Bee Sting Bars
Buttery shortbread is stopped with a sticky sweet honey almond topping for these easy Bee Sting Bars.
I love shortbread, I created this recipe after I fell in love with a little bakery called Baked & Wired that had a similar goodie. My first project when I got home? Recreate it.
It’s a spin off a German cake called Bienenstich (bee sting).
Bee Sting Bar Ingredients
SHORTBREAD
-Unsalted Butter
-Sugar
-Vanilla Extract
-Kosher Salt
-Flour
Almond Topping
-Unsalted Butter
-Sugar
-Honey
-Amaretto
-Vanilla Extract
-Sliced Almonds
- Make a standard shortbread dough by creaming butter and sugar, then adding flour until the dough is crumbly:
- Press it out into an 8×8 pan:
- Combine all almond syrup ingredients in a saucepan, and bring to a full boil:
- Pour the almond topping on top of the shortbread and bake. Cut into squares and enjoy!
Did you enjoy the recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. Or, follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest!
Bee Sting Bars
Ingredients
For the Shortbread:
- 12 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 8.5 oz flour, by weight (1.75 cups, measured)
For the almond topping:
- 6 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp amaretto
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1.25 cups sliced almonds
Instructions
- Make the shortbread by creaming together the butter and sugar for a couple minutes until combined. Add the vanilla extract and salt, and mix in. Add the flour and mix until distributed. The dough is going to look extremely crumbly. You should still be able to press it into an 8×8 pan.
- Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine all almond topping ingredients in a saucepan, and bring to a full boil over medium high heat. Let it cook for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat.
- Pour the almond topping on top of the shortbread and bake for 20 minutes. Let it cool in the pan, then cut it into squares. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
46 Comments on “Bee Sting Bars”
This was terrific but the middle of the pan was underdone. I even cooked it for an additional 10min. I suggest par baking the shortbread and then cooking it to fully done with the topping. Really was excellent and I’ll definitely make it again!!
Is there much alcohol taste from the amaretto?
I’m still waiting for someone/anyone to tell me if they think I could substitute Kailua instead of amaretto. I can’t wait to make them, but don’t want to buy o bottle of booze that would never be used except for this recipe.
Hi Audrey, You will not want to use Kahlua instead of amaretto but you could skip the amaretto completley. It adds some extra flavor but wont change the bars. you can also add 1tsp of almond extract to add the almond flavor. I hope you enjoy!
Has anyone tried using almond extract instead of vanilla? Also, I have Kailua, and no amaretto. Whatcha all think? Can’t wait to make this. Yummy butter 🧈!
When using almond extract just use a little less than what you would use with vanilla, it can be a little over powering sometimes!
Can you freeze these after baking? Thanks
Yeah my dough was also not at all cooked. But every other site I’m seeing eggs in the dough.