• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

To make the crust:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
• Add the cut butter and shortening to the bowl with the flour and sugar.
• In a small bowl, add the vanilla extract to the eggs. Add the eggs and vanilla to the large bowl with the flour, butter, and sugar. Mix this mixture with your hands by squeezing and pressing until it comes together into a soft dough with no dry spots.
• Press the dough into an even layer that covers the entire the bottom of the half-sheet pan. This will take a few minutes of pressing and flattening. It will happen. Set aside.

To make the filling:

• In a medium bowl, stir together the pie filling and almond extract. Use a spatula to spread the pie filling evenly over the entire crust end to end. Set aside.

To make the topping:

• In the same large bowl used to make the crust, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the 12 pieces of cut butter along with the vanilla extract to the bowl. Use a pastry blender to work the butter into the flour and sugar forming a light crumble. This will take several minutes, but it will happen.
• Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the entire surface of the fruit kuchen and then sprinkle generously with the red and green sugars, if desired.

To bake:

• Place the Kringle Kuchen into the center of the preheated oven and bake for 60 minutes, or until the topping is lightly golden in color and the fruit filling is bubbling around the sides.
• Remove the kuchen to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into squares and serving.