Almond Cream Cheese Bars — An easy, buttery shortbread crust is topped with cream cheese and irresistible almond frosting!! These cookie bars taste like something you’d buy at a bakery!
Almond & Cream Cheese Cookie Bars
I love almond extract more than almonds themselves. I could bathe in it. And I can eat frosting that’s made with almond extract by the spoonful.
Although it doesn’t take almond extract for me to eat frosting by the spoonful, it’s the literal icing on the cake for these easy, no-mixer, one-bowl layered almond shortbread bars.
There’s a buttery shortbread crust that’s topped with a cream cheese and almond extract-based filling before frosting the bars and adding slivered almonds. They add great texture and boost the overall almond flavor.
The filling is slightly tangy from the cream cheese and offsets the sweetness of the frosting.
What I really like about the bars is that they look and taste fancy-schmancy, but are easy and straightforward to make. The best kind of recipe.
Aside from the one bar I sampled, I donated the pan to a fundraiser bake sale. I got an email from the woman who was running it asking me if I had the recipe because she was being asked for it. Loved that.
What’s in the Cream Cheese Bars?
This almond bar recipe has three components: the almond shortbread crust, the cream cheese filling, and the frosting. You’ll need the following ingredients:
- Unsalted butter
- All-purpose flour
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Cornstarch
- Salt
- Brick-style cream cheese
- Egg
- Granulated sugar
- Almond extract
- Cream or milk
- Slivered almonds
How to Make Cream Cheese Bars
First, you’ll make the shortbread cookie crust. Simply combine all the crust ingredients in a large bowl and cut the butter into the ingredients using two forks.
Press the crust mixture into an 8×8-inch baking dish and bake at 350F until barely set.
While the crust bakes, make the cream cheese filling. To do so, whisk together all of the filling ingredients. Once the crust has baked for 15 minutes, turn the filling over top while it’s still warm.
Then, return the pan to the oven for another 19 minutes or so. Once the cream cheese cookie bars have baked, they need to cool completely before topping them with the almond frosting.
Can I Double This Recipe?
Yes, simply double the ingredients list and bake the almond bars in a 9×13-inch baking dish. The bake time should be roughly the same.
Can I Make the Bars in Advance?
Yes, but these are best within the first 48 hours of baking them. If desired, you could make the cream cheese cookie bars, freeze them, and then frost them once you’re ready to serve them. I haven’t done this myself, but it should be fine.
Tips for Making Cream Cheese Cookie Bars
Halve the frosting portion of the recipe if you’re not a huge frosting fan because it’s pretty sweet. However, halving the frosting isn’t something I personally ever do. I usually want to double it.
The same goes for the almond extract. I love it and I used 2 teaspoons in the filling and the frosting and the bars are packed with powerful almond flavor.
If you prefer almond-scented rather than almond-front-and-center, halve the amount of extract in both the filling and frosting.
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Almond Cream Cheese Shortbread Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- ½ cup unsalted butter, very soft (1 stick)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt, optional or to taste
Filling
- 4 ounces brick-style cream cheese, softened (lite is okay)
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 to 2 teaspoons almond extract, I used 2
Frosting
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened (half of 1 stick)
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 to 2 teaspoons almond extract
- about 2 tablespoons cream or milk
- about 1/4 cup slivered almonds, mine were untoasted
Instructions
Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine all crust ingredients and using two forks or your hands, cut butter into dry ingredients until evenly distributed and pea-sized lumps and sandy bits form. The softer the butter is, the quicker and easier it is.
- Turn mixture out into prepared pan and hard-pack it with a spatula or hands to create an even, uniform, flat crust layer.
- Bake crust for about 15 minutes, or just until barely set (pan is going back in oven so don’t overbake or crust will be crumbly).
- While crusts bakes, prepare the filling.
Filling:
- In a large bowl (same one is fine, just wipe out with a paper towel), add all filling ingredients, and whisk by hand or beat with an electric mixer until smooth and combined; it’s okay filling is on the thin side. I prefer a stronger almond flavor and use 2 teaspoons extract, if you don’t, scale the amount back.
- After crust has baked for about 15 minutes, remove pan from the oven, and evenly pour filling mixture over the crust. Filling will likely slide into place, but lightly spread it into corners using a spatula if necessary.
- Return pan to oven and bake for about 16 to 19 minutes, or until filling is no longer jiggly in the center and edges have begun to set up; filling will set up more as it cools.
