Apricot Oat Bars
Who decided that National Apricot Day should be on January 9th…when fresh apricots are waaaaay out of season?! Not to worry though. If you want to celebrate National Apricot Day next Wednesday, here’s a great recipe to do just that. Our Apricot Oat Bars combine toasty oats and brown sugar with a tangy apricot filling made with dried apricots. You will love these easy to make bar cookies any time of year!
We love using Trader Joe’s Organic Toasted Oats in this recipe.
If you have trouble finding good dried apricots, we suggest checking out nuts.com
They’ve got a great selection of nuts and dried fruits, not to mention other hard to find ingredients…and their packaging is fun too!
Apricot Oat Bars
Filling
- 8.5 oz (about 2 cups) dried apricots, chopped
- 1 C +/- water (enough to cover)
- 1/3 C (2.4 oz) sugar (more or less to taste)
Base and topping
- 2 C (7.4 oz) old fashioned oats
- 2 C (9 oz) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ C (11.5 oz) light brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 sticks plus 1 TBS (8.5 oz) unsalted butter cut into small cubes, at room temp
For the filling:
Combine all ingredients in pot and simmer uncovered 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Break up apricots using potato masher or put in food processor and blend until smooth. Put mixture in bowl to cool.
For the base and topping:
Preheat oven 350. Line 9×13 pan with foil and spray with pan release. In medium bowl whisk oats, flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt. Using pastry blender, work in butter until well combined. Press half of mixture (about 18.5oz) into prepared pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes until just beginning to brown around edges. Spread filling evenly over hot base. Sprinkle reserved oat mixture evenly over top. Return to oven and continue baking for about 20-25 minutes more until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.
Use foil overhang to remove from pan and cut into bars. Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. Serve at room temperature.
Makes about 48 bars