Almond Orange Squares-Gluten free while not even trying to be!

I know the rage is all gluten free and I get it. A few years ago our eldest son introduced the Primal Diet and Crossfit workouts. For a time the whole family was converted and we ate no grains and very little sugar (well,... kind of and most of us). Although I think we already were very healthy eaters and I always served a big variety of fresh vegetables and fruits, we did make many meals stretch with pasta and potatoes and home made breads. The activity level of this household is a work out in itself. In fact, many of the kid's visiting friends complained that coming here was like going to a PE class. I always said that my kids run for fun. Our back yard has a  circus rope to climb up and swing down from the tree, pull up bars, ping pong table, and even lots of mud where they dig holes for fun.
This no grain, lots of  meat and  nuts and vegetable diet and crazy workouts  is good and we still adhere to it I would say about 75% of the time. When I was trying to lose the last pounds from bearing 9 babies, I really became a bit more diligent and focused more on workouts and diet. It's a hard things to follow all of the time. The test of my faithfulness to all this came with my last trip to Sweden and when our son told me to not eat any bread or dairy there !!! Really? In Sweden? Sorry, I couldn't adhere to that , yet, I do know that moderation and not over eating and staying active each day is really the key to healthy living.

So, back to these amazing almond bars. We fell upon this in one of our basic cookbooks and were amazed. It doesn't take any flour. Sure, there is a bit of sugar in the almond paste, but for those who truly have found gluten to be a culprit,  they will be delighted with this treat. It is still the one our son requests. These are the main ingredients-plus eggs:

Winter in California brings a load of citrus to  many people here and around the world.

It seems just about every other house has an orange, lemon, tangerine, or grapefruit tree. Most trees are loaded with fruit and much of it goes uneaten. This winter we happened upon friends who had extra  oranges and mandarins for us to pick. The real treat has been the blood oranges. My kids love to climb trees and are ready to brave the thorns and gather in the fruit. Much of it is within reach so I stand at the base and pick what I can and also catch the falling ones.

blood orange

They are intriguing to look at-almost like a pink grapefruit but still a juicy sweet orange. We usually juice them and try to freeze some for later. I say try because everyone wants some and it is quickly gone. This year I added them to this recipe. The taste is much the same as a navel orange-it's the color that is so amazing.
So, with the load of oranges, my birthday present of Blue Diamond Almond paste from  a dear friend whos hubby works for the company, and a block of dark chocolate, we were ready to make this up once  again. Only thing lacking was that our lazy backyard chickens were taking a  winter break from egg laying. Oh well, eggs are pretty inexpensive.


Almond Orange Squares with Dark Chocolate

Set oven to 350

400g of almond paste- (14 oz)
zest from 1/2 an orange
juice from one orange
4 eggs

Garnish
125g or 4 oz of  dark chocolate-add more if you like it thick!
sliced almonds-optional

Line  a  8 x 12 inch or 10 inch square pan with paper. I think this works best but if you don't have parchment paper it works to grease and flour the pan. I usually double this recipe so I use a glass rectangular baking dish.

Grate the almond paste into coarse chunks. Add the orange juice and zest.

Separate the eggs, placing the whites in smaller mixer bowl.

Beat the egg yolks, one at a time, into the almond and juice mixture, beating well after each one.

almond mixture

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Here is where I always love my hand mixer-look for them at garage sales and thrift stores. They always come in handy-no pun intended!

egg whites

Carefully fold the egg the egg whites into the almond mixture. Spread onto the  prepared pan.

baked to a perfect golden color

Bake on a low oven rack for 25-30 minutes. 

Once you remove the pan from the oven, immediately place your chocolate on top so it can melt and be smoothed out. If you like, you can grate your chocolate . I put these thick squares down and they melted perfectly.

I've also used all the left over chocolate bars and chocolate chips in the cupboard and it makes a great topping.. Sprinkle with almonds if you desire . Cut into squares. I learned my lesson and tried to cut them after the chocolate cooled! Works best when the chocolate is still warm and soft.

Enjoy!
I think I might try another batch with these beautiful tangerines.....