Apricot Almond Bars
Teresa’s Bake Shop – Christmas Cookie Extravaganza – 2012
Apricot Almond Bars are delicious cookie bars to die for! There are lots of wonderful apricot preserves and sliced almonds in a thin shortbread-type crust. Every single bite is so scrumptious. We love these gooey bars and have made them so many times for our Christmas Cookie Extravaganza. This year is no exception. We get a tremendous amount of feedback every time we make these scrumptious bars. Everyone just LOVES them!
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I found this amazing recipe in a Taste of Home cookbook in the early 1990s. I’ve made a few adjustments, but overall it’s still pretty close to the original recipe. Back in the 1990s I rarely tried a recipe without a picture, but this was one where I did. Was my family ever glad that we tried them. We could not resist eating one or two or three of these fabulous cookie bars. And when we started shipping them out to family, they loved them too.
As you can tell, Apricot Almond Bars are one of our favorite cookies that we make each year. We really think you will enjoy them too. They are relatively easy to assemble. The most difficult part is cutting these bars.
They do come out of the pan easier if you refrigerate them first, although I left mine to cool for several hours and didn’t have any problem. As I stated earlier they are a little gooey in the middle so be prepared to lick your fingers as you transfer these goodies from the dish they’re baked in to a plate.
When I initially posted this recipe in November 2012, I was still using an iPhone 3 for a camera so my pictures were a little blurry and not as crisp as I would have liked. Also I used way too many Christmas props so the eyes glazed over from so much stuff. 🙁
I recently remade this recipe (August 2016) and decided to take a few new pictures as well. These bars are so delightful and gooey. If you enjoy apricots you’re bound to love these blondies.
Jump to RecipeApricot Almond Bars have always been one of our most requested Christmas Cookie recipes!
Here’s a tray of these tasty treats. We recommend freezing these bars before cutting them because they are quite gooey.
There are lots of almonds amid delicious apricot preserves.
Here’s what I did.
I used these ingredients.
Soften butter. You can also melt the butter. I usually make it half way between softened and melted as it’s easier to work with the crust ingredients this way. Add powdered sugar and UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour. Bleached flour toughens cookies.
Stir to combine.
Pat mixture in bottom and up sides of greased 9×13″ baking dish.
Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Remove from oven.
While crust is baking prepare apricot filling: add eggs to a mixing bowl. Add sugar, vanilla, softened butter and apricot preserves.
Whisk all the ingredients together and set aside. Once the crust comes out of the oven you will pour the apricot mixture over top and then cover with sliced almonds.
Add apricot mixture over top of hot, baked crust. Spread carefully.
Sprinkle apricot mixture with almonds.
Bake about 20 minutes at 350. Cool completely before cutting into bars. I usually refrigerate or freeze these bars before cutting as the bars are too gooey to work with otherwise.
Apricot Almond Bars are great gifts during the holiday season. But these ingredients are easy to purchase any time of the year so you don’t have to confine yourself to making these tasty treats only during the holidays!
If you enjoy the flavor of apricots, you’ll love these bars.
Here’s the recipe.
APRICOT ALMOND BARS
(Recipe adapted from the Taste of Home Cookbook 1994 edition—but not the annual cookbook series)
Apricot Almond Bars
Equipment
- 1 9x13" glass baking dish
- 2 large mixing bowls
- 2 wooden spoons
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 electric mixer if desired
Ingredients
CRUST:
- 1 1/2 cups UNBLEACHEDall-purpose flour bleached flour toughens baked goods
- 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
TOPPING:
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 8-10 oz. apricot preserves
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3/4 to 1 cup sliced almonds as desired
Instructions
CRUST:
- In a mixing bowl, beat flour, confectioners' sugar, and butter.
- Pat into the bottom and ½ inch up the sides of a 9x13” baking pan that has been sprayed well with cooking spray.
- Bake at 350° oven for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned.
TOPPING:
- Beat egg, granulated sugar, apricot preserves, butter and vanilla in a mixing bowl until smooth.
- Spread over hot crust.
- Sprinkle evenly with almonds.
- Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes or until set.
- Cool.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
Nutrition
- [b]CRUST:[/b][br]
- 1 ½ cups UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour (bleached flour toughens baked goods)
- ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened[br]
- [b]TOPPING:[/b][br]
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- ½ cup sugar
- 8-10-oz. [url href=”http://www.jeffersonimages.com/blackburnsproducts/tabid/56/default.aspx” target=”_blank”]Blackburn’s[/url] apricot preserves
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- 3/4 – 1 cup [url href=”https://fishernuts.com/” target=”_blank”]Fisher[/url] sliced almonds
- [b]CRUST:[/b][br]
- In a mixing bowl, beat flour, sugar, and butter.
