Apricot Bars with dried apricots are covered in a mouthwatering buttery shortbread crust of coconut and pecans. You don’t have to wait for apricot season to enjoy sweet apricots.
Apricot Bars bring back childhood memories for me. My grandfather had an apricot tree in his backyard and every summer we would can and dry all the apricots we couldn’t eat. I’ve never been able to find apricots on the East coast like they grow in California. The ones we get in the grocery don’t even come close to what I remember. All winter long, we would eat dried apricots and apricot jam and canned apricots. It was our go-to fruit. I think about the closest you can get to the real thing is dried apricots. For these Apricot Bars, you’ll find that sweet apricot taste that comes from the fruit itself and not from a lot of added sugar. What really pushes these over the top in my book is the combination of coconut and pecans in the shortbread crust.
How do you make Apricot Bars
Step 1: Boil dried apricots until they are soft. Save some of the water to dissolve the sugar and then add the softened chopped apricots to the sugar mixture. By using chopped apricots that have been softened, you get more texture to the bar then if you just used jam.
Step 2: Make a shortbread and add toasted coconut and pecans and place three quarters of it in the bottom of the pan and bake it for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Add the apricot mixture to the partially baked crust and top with the remaining shortbread and finish baking.
I shipped these to Natalie and she loved them. I would suggest taking these to your next tail gate or pot luck. While brownies are the standard for tail gates, these can withstand the heat and still keep their crunch. Plus it’s something a little different that everyone will love. Nana sent me this recipe from an old Junior League Cookbook printed in the 80’s from Owensboro Ky. I love these old cookbooks, you can find some of the best recipes.More recipes that use apricots
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Apricot Bars
You don’t have to wait for apricot season to enjoy sweet apricots. Apricot Bars with dried apricots are covered in a mouthwatering buttery shortbread crust of coconut and pecans.
Print Pin RatePrep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 28
Calories: 180
Ingredients
- 12 ounces dried apricots (11/2 cups)
- 1 ¾ cups sugar sugar divided
- ¾ cup butter softened
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sweetened coconut toasted
- ½ cup pecans chopped
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350º. Line a 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper.
- 2. In a small saucepan, cover apricots with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20 minutes until soft. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup water. Place water back in saucepan and add 3/4 cup sugar. Cook over medium heat until sugar has dissolved.
- 3. Chop apricots and add to saucepan.
- 4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter and 1 cup sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, soda and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix until combined. Add toasted coconut and pecans.
- 5. Place 3/4 of the mixture into prepared pan, pressing it with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake for 10 minutes until it is golden brown. Remove from oven and spread apricot mixture over the crust. Sprinkle the remaining crust over the top and bake an additional 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Nutrition
Calories: 180kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 95mg | Potassium: 170mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 590IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg
This recipe is amazing! I made them this weekend with dried apricots as you suggested and everyone loved them. The toasted coconut makes the crust taste delicious. A fantastic buttery fall dessert! This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!
I’m so glad you liked them. I thought the crust was the best part!
OMG!!! I searched for just this recipe, bars based on apricots and coconut. I just made these and I am sitting here seriously eating one warm. Couldn’t even wait. Anyway I did drizzle thinly with a lemon royal icing and all I can say is this recipe is going into to Superbowl menu that I am planning now. That and thank you Barbara!!
Oh my, lemon glaze sounds fabulous.
Wow! I usually go toward chocolate but with not a morsel in the house, I remembered these. The crust is a little piece of heaven! I seriously don’t know how else to say it.. I’m a fan of shortbread but the addition of coconut and pecans put this right over the top! I also didn’t have any dried apricots but used some jam that I thinned out a bit. I cut them into small bite size pieces and have to stop myself from popping one into my mouth when I walk by. Easy, delicious, and beyond heavenly! Thank you Barbara!
Great way to improvise with jam! I’m such a fan of anything with coconut. Glad these were a success.