- Remove pan from oven, and place on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting:
- In a large bowl (same one is fine, just wipe out with a paper towel), add the butter, confectioners’ sugar, almond extract, and slowly drizzle in the cream while whisking by hand or beating with an electric mixer. As necessary, add additional cream (or sugar) to reach desired glaze consistency.
- Evenly frost the bars, smoothing frosting lightly with a spatula as necessary.
- Evenly sprinkle with slivered almonds.
- Allow bars to cool in pan uncovered for at least 1 hour (or overnight and cover with a sheet of foil) before slicing and serving so frosting can set up.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I was just thinking today that I needed some almond extract in my life. Frosting? Needed, stat. 2 teaspoons, girl, now I really know why we are friends. :)
These were so good with all that almond, Dorothy! You would have been in almond extract heaven right along with me :)
These look delicious! I am a frosting gal myself. Never halve. Never, ever, ever.
I’ve eaten a few different types of shortbread style cookies since I was a kid. There was a flavor that I just loved about them but couldn’t pinpoint what it was. Fast forward to when I started experimenting with baking and bought my first bottle of almond extract. Boom. It smelled exactly how those cookies tasted!
These look so good, Averie! And I’d love to jump into a bucket of that icing. Yum!
It wasn’t until I started baking with almond extract that I realized what my grandma was putting in nearly everything for all those years :)
My first thought upon seeing these was wow–so pretty! The snow white frosting dotted with the sliced almonds did it for me. Almond extract in the cream cheese filling sounds heavenly…and again….oh that frosting!!!
They were so ‘snow white’ looking, agreed! Despite making them like 6 weeks or so ago and it was HOT here. Like 90ish and I definitely couldn’t post them then :)
Yum! Almond extract really can make a dessert extra special. These sound delicious!
I can’t tell you how excited I am about this recipe! I absolutely adore almond extract and this is definitely going to be made. Thank you!
That’s great to hear! LMK how it goes!
I love almond extract too, it is so so good in cookies and bars. These look delicious, I love all the almond flavour and the shortbread crust. They sound amazing!
These bars slay me…I won’t be able to rest until I make them Averie, you knocked it out of the park with these!
I commented on your FB comment (thank you for always being so good with that…I am…not!) but knowing what I know about your love of shortbread cookies, and just the flavors you tend to bake with, yes these have you written all over them! If you do try them, LMK!
I’m drooling on the keyboard as we speak! I love frosting, I can eat it, as you say, by the spoonfull. Frosting, Nutella and condensed sweetened milk. I’ll dream tonight of your almond shortbread bars ;) Thanks for posting it!
I share your love for almond extract! We threw it out after Kelsie’s tree nut allergy diagnosis. :-( I miss it something terrible! I may have to sneak and buy it and make these when she spends the night at a friends house! :-)
Oh gosh that’s a rough allergy to deal with, in general! Life as a parent is never dull, is it!
I am excited to try these bars. I feel in love with that almond taste the first time I made your French Almond Cookie Cake. I make peach glaze and I can only make it if someone else is around to share it with or I will be too tempted to eat far more than I should. These bars are going to be another delicious dessert. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, these bars are so reminiscent of that French Almond Cookie Cake! Same flavor profile, the whole thing, just so many similarities and glad you tried that cake and loved it, and now love almond extract! :)
I share your love for almond extract Averie. One time my little boy taped the little almond extract bottle to his face so he could smell it all day! Boy are these beautiful bars calling my name right now!
Oh I Love that story about your son! :)
Oh Averie, you managed to make something easy like that to look and sound phenomenal :)
If my fridge just say: Yes I have Cream Cheese inside me! I would totally run downstairs and preheat my oven :P
greets, Kevin
It’s funny you said you love almond extract you could bathe in it. I adore almond extract – always rub a little bit on my hands after adding to the recipe. Also, it’s amazing in brownies!
This shortbread looks so good! I wish I could have a piece with my morning coffee right now! Pinned!
I’ve never tried it in brownies! Only lighter-colored desserts like shortbread bars, lighter cookies, nothing chocolaty…what have I been thinking! That’s a must-try! Thanks for the tip :) And I love that you rub it on your hands, too!
I agree, almond extract is the best!!! Me and my sister frequent a bakery for bars that look exactly like these, and I always wished I could get the recipe somehow, so thank you so much!!!!
Oh how funny, well here you go!
What a great recipe…I love the taste of almond in pastries…It reminds me of all those Italian cookie trays from the holidays. Which I can’t believe are right around the corner…thankfully you’ve given me many recipes that should cover me through New Years!!!
Totally reminiscent of those holiday cookies, yes! Almond extract I think is especially perfect in preparation for the holidays!