- Pat into the bottom and ½ inch up the sides of a 9×13” baking pan that has been sprayed well with cooking spray.
- Bake at 350° oven for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned.
- [b]TOPPING:[/b][br]
- Beat egg, sugar, preserves, butter and vanilla in a mixing bowl until smooth.
- Spread over hot crust.
- Sprinkle with almonds.
- Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes or until set.
- Cool.
Apricot Almond Bars are rich, decadent and scrumptious!
These luscious bars are an excellent choice for dessert any time of the year!
Apricot Almond Bars are the real deal. We love them.
You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!
Apricot Pie Crust Cinnamon Rolls
Apricot Almond Bars
Equipment
- 1 9×13" glass baking dish
- 2 large mixing bowls
- 2 wooden spoons
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 electric mixer if desired
Ingredients
CRUST:
- 1 1/2 cups UNBLEACHEDall-purpose flour bleached flour toughens baked goods
- 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
TOPPING:
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 8-10 oz. apricot preserves
- 1 tbsp. unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3/4 to 1 cup sliced almonds as desired
Instructions
CRUST:
- In a mixing bowl, beat flour, confectioners' sugar, and butter.
- Pat into the bottom and ½ inch up the sides of a 9×13” baking pan that has been sprayed well with cooking spray.
- Bake at 350° oven for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned.
TOPPING:
- Beat egg, granulated sugar, apricot preserves, butter and vanilla in a mixing bowl until smooth.
- Spread over hot crust.
- Sprinkle evenly with almonds.
- Bake at 350° for 20-30 minutes or until set.
- Cool.
25 Comments
Lisa
December 20, 2022 at 10:04 pm
Any difference in the recipe for high altitude? Thank you!
Teresa
December 21, 2022 at 3:23 pm
Hi, Lisa. I’m sorry but I don’t know. I’m pretty sure some of the instructions say less sugar but those are more for cakes and cookies. Since this is a bar and is flat anyway and doesn’t rise much, it may not be any problem at all. I hope you make these goodies. They have been some of our favorites for decades!
Stephanie
July 16, 2021 at 8:02 am
Thank you for the reminder of this tried and true! (You may want to correct the two TOH links you have listed as reference. They are both two other bars with the same/similar names. If anyone wants to see original it is here: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/apricot-almond-bars-2/). Also, thank you for the tip on cutting them while frozen. 🙂
Teresa
July 19, 2021 at 6:43 am
Hi, Stephanie, so glad you enjoy the bars. I’ve corrected the links, thanks for sharing.
Lisa
February 8, 2021 at 10:34 am
Hi where can I buy that Blackburn’s apricot filling I love in Florida snd have never seen that before
Teresa
February 8, 2021 at 11:13 am
Hi, Lisa. You can use any kind of apricot jelly or jam.
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December 1, 2012 at 7:46 am
Thanks for linking to my Apricot Mousse!
Teresa
December 1, 2012 at 4:33 pm
You’re welcome!
LizForADay
December 1, 2012 at 7:10 am
You are killing me with all those yummy cookie pics. 🙂 Keep um coming. 🙂
Teresa
December 1, 2012 at 4:33 pm
Will do!
Danny @ 1227 Foster
November 30, 2012 at 11:14 pm
Teresa, these look amazing — the apricot filling is divine and I love the slivered almonds on top. I could eat a whole tray of this right now! Have a wonderful holiday!!!!!
Teresa
December 1, 2012 at 4:35 pm
Thanks. Yes they are an amazing bar. The taste is so heavenly. You really ought to give these a go for a holiday party or something. Your guests will be in awe!
Danny @ 1227 Foster
December 1, 2012 at 4:35 pm
I’m afraid they won’t make it to the guests since I’ll devour the whole thing 🙂
jalal michael sabbagh.http://gravatar.com/jmsabbagh86@gmail.com
November 30, 2012 at 10:31 pm
Delicious health bar..Jalal
Teresa
December 1, 2012 at 4:35 pm
right! Healthy with with a 1,000 calories a piece probably!
sani panini
November 30, 2012 at 9:53 pm
Yum, looks great!
Teresa
November 30, 2012 at 10:03 pm
They really are great!