May 9, 2026
I've broken the habit and pulled out The Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits for the second time in a year (after several years of choosing it only in my summer holiday). I don't recall ever eating these cherry almond bars before (dried fruit and nuts were divisive in my family of origin) but glace cherries feel nostalgic for me, nevertheless.
This recipe is a mash-up of things I love - cherries, chocolate, almonds, shortbread. I omitted the lemon rind, because I made these rapidly on a whim, but I'd welcome that element too. The biscuits are formed by slicing pieces from a dense, buttery log of dough. I clearly didn't get the dimensions as intended because I made 15 biscuit slices, and the recipe estimated a batch to be 35. Yet my chunky biscuits still overcooked during the recommended baking time! They weren't burnt but they were much more golden, occasionally even brown, compared to a conventional shortbread. Fewer biscuits also meant less chocolate needed, and I've adjusted the quantity down to match my batch.
These biscuits were delicious, but less than the sum of their parts. The toastiness of the biscuits crowded out the almonds, mouthfuls of the chocolate half tasted of little else, and the cherries were rare, separate experiences. Every bite was a pleasure tinged with a search for something else.
Cherry almond bars
(slightly adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly The Big Book of Beautiful Biscuits, also published online here)
90g butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 egg yolk
1 cup plain flour
1/3 cup blanched almonds
1/3 cup glace cherries
125g dark chocolate
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
In a bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the butter, lemon rind, sugar and egg yolk. Sift in the flour, partially mix, add the almonds and cherries, and mix to fully combine.
Unroll a large sheet of plastic wrap and transfer the biscuit mixture onto it. Manoeuvre the plastic wrap to compact the mixture into a big log, with a cross-section of about 4 cm x 5 cm. Refrigerate the biscuit log until firm, at least an hour.
When the dough is ready, preheat an oven to 180°C and line 1-2 baking trays with paper. Use a sharp knife to slice the log into 5-8 mm thick slices and lay them out on the baking trays. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until just beginning to go golden around the edges.
Melt the chocolate using your preferred method and stir in the vegetable oil. Dip half of each biscuit in the chocolate and return them to the trays; refrigerate briefly to set. Store at room temperature.
