Rosemary's Own: Lemony Snicket Bars

Rosemary here, I want to apologize for the lack of pictures thus far. Neither I nor Bas has a functioning camera right now, but we will re-make and post eventually. Anyway:

So, a while back I purchased a jar of lemon curd at the local Celtic Festival. Generally when I have vast amounts of amazing, homemade lemon curd at my disposal I put into my shortbread recipe. Which, I will post and you will thank me for. It's that good. But, I had quite the biting for something tart so I thought I'd make a recipe for you guys!

It turned out pretty well if I do say so myself. I can't take full credit for the recipe though, it's a fairly basic lemon bar recipe with my own personal twists.
Anyway, I hope you like it! Oh, and don't forget to comment, I'd like to know if I'm an epic failure or not.

Lemony Snicket Bars

 

Theoretically, around 40 Servings. In theory. 

 

Warning: This recipe is only for those who love lemon. It’s more than a bit tart. So much so that I decided it needed two crusts rather than a typical sugar topping. 

 

Ingredients

• 1 Cup Unsalted Butter (You can use salted, I always do, which is a baking sin.)
• 2 Cups All-Purpose  or Pastry Flour (Which is much better if you have it lying about)
• 1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract
• 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Bean Paste (extract would work just as well.)
• 2 Tablespoons White Vinegar
• 1 Cup White Sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 (10 ounce) Jar of Lemon Curd (A legit kind too, you are ingesting it after all) 
• 2/3 cup toasted and chopped Hazelnuts
• 1/2 cup toasted and chopped Almonds

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). 

Start with the nuts: Take your nuts and spread them out on a baking sheet. Pop them in the oven for about 5 minutes on each side.

Now, I use a food processor. I recommend just pulsing it until the nuts are in somewhat small pieces. Nothing too large to get stuck in your teeth or overwhelm your servings. 

In a large mixing bowl cream the butter. Add the flour, sugar, vinegar, vanilla bean paste, almond extract, and baking soda. Mix until the mixture forms coarse crumbs 

Pat 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of one 9x13 inch baking pan. 

Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool slightly. 

Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) whilst it cools. 

Spread the lemon curd over the baked layer. 

To the remaining 1/3 of crumb mixture add the hazelnuts and the almonds. Sprinkle over the top of the lemon curd. 

Bake bars for 25 minutes or until lightly browned. 

Et Voila! Enjoy!