Almond Joy Cream Pie Bars |Cooking With Amanda

I have decided to spend this summer annoying my children as much as humanly possible.

If you think about it, it's quite a proactive approach to what can often be a very difficult situation.

I've turned the list of my son's daily chores into a song. He walks into the room and there I am, beat boxing and trying to find words that rhyme with "dishwasher" and "trash". He literally RUNS away and begins doing his chores immediately.

No asking if he can wait until later. No asking if he's getting paid. No negotiating.

Every day at around 10 am, I've started asking my children what we are having for lunch. Sometimes I wait until they are taking their very last bite of breakfast before I start questioning them about it. By the time it's actually time for lunch, they just want me to leave them alone. They don't even care what kind of food is involved.

Honestly, it's like I've unlocked a secret to the universe.

My normally "bored" children are finding all kinds of things to do. Drawing contests! Building towers! All the You Tube videos in the world! I'm like "hey guys…hey. Hey can you come here for a minute? Hey…can you add Pop Tarts to the grocery list? Can you find me a green pen? Do you know where my other blue sock went?" and they are literally tripping over themselves to get as far away from me as possible.

I'm just saying that there's a strong chance that this will be my best summer ever.

In light of this, I've got all kinds of time on my hands. Time to bake brownies, eat frosting straight from the can, read lots of books, and catch up on all of my DVR'd episodes of Dr. Phil. What more can anyone want from life, I ask?

Well. These Almond Joy Pie bars, for one. They're less fussy than traditional pie, but even more delicious. Every bite is perfect!

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Almond Joy Cream Pie Bars Recipe

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Ingredients

For the Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup powdered sugar
12 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes

For the Filling:

1/4 cup cornstarch
1 cup granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, melted
3 1/4 cups half and half, or cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, or vanilla bean paste
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut

For the Ganache:

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons light corn syrup

For Topping:

1 cup sliced almonds

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl, mix together flour and powdered sugar for crust. Cut in butter (I use my hands, but you could also use a fork or a food processor) until the mixture forms a dough.
Pat it into a 9x13 pan and bake for about 10 minutes, until puffed and golden around the edges.

Prepare Filling:

In a medium-sized heavy saucepan, whisk together cornstarch and sugar.
Whisk in the melted butter and half and half. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is the consistency of a thick pudding.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and coconut.
Pour into pan and spread evenly over crust.
Place pan in the refrigerator and let cool completely.

Prepare Ganache:

In a microwave safe bowl, heat chocolate chips and heavy cream, stopping to stir every 20 seconds until smooth.
Stir in light corn syrup and let sit until thickened and cooled.
Pour over bars and spread to edges.
Immediately sprinkle with sliced almonds.