There was a lot of love on Mendenhall this weekend as we shared our sunny Saturday afternoon with a dogfriend Riley. While the dogs romped around making sure that every bit of Westie white hair was gray, I hung out in the kitchen experimenting with a cookie recipe my mother sent me a couple of weeks ago. Her best friend Marsha is known to find the best cookie recipes so I thought it was worth a shot for Valentine’s gifts. Since I didn’t have a 10 by 15 baking pan, I experimented by making the cookies in a mini-muffin pan. It worked well but created more work. I recommend using a standard baking sheet if you have one. I passed this cookies out to friends this morning in miniature mailbox shaped tins. Rave reviews are already in.

Sending love from Mendenhall. I’ll be celebrating Valentine’s Day casually with my canine Valentine tonight. I already sang him this song this morning.

Toasted Almond Brittle Bars

• 2½ cups flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened at room temperature
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:

• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1½ cups sliced almonds (Do not substitute silvered almonds for the sliced almonds.)
• 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Mix flour, 1 cup butter, confectioners’ sugar and salt in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until coarse crumbs form. Press firmly into greased 15” x 10” x 1” baking pan. Bake in preheated 350 degrees F oven 20 minutes or until light golden brown. I found the crust browned much faster than the 20 minutes suggested in the
recipe. Be careful not to over cook .

2. For the topping, mix corn syrup, brown sugar, ¼ cup butter and cream in medium saucepan. Bring to boil on medium heat. Remove from heat. Stir in extracts and then almonds. Pour over hot crust, spreading evenly.

3. Bake 15 minutes or until light golden brown and until filling is set. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Makes about 3 dozen bars.