Florentine Bars

Bake #39 for 2025: Florentine Bars by King Arthur Baking

definitely should've taken a pic before there were only two left

These delicious bars are a fantastic blend of a buttery shortbread base and a chewy, caramelly topping studded with tart dried cranberries. The original recipe is from the fantastic King Arthur Baking Baking School cookbook, available here. I have a couple notes below, but overall, these were a huge hit and per dinner guests: "irresistable!" 

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 113g (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, room temp
• 50g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1 large egg yolk
• 150g (1-1/4 cups) all-purpose flour

Topping:

• 42g (2 Tbsp) honey
• 42g (3 Tbsp) unsalted butter
• 132g (2/3 cup) granulated sugar
• 119g (1/2 cup) heavy cream
• 108g (1-1/4 cup) sliced almonds
• 57g (1/2 cup) dried cranberries
• 8g (1 Tbsp) all-purpose flour

Optional: flaky sea salt, for finishing

Instructions:

For the crust:

1. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) a 9x13 pan. (see note!)
2. Combine the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer) and beat until smooth. Beat in the egg yolk.
3. Add in the flour and stir until a soft, cohesive dough forms.
4. Press the dough into an even layer in the prepared pan. Prick (dock) the bottom of the crust with a fork and refrigerate 30 min. (At 15 min, preheat oven to 375F.)
5. Bake 10-12 min until it’s set and starting to take on color. Remove from the oven and set aside.
6. Lower oven temp to 325F.

For the topping:

1. In a medium bowl, combine the almonds, cranberries, and flour. Set aside.
2. Bring the honey, butter, sugar, and cream to a boil in a small, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook until lightly golden brown – should hit 240F on a digital or candy thermometer.
3. Remove from heat and quickly stir in the almond mixture. Using a silicone spatula, quickly spread the topping over the par-baked crust.
4. Return to oven until the nuts are toasted and the topping is bubbling, about 10-15 min.
5. Optional: while cooling, sprinkle with a little flaky sea salt before cutting into bars.

My notes:

• The original recipe calls for a 9x13 OR two 8" square pans, however, I found a 9x13 to be a bit too big for the amount of base layer. Instead, I lined the pan with foil and folded it to approximate a 9x10 size pan instead, which worked very well. Next time, I may even try them in a 9" cake tin  and cut into wedges.
• I also added an optional step of sprinkling with flaky sea salt because it never really hurts, and I felt like just a little something extra would jazz these up even more.