These Apricot Almond Bars are made with whole grain flour, oats, almonds, dried apricots and coconut. They're a great energy-boosting snack and the recipe is so easy to make.
Apricots and almonds are a match made in heaven. Whether it's in a bar, a cookie such as this Apricot and Almond Biscotti, in a scone or cake, the combination of almonds and dried apricots is really delicious.
These Apricot Almond Bars are lightly sweetened and are flavoured with orange zest and almond extract to enhance the flavour of almonds.
The bars are studded with pieces of chopped dried apricots which sweetens them and makes them chewy. Both the almonds and dried coconut add a nutty taste and texture to these bars.
These bars are both crunchy and chewy all in the same bite. The flavours and textures of this bar come together nicely to create a wholesome bar that is quick and simple to make.
How to Make these Bars
Making a batch of this almond apricot bar recipe means having healthy snacks around when you need them and a quick bar that you could grab when you're on the go.
Ingredients Overview:
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar
- Egg
- Almond extract
- Orange zest
- Whole wheat pastry flour
- Quick-cooking oats
- Baking soda and salt
- Dried apricots
- Almonds: You can use whole or slivered almonds.
- Coconut: I used unsweetened shredded coconut.
This is a really easy recipe to make. You can prepare ahead of time by coarsly chopping the almonds (if using whole almonds) and dried apricots. Simply set them aside until you're ready to make the bars.
Steps Overview:
- The first thing you'll need to do is line a 9×9-in baking pan with parchment paper and lightly butter the paper. Make sure to leave an overhang on opposite ends to make it easier to lift the bars out for cutting.
- If you haven't done so already, roughly chop the almonds and dried apricots and set them aside. You can also use slivered almonds (you won't need to chop these).
- Combine the butter and sugar into the bowl of your mixer and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add the egg, almond extract and orange zest and beat until the mixture is well combined.
- Add in the flour, oats, salt and baking soda and beat until mixed.
- Add the chopped apricots, almonds and dried coconut and beat until incorporated.
- Spread the dough into the pan and bake for approximately 18 to 22 minutes or until the top is lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let cool for 10 minutes. Using the ends of the paper liner, lift out of the pan and transfer on a wire rack to cool a bit more. While still slightly warm, cut into bars or squares of equal portions.
Though I have not tried this I believe you could substitute the wheat flour for almond flour in this recipe. This would make these bars gluten-free as long as the oats used are certified gluten-free. Please let me know in the comments if you give it a try 🙂.
Serving Suggestions
Serve the bars slightly warm or at room temperature. These Apricot Almond Bars are perfect on their own but even better with a good cup of coffee.
Storage Instructions
Cool the bars completely before storing in an airtight container.
You can freeze extra bars by wrapping them individually and then putting them in a freezer bag.
Remove the bars from the freezer as you need them. You can let them defrost in the refrigerator or on the counter. If you are in a hurry you can quickly defrost them in the microwave oven.
Enjoy!
More Almond Recipes
- Italian Amaretti Cookies
- Chocolate Amaretti Cookies
- Homemade Coconut and Seed Bars
- Chewy Almond Marzipan Bars
- Powdered Sugar Almond Cookies
Apricot Almond Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- ⅔ cup brown sugar packed
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup quick-cooking oats
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped dried apricots
- ½ cup coarsely chopped almonds
- ¼ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
Instructions
- Place a rack in the centre of your oven and preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Line a 9×9-in baking pan with parchment paper and lightly butter the paper.
- In the bowl of your mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add egg, almond extract and orange zest. Beat until well mixed.
- Add in flour, oats, salt and baking soda. Beat until combined.
- Add apricots, almonds and coconut. Beat until thoroughly mixed.
- Spread the dough into the pan and bake for approximately 22 minutes, until top is light golden brown.
- Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then using the ends of the paper liner, lift out of the pan and transfer on a wire rack to cool a bit more.
- While still slightly warm cut bars into desired size and let cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
- Using parchment paper to line the baking pan and leaving an overhang on opposite ends makes it easier to lift the bars out of the pan for cutting into even portions.
- You can freeze extra bars by wrapping them individually and then putting them in a freezer bag. Remove the bars from the freezer as you need them. You can let them defrost in the refrigerator or on the counter. If you are in a hurry you can defrost them in the microwave oven.
huntfortheverybest says
these look so wholesome and good!
Sweet and Savoury Pursuits says
Thanks!