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. We’ve lost the battle for the blueberries with the mockingbirds, but that has distracted them from the sweet flesh of the plums, necta-plums, and soon to be pluots. Although they now have discovered the white peaches up front, but all isn’t lost since we missed protecting the early buds from getting bugged out, so most of the peaches are a doomed anyway.
We just finished another KitchenAid shoot, this time for 22 recipes, which has left us with a surplus delectable ingredients. Time for the heroes to be eaten!
And as if that wasn’t enough to keep us busy trying to make sure nothing went to waste, 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.
Visions of the fruit stand danced through our heads while we were relaxed in the cool Riveria Palm Springs hotel and then explored town while dealing with the triple digit heat of Palm Springs summer. And again later as we went from nearly sea level, up the tram to about 8500′, then hiked another 5+ miles up to San Jacinto peak, at roughly 10,800′. Neither the swank, the heat, the lack of oxygen, nor the “we’re not in shape to hike over 11 miles at elevation but did it anyway” could push the thought of that fruit stand from our minds.
Coming down from the mountain, the day was quickly dwindling. We hopping into the truck as well our spent legs enabled, and scurried down the highway, praying that Dowlings would still be open, and that we would remember exactly where it was at. Scanning the opposite side of the road, trying to recall nearby landmarks, we had nearly given up hope. We must have missed it not always able to see over the highway divider. Then, suddenly, there it was.
We dived in, the sun dropping, and the produce about to be carted away for the evening. We had just made it, 5 minutes before close! Flats of peaches for $7.90. 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.
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.
-Todd
print recipeFresh Apricot Bar Recipe
Yield: about 12 Bars
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Makes great use of an overabundance of apricots, or revitalizes the flavor of off-season apricots. If you don't have fresh apricots on hand, substitute apricot jam. If your apricots aren't very sweet, adjust sugar amount to taste.
Ingredients:
- 2 lbs (910g) ripe Apricots
- 3/4 cup (150g) sugar, or to taste
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) orange liqueur (such as Grand Marnier)
- 1 cup (125g) flour
- 1/2 cup (110g) packed brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher or Sea Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 cup (113g) cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 1 cup (90g) old fashioned oats
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 2 quart baking dish.
- 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). 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. Spread the apricot puree over the crust bottom. Sprinkle the remaining crust over the top of the apricot puree.
- Bake for 1 hour or until the crust is golden brown.
- Allow to cool, then slice and serve. Store in the refrigerator.
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Recipe Note for Salt: All recipes containing salt are based on kosher or sea salt amounts, not table salt. If using table salt, reduce the amount used to taste.
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Can I freeze this?
Hi Marge,
We’ve never tried freezing them. If you do, let us know how it works out. Thanks!
Last year I canned several bottles of apricot butter, they stayed runny. I just made this recipe and used my messed up apricot butter, it was delish! Thank you for the great recipe!!!
So glad it worked well for you! Even a “messed up” apricot butter it delicious!
I love this recipe, used blueberries and a little lemon and some zest. Fantastic!
I just made these and they haven’t cooled yet, and I just typed them with ice cream. Delicious recipe and so easy! Thank you
I happen to LOVE fresh apricots (not a snacking let down at all, here!), and often want to bake with them. I always end up using apricot jam instead because I just can’t help myself and eat them all. Apricots JUST made a comeback into our local grocery store the last couple of weeks, so I snatched up a lot of them. The grocery bagger helped me load my goodies into the back of my car while I wrangled the 18 month old into her carseat, and when I got home, they were all smushed and practically jam already. This recipe saved the day!! They are in the oven now, smelling AMAZING. I can’t wait for my family to eat them for breakfast tomorrow (and I will eat one or two tonight for dessert! :P)
This is hands down the most amazing combination of crust and apricot i’ve ever tasted. There were so many overripe, mushy and not excellently sweet apricots in the house that i had more than the two pounds needed for the recipe. absolutely no problem though. Put it all on the crust, which was one of the best crusts i’ve ever tasted, and it was the perfect amount! didn’t even last a day. Thankyou for apricot heaven.
hey guys! i haven’t used my puree yet as it’s chilling but Im wondering what the thickness level should be. Mine seems a bit pourable. Is there a volume amount of the filling that you recommend that is ideal to spread on the bars, for ex, 1 c, 2 c? Thanks in advance : )
I’d say it would be about 2 1/2 cup of puree. The thickness you describe sounds about right. Good luck!
