn the oven down to 300˚F. Pour the filling onto the warm crust and return the pan into the oven. Baked for another 30-35 minutes or until the filling has set.

Let the bars cool in the pan on a rack, garnish with the pineapple tidbits evenly spaced. Then put in the fridge until it firms up -- 2 hours. When the filling has set, remove from the pan and slice. Dust with some additional powdered sugar.