Canada Squares Recipe: Patriotic Maple Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
• 0.5 cup butter
• 0.33 cup seedless raspberry jam
• 0.67 cup white sugar
• 0.5 cup butter, softened
• 2 eggs eggs
• 0.67 cup rice flour
• 10 drops red food coloring, or as needed
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar, or as needed
• 0.33 cup butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon milk, or as needed
• 1 teaspoon maple extract

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, ensuring to crease the corners well.
2. In a bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoons of confectioners' sugar. Cut in ½ cup of butter using 2 knives or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Press this base mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
3. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Let it cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes. Evenly spread raspberry jam over the cooled base.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
5. Beat together white sugar and ½ cup of butter until the mixture becomes fluffy. Beat in the eggs until the mixture is fluffy and pale yellow. Beat in the rice flour until well combined, then stir in the food coloring until the filling batter reaches your desired shade of red. Spread the filling evenly over the jam layer.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, approximately 30 minutes. Allow it to cool completely in the pan for about 20 minutes.
7. In a bowl, beat together 2 cups of confectioners' sugar and ⅓ cup of butter with an electric mixer until smooth. Stir in the milk and maple extract. Spread the icing evenly over the cooled bars.
8. Lift the squares out of the pan by holding the edges of the parchment paper and transfer them to a cutting board. Use a very sharp knife to slice the dessert into 1-inch squares.

Nutrition

• Calories: 156 kcal
• Fat Content: 8 g
• Fiber Content: 0 g
• Sugar Content: 15 g
• Sodium Content: 59 mg
• Protein Content: 1 g
• Cholesterol Content: 32 mg
• Carbohydrate Content: 20 g
• Saturated Fat Content: 5 g
• Unsaturated Fat Content: 0 g