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Brown Butter Almond Croissant Bars

A tender gluten-free brown butter almond base layered with soft frangipane and finished with crunchy salted caramelised almonds. Buttery, nutty and just sweet enough, with plenty of salt to balance the caramelised topping.
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Prep Time:40 minutes
Cook Time:45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Keyword: almond baking recipes, almond cookie bars, almond croissant bars, almond dessert, almond frangipane bars, brown butter almond croissant bars, brown butter bars, caramelised almond bars, frangipane bars, gluten free almond bars, gluten free cookie bars, salted almond bars
Servings: 16 bars

Ingredients

Brown Butter Almond Base

  • 170 grams unsalted butter
  • 90 grams fine white rice flour
  • 45 grams cornflour/cornstarch
  • 90 grams almond meal
  • 70 grams caster sugar
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Frangipane

  • 70 grams unsalted butter
  • 50 grams caster sugar
  • 90 grams almond meal
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp dark rum
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Salted Caramelised Almond Topping

  • 70 grams flaked almonds
  • 20 grams unsalted butter
  • 15 grams honey
  • 15 grams caster sugar
  • 15 ml thickened cream
  • 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Instructions

Brown Butter Almond Base

  1. Place the 170g butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
  2. Allow it to melt and foam, stirring or swirling occasionally. Continue cooking until the milk solids on the bottom become deep golden brown and the butter smells intensely nutty.
  3. Don’t stop at pale gold. That properly toasted beurre-noisette flavour is important here.
  4. Immediately pour the butter into a mixing bowl, making sure you scrape in all the browned milk solids.
  5. Leave to cool for 10–15 minutes. It should still be liquid but no longer hot.
  6. Preheat the oven to 170°C conventional / 150°C fan. Line a 20cm square baking tin with baking paper, leaving enough overhang to lift the finished bars out.
  7. Combine the GF flour blend, almond meal, caster sugar and salt. Add the cooled brown butter, egg yolk and vanilla.
  8. Mix until you have a soft, short dough that holds together when squeezed.
  9. If the dough still won’t hold together, add 1 tablespoon cold milk. Add a second tablespoon only if genuinely necessary.
  10. Set aside approximately 120g dough for the topping. Press the remainder evenly into the base of the prepared tin. Don’t pack it down excessively—you want a short, tender texture rather than a hard biscuit.
  11. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until set and just beginning to colour around the edges. Remove from the oven and leave for about 10 minutes.

Frangipane

  1. While the base is baking, beat the softened butter and caster sugar until smooth and slightly lighter. Add the almond meal and mix.
  2. Beat in the egg, followed by the vanilla, optional rum and salt. You should have a soft, spreadable almond cream.
  3. Gently spread the frangipane over the partially baked base.
  4. Break the reserved brown-butter dough into irregular pieces and scatter them over the frangipane. Don’t cover the entire surface. You want some frangipane visible between the pieces.

Salted Caramelised Almond Topping

  1. Place the butter, honey, caster sugar, cream and fine sea salt in a small saucepan. Heat gently until the butter has melted and everything is combined.
  2. Bring to a gentle simmer, then immediately remove from the heat. Fold through the flaked almonds until lightly coated.
  3. Spoon small clusters of caramelised almonds over the top of the bars, distributing them between the exposed frangipane and pieces of brown-butter dough.
  4. Finish with a small pinch of flaky sea salt. Return to the oven and bake for 22–28 minutes.