Thanks! Haha since I originally wrote that I’ve already made two (smaller) batches of these. I decided to add a few spoonfuls of homemade wild raspberry jam to the apricot puree. This fixed my concern with the thickness and also tasted amazing. So good! Thanks : )
I just got a bunch of fresh apricots at the farmers market yesterday! I’d love to make this. Any substitutions for orange liqueur? I love the idea to use it in the recipe, but we’re unfortunately out at the moment, and that’s the only ingredient I’m lacking. Otherwise, I’d get to making them right this second!
You could use vanilla extract or even just omit it. Brandy or a dark rum would be nice too.
I only have the quick cooking kind of oats. Will that make that much of a difference?
They might work but we haven’t tried the recipe with them. If you give it a shot we’d love to hear how it comes out.
Yumm! looks fantastic!
I made these the other day, but modified them a bit (sorry, I can’t help myself!). I used an assortment of stone fruit and included coconut and almond meal in the crumble mix. They made an excellent brunch. I’ve blogged about them and linked back to you. Thanks for the recipe!
now i just have to find a surplus of apricots somewhere. Hmmm off on the hunt i go.
These apricot bars look delicious and healthy. will try these soon Thanks
I actually like going to Palm Springs during the summer months. Intense heat. Poolside drinks. Brunch beneath misters. Not sure if I could handle hiking though 😉
This summer has been all about apricots for me, so I am LOVING these bars. Need to try this.
One of my favorite summer desserts is fruit bars like this. My current favorite is my recipe for blueberry bars with an almond crumble, but I like the addition of oats in this, more like a breakfast treat. How do you think this recipe would do with rehydrated dried apricots?
http://www.theneverendingstomach.com/
That’s one of the best things about spring… so much delicious fruit to enjoy! I can see myself making this with apricots, peaches, or any fruit that is ripe and sweet. Thanks! 🙂
What a perfect way to use up those apricots. These bars are gorgeous!
Lovely idea as I, too, am an apricot lover. Baked them today, very tasty but I think I would have liked a firmer filling. They cut nicely once refrigerated but still too jam like in the center. Any suggestions for a denser filling? A nice topping for ice cream, however.
I make a version of these based on Martha Stewart’s Cranberry Crumble bars, but I use my home-canned apricot cardamom butter instead (it’s the same process as cooking down and pureeing the apricots in this recipe, but it is gently simmered until the excess moisture in the apricots evaporates. Apricot puree thickens really nicely naturally, and I usually can cook down a small batch of apricot butter in about 10-15 minutes. (Plus, if you make extra or have any left over, it’s delicious on cornbread, biscuits, or grilled chicken!)
These photographs are so, incredibly gorgeous… I’m obsessed with them! 🙂 Such a lovely post.
We usually just eat fresh apricots…rapidly. But your bars recipe have inspired me to take the leap, and bake with them. Thanks!
Killer recipe! What is it about apricots that make them so special?
Thank you for the suggestion about using jam. I am not in a stone fruit season yet, so jam is a great alternative to get that sweet tartness. I had the same problem with mangoes last season, so many that we had mango puree pouring from the fridge!
We don’t get a lot of fresh produce here, but it looks good to try with some of the turkish apricots I just bought!
This sounds incredible. I might try a variation with all the yummy peaches we’re getting here NY right now!
I have never actually had an apricot, but I am pretty sure I would them. especially if they were stuffed into this incredible looking bar. Oh my gosh, I love the way these look. So good!
I love apricots. Good apricots are hard to come by in my neck of the woods. I’ll have to find some so I can make this, it looks delish!
mmmm, yum! I absolutely love apricots 🙂
No chance of fresh ones now in the middle of winter, but there might still be some cooked ones lurking in the freezer…
I’ve somehow gone through life never making anything with fresh apricots, and this is definitely the recipe to change that. Looks lovely!
Creativity from Copiousness – love that. I could use some of that inspiration when it comes to my own pantry. I need to thin the stash.
The bars are gorgeous. And I love how you made almost a Grand Marnier infused jam with them with cooking/pureeing them first. I’ve only ever added whole fruit to crumbles/bars. I love your idea.
Congrats on your KitchenAid shoot, too!