Apricot Bars
As do many portable foods, bar cookies come into their own over the summer. Bar cookies are simple to make, easy to carry, and economical for feeding a crowd. They're a great recipe for tag-team cooks, especially of the parent-child variety. Most importantly, bar cookies are sources of endless invention for bakers and endless appreciation for eaters. They are layered with everything from peanut butter and jelly to coconut and canned oranges, from honey and oats to marshmallows and chocolate chips.
In our home, bar cookies are filled with jam: bright strawberry for spring, garnet raspberry for the dog days of summer, dusky fig for back to school, even Christmas cranberries. For Memorial Day cookouts, I like to contribute a big batch of apricot bars. For all jam bars, the qualities of the fruit that were highlit when the jam / preserves were put up should be intensified by the crumbly top and chewy bottom crust between which the filling finds itself. Here is my recipe for just such a jam bar, in which substantial, flavorful crusts frame an intense filling whose rich, warm qualities are the taste of sunlight itself.
APRICOT BARS
For these bars, grinding your own almonds creates a satisfying crunch. A nut chopper is a good tool to have in any kitchen; here