Angry Easy Almond Bars

Before I discuss my anger, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day and thank those who have fought for our freedom and sacrificed so much.

Back to the anger. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I use baking to de-stress. Maybe it's the action of mixing, or the rhythm of finding and measuring each ingredient, or maybe it's the feeling of accomplishment I get when I pull it out of the oven.

Regardless, it's a coping mechanism for me. And when I left work two Wednesdays ago, I required de-stressing. It had been a rough end of the night, and I was angry. I was frustrated. I rationalized baking with the fact that I was working in news on Thursday, and I'd never baked for them (I usually work in sports).

And thus the Easy Almond Bars were renamed. And people in news want me angry more often.

These bars were gone FAST. I got a ton of compliments about them, and I felt bad about that - they were too easy to really get praised for them! They tasted almost like a light pound cake.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup margarine, melted
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. almond extract
pinch of salt
1 Tbsp. sugar (may used colored sugar for a holiday)
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan.

Combine flour, 2 cups sugar, margarine, eggs, baking powder, extract and salt. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle with sugar and almonds.

Bake for 30 minutes. Makes 32 bars.


Source: Kalamazoo and Kairos, too! cookbook