Prep Time : 15 Minutes | Cook Time : 30 Minutes | Total Time : 1 hour | Difficulty : Easy
Hello my lovelies! Now that you have a haul of gorgeous sunny jam or if you just love apricot things lets get down to business. These bars have lots of my favourite things. Apricots. Jam. Oats. Sesame. They also remind me of a time and place. When I was younger I used to go to the corner bakery and get these trashy apricot squares. They were two layers of soft shortcake sandwiched with a tall layer of stiffly gelled apricot filling. There’s a good chance that nothing approaching a real ripe apricot ever went near them. But they were gooey and tart and I loved them. Today we are taking a soft shortcake base and slathering it in good jam before sprinkling it with chewy, nutty buttery goodness. I mean it’s practically cereal with all those oats and fruit… These bars are a breeze to throw together. I recommend getting an adjustable or loose bottomed rectangular pan if you can get your hands on one. It just makes life easier. When the bars are cold you just pull apart the two pieces and cut them up right on the cutting board. It work’s particularly well for slices that have fillings or delicate tops.
Heat the oven to 180C (350F). Line your pan with baking paper. Make sure it goes up the sides as well as the jam can stick during baking.
To make the base, cream the butter and sugar.
Add the egg and egg yolk and beat until well combined. Beat in the vanilla. It will probably be a bit curdled. That’s totally fine.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Gently mix to a soft dough.
Take 2/3 of this mixture and press into the base of an 8 to 9 inch square pan that has been lined with baking paper. Dust your hands with flour to help pat it out without sticking. It will seem like there isn’t enough in a 9 inch pan but there is. It will rise during baking and come out just right. I like the proportions in a 9 inch pan but you can use an 8 inch. The bars will be quite tall in an 8 inch pan.
Add the oats, coconut and toasted sesame seeds to the remaining third of the dough. I am using a mix of black and white sesame because I like how it looks .
Spread the jam over the base and then sprinkle over the crumble topping. Be generous with the jam. Break the crumble topping up into little pieces rather than large clumps.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top is dark golden.
Let the bars cool in the pan before lifting out and slicing into squares.
Dust with a little icing sugar and stuff your face full of sunshine.
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Apricot Crumble Bars
Prep Time : 15 mins | Cook Time : 30 mins | Total Time : 1 hour | Difficulty : Easy | Makes : 16 medium squares
Golden buttery shortcake topped with sunny apricot jam and chewy crumble pieces.
Ingredients:
- 7 tablespoons (100 grams) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 + 2/3 cups (235 grams) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup (50 grams) fine rolled oats
- 1/2 cup (40 grams) unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 generous cup apricot jam.
– If using metric cups, reduce volume measures by 1 tablespoon for every cup of dry or liquid ingredients –
Equipment:
- Standing or hand-held electric mixer
- 9 inch square pan lined with baking paper
Directions:
Heat the oven to 180C (350F). Line your pan with baking paper. Make sure it goes up the sides as well as the jam can stick during baking.
To make the base, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and egg yolk and beat until well combined. Beat in the vanilla. It will probably be a bit curdled. That’s totally fine.
Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Gently mix to a soft dough.
Take 2/3 of this mixture and press into the base of an 8 to 9 inch square pan that has been lined with baking paper. Dust your hands with flour to help pat it out without sticking. It will seem like there isn’t enough in a 9 inch pan but there is. It will rise during baking and come out thicker. I like the proportions in a 9 inch pan but you can use an 8 inch. The bars will be quite tall in an 8 inch pan.
Add the oats, coconut and toasted sesame seeds to the remaining third of the dough. I am using a mix of black and white sesame because I like how it looks .
Spread the jam over the base and then sprinkle over the crumble topping. Be generous with the jam. Break the crumble topping up into little pieces rather than large clumps.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top is dark golden.
Let the bars cool in the pan before lifting out and slicing into squares.
Dust with a little icing sugar and stuff your face full of sunshine.
Cook’s Notes:
- If you are using your own jam and it’s a bit runny stir 2 teaspoons of plain flour into the jam before baking – this will help it to set when baked just make sure it is evenly blended in.
- If you don’t like sesame replace the seeds with 1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans.
– These bars will keep well at room temperature in an airtight container for 3 or 4 days –
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