Fresh Apricot Bars
Apricot bars are one of our favorite desserts to make when they’re sweet and in season. If you can find a good apricot jam, that works great too. 
Fresh Apricot Bars
Lately it seems our cooking at home has been driven by an over abundance of ingredients. Creativity from Copiousness, if you will. Not that we are complaining. Quite the opposite really, we couldn’t be happier. The garden is going blitzkrieg with its tomato production but we’re hoping the rats don’t get to them before we do. Driving up to Palm Springs a couple weeks ago we spotted the Dowling Fruit Orchard stand on the fringes of one of their orchards. We both looked at each other, not even needing to say that on the way home we must stop there.
Lucky, on our way back we had just made it, 5 minutes before close! Flats of peaches for less than $10. Flats that tasted like home garden picked. Mounds of apricots. Watermelons. Oh the fruits in all their glory! We snatched up as much as we figured we would be able to eat in a few brief minutes, not wanting to delay the hard working staff in getting them home.
Amazing Fresh Apricots
We ate, sucking juices as we bit, nearly half the flat of peaches on the way home. Probably would have ate it all if it weren’t for the apricots in all their deliciousness.
Once back home, the boxes of recently purchased tastiness now had to compete with the garden’s bounty. With the apricots life short lived, we made these fresh apricot bars to enjoy them a little longer. Hope you love them as much as we did. The apricots were briefly cooked to help break them down, then pureed and spread over, and baked with a crisp type of crust with the oats, butter, and brown sugar. It is a great way to use up an abundance of apricots. If you happen to get some apricots which are bit of a let down in straight snacking ability, these apricot bars will give them a chance to regain glory.
-Diane & Todd
2019 Update: Since that trip we planted a Blenheim Royal apricot tree. We’re now indulging in home grown apricots that are sweet like candy. And using all the extras for our apricot bars!
This recipe was originally published in 2013 and re-published in 2019.
Fresh Apricot Bar Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lbs (910g) ripe Apricots , cut in half & seeds removed
- 3/4 cup (150g) sugar , or to taste
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier), optional
- 1 cup (125g) flour
- 1/2 cup (110g) packed brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 cup (113g) cold unsalted butter (1 stick) , cut into small cubes
- 1 cup (90g) old fashioned oats
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 2 quart baking dish or 10" tart pan.
- Combine the apricots and sugar in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved and the apricots are soft (will vary tremendously depending on the ripeness of the apricots-very ripe apricots will only take minute or two - very firm apricots may take up to 10 minutes or more). Stir in the orange liqueur.
- Puree the apricots in a blender or food processor until smooth. Pour into a bowl and set in freezer to chill while you make the crust.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, salt, and baking soda. Pinch in the butter pieces into the flour mixture (or cut them into the flour with a pastry cutter), until it resembles coarse sand. Pinch in the oats until well combined.
- Press 2/3rds of the crust mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish (if using a tart pan, press the crust mixture up the sides too). Spread the apricot puree over the crust bottom. Sprinkle the remaining crust over the top of the apricot puree.
- Bake for 50-65 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.Allow to cool, then slice and serve. Store in the refrigerator.
I have made this recipe twice with fresh, super ripe apricots. Because they are so ripe, I don’t cook them at all, just toss them with 1/4 C sugar. I also substitute finely chopped almonds for the oats.
Love the addition of almonds. Thanks for sharing Rita!
Hi, if we are using jam, how much jam should we use?
Hi Em, we’re guessing about 2 cups of jam. Enjoy!
This was delicious!! Made the recipe as printed with no changes. the texture and thickness of the puree was perfect.
Do you think I could substitute butter with earth balance in this recipe without ruining it?
Hi Francine,
We haven’t tried it with anything other than butter, but it should work. We’d love to hear from you if you try it.
Thanks!
This is really delicious! Made two adjustments – removed sugar from the apricot mixture as my apricots were overripe and very sweet – and added some chia seeds to the blitzed apricots to make it a bit less liquid. This is a delicious dish and a great way to use apricots!
I just made the recipe with puréed apricots that I had frozen. I had some apricot liquor that I forgot to add but did put in a generous tablespoon of so of my homemade apricot jam and reduced sugar. I also toasted and chopped some pecans for the crust. I wasn’t sure of amount of apricots so I slightly reduced crust recipe and baked in square pan. If it works well, I still have more frozen puréed apricots from last year’s bounty in my yard. I love apricot desserts so I think this may be a new favorite to enjoy in the winter when my apricots are gone.
Yummy Wonderful!!! I had frozen apricots..merely thawed and used a 9X13, adding coconut and walnuts to crust (and dried cranberries but probably won’t add berries next time). THANKS SO MUCH!!
Living in China, I get excessive amounts of various traditional holiday foods each year, and every year I tell my students, friends, and their families to give me limited amounts because I have so many acquaintances that even if they each were to give me only 2-3 pieces of each item it would still be too much. They never listen. Each student will bring me 20-30 Chinese dumplings, 20-30 glutenous rice cakes, or 20-30 moon cakes. There is no way I can finish them. During June my students give me apricots. And as is common, they always give me more than I can eat. It does not help that fresh apricots have such a short shelf life. When I came across your recipe I was ecstatic. To be honest, the ones I made did not turn out looking as beautiful as the picture from your website, but they were delicious (and surprisingly simple) anyways.
Very yummy recipe to use up some seriously ripe apricots. I had bought a box of apricots for jam but had so much jam and no more jars. Found this recipe and loved it. Used instant porridge as that was all that was in pantry and it turned out well
Love the idea of using instant porridge! Thank you for sharing and so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
The apricot bars turned out yummy. ?. I didn’t have the gran mariner so used orange extract.