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Apricot Shortbread Bars

Name: Apricot Shortbread Bars
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 35 min
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)

Sep 16, 2017 · 31 Comments

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Apricot Shortbread 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 on table — Apricot Shortbread Bars

Apricot Shortbread 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 to bring home with us. 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.

Do apricots ripen off the tree

In my opinion they do not ripen after they’ve been picked, they only soften. Some people will tell you that if they are colored and soft when picked they will ripen. However, in my experience if they ripen any, it’s only slightly. Since apricots are such a delicate fruit, I guess they have to pick them before they’re ripe, or they would be mush by the time they made it to the East Coast. My advise is don’t bother buying apricots on the East coast, you’re going to have to stick to canned, frozen or dried.

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 squares, you’ll find that sweet apricot taste that comes from the fruit itself and not from a lot of added sugar like you get with most jams. What really pushes this recipe for apricot bars over the top in my book is the combination of coconut and pecans in the shortbread crust.

A batch of apricot bars on parchment paper — Apricot Shortbread Bars

How do you make Apricot Shortbread Bars

Step 1: Start out by boiling dried apricots until they are soft. Save some of the water to dissolve the sugar in 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 delicious shortbread and add toasted coconut and pecans to it 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.

Tips for cutting perfect bars

Once you’ve made the perfect apricot shortbread bar, you want to be able to have beautiful squares.

To get perfect squares for any dessert bar I always line the baking pan with parchment paper with enough to hang over the two ends of the pan. This way you can easily lift it out of the pan to cut. If you don’t have parchment paper, tin foil will also work.
For most recipes, it helps to first let the bars cool to room temperature and then refrigerate. This will help you get pretty cuts without the bars falling apart.

A single apricot bar on parchment paper — Apricot Shortbread Bars

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

Apricot Dijon Chicken
Cranberry Apricot Oatmeal Cookies
I’m going to try this dried apricot tart from The Spruce Eats
Dried apricot muffins sound delicious too from The Southern Plate

Looking for more delicious dessert bars

Pistachio lemon bars are great for an after dinner treat
Feel like summer, try some S’more Bars with Rice Krispies
Try a classic snickerdoodle like bar
If you like fruit, then you’ll love apple pie bars
Can’t decide between carrot cake or cheesecake, you’ll love carrot cake cheesecake bars

If you make Apricot Bars be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! I would love to see your creation.

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