These Almond Roca Bars are famous in our family! They are the easiest dessert to whip up and can be done in 20 minutes flat. Buttery brown sugar shortbread flavored with almond extract, topped with chocolate chips that melt into a gorgeous layer!

We had Charlotte’s first birthday party! It was a crazy weekend, and so much fun. Eric’s parents and sister were in town staying in our apartment. Plus we threw a surprise party for my sister-in-law Britta, so I was being destroyed by working on the tardis cake off and on. Plus my other sister-in-law Reesy and I decided to throw ourselves the most epic first birthday party ever.

You will note that I did not claim it as Charlotte’s party. Let’s be honest, Charlotte won’t remember it. But we wanted to throw a fun party, so why the heck not?

Reesy is an amazing graphic designer. She thought it would be fun to design everything for the party, and who am I to say no to stuff that would have cost a fortune if I had bought it?

The day of the party was insane. I ran around like a crazy woman all morning, finishing up everything for Charlotte’s party and Britta’s as well. Our apartment is small, so we decided to have it at Reesy’s house, an hour away. We were about 10 minutes from arriving when I realized with a horrible gut wrench that I had forgotten the cupcakes. Kind of major for a birthday party. I started freaking out. Eric, being the amazing man that he is, offered to drive back to get them. (In retrospect, this is insane. We should have headed to the nearest bakery. I obviously wasn’t thinking.)

About 15 minutes after he left, Charlotte needed a change and I realized that the diaper bag was still in the car with Eric. So Reesy ran to the store for diapers and wipes while I tried to force Charlotte to eat something (oh did I mention that she was sick with the flu?) Then I get a text from Eric that says: I made a sandwich and forgot the cupcakes. I’m turning around now.

I totally thought he was joking. Nope. He made a sandwich. And forgot the cupcakes. And made it halfway back before he realized that he had forgotten the cupcakes. And that was when I finally started laughing instead of attempting to tear my hair out.

These Almond Roca Bars are another classic from Eric’s family. They are addictive because they are so fast. They are literally done in 20 minutes. And they are sooooo good. I usually under bake them so that they stay soft for days. Yum.

Happy birthday Charlotte! And happy sandwich, Eric! I hope that PB&J was worth the effort.

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Almond Roca Bars

5 from 5 votes
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 12 Servings
Almond Roca Bars: the easiest dessert to make! They are done in 20 minutes. Buttery shortbread flavored with almond, topped with chocolate!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, 2 sticks
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 & 1/2 or 2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions

  • Beat butter with sugars. Add egg, almond, and salt. Beat in flour. Spread in a 9x13 pan. (Wet your fingers if the dough sticks).
  • Bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes, or until it is set on the edges (and set in the middle, too, if you like them to be a little crispy).
  • Sprinkle generously with chocolate chips immediately after baking. Let it sit for 10 minutes or so (this is hard.
  • Sometimes I cheat and stick it back in the still-warm oven, but if you do this only leave it in for about a minute or two, otherwise your chocolate will get all weird on you.)
  • Spread the chips around when they have melted.
  • Don't eat all at one time.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 455kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 204mg | Potassium: 45mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 493IU | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 455
Keyword: Almond, bars, roca
Did you make this? I'd love to see it!Mention @thefoodcharlatan or tag #thefoodcharlatan!

 

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Comments

  1. Could almond flour be substituted in the Roca bars? Trying to cut back on carbs. I will use Swerve sugar and Lilly’s sugar free chocolate chips. Thanks

    1. Hi Krista! I haven’t tried this with almond flour but since there is no leavening in this recipe I think it would work out great. Let me know how it goes!

  2. I just had to comment on this post – again.  This post and the one where you wear Jessie’s shirt she loaned to Reesy and Reesy gave away it and you picked up her leftovers are BY FAR my favorite, favorite posts.  Even though I knew what was coming (as I’ve read this post so many times – I’m lame like that) I STILL LAUGHED OUT LOUD!  

    And I’m still waiting for ALL-MONDS on top of the ALL-MOND Roca bars.  (I bet I could eat the entire pan myself.)

  3. What kind of chocolate chips do you recommend? Milk chocolate or semi sweet? These look delicious!!!

  4. I couldn’t stop smiling over you little history about you and Eric. So cute.😊
    Happy anniversary to both of you.

    Sometimes I think that people from United States have a different up growing from us in Denmark 🇩🇰.
    Because it seems that you often get married earlier than us and also do you stick together no matter what.
    I think the divorce rate is much higher in Denmark than in United States.
    We are a small country an not many will going though life without getting divorced or are a child of divorce parents.
    Sad to say..

    I have another picture of you Americans. Do you think it’s different over in your State?

    Sorry to ask..

  5. I love this story. LOL!

    I’m going to have to make these for my husband. I think he’ll love them. It’s our 10th anniversary in July!

    1. Hooray! So happy you loved it Zawadi! It’s a family favorite :) thanks for reviewing!

  6. I’ve decided that my life won’t be complete until I own a tutu like your daughter’s, so precious. Where exactly I would wear that tutu is up for debate.

    1. Easy. Wear it to Charlotte’s second birthday party. Except that she is extremely fashionable, thanks to her aunts and not me. She will probably take one look at you and say Wow Ami, that tutu is so last season. (Clueless, anyone??) You are not alone though, I expect her to start making these type of comments to me soon as well.

  7. so much hilarity on this post! i empathize with eric, i’ve gone to get something and totally come back with something else too many times… the decorations look awesome, tell reesy she makes many wedding receptions look shabby in comparison :)

    i am putting a big star by this recipe, it sounds so delicious – who can go wrong with almonds!

  8. So fun, so funny(Eric and The Sandwich – this is a story that should go down in family history lore for certain) and so cute! Oh, and I can’t forget so yummy! The almond roca bars, and all the birthday treats!

      1. I got this recipe from a roommate in college. I’m pretty sure it was Darlene Stinger Goodall. Reesy was roommates with her daughter for a summer at Ricks. Darlene was an awesome cook and taught me how to make bread (the boys would come visit us a lot on bread-making days). Technically, the Almond Roca Bars are supposed to have chopped almonds (pronounced “all-monds, Karen) but since several children in the family don’t care for nuts I got in the habit of never putting nuts on top. Now that everyone is gone (the nut-haters I mean) I sprinkle slivered or chopped almonds on them – just for me!

      2. I worked for several years with a gal whose family owned large Almond farms in Southern California. Every year she would bring in hand packaged bunches of almonds for everyone at Christmas time. She insisted that the L in almonds is silent and the correct pronunciation is ‘Amands…the A is flat as in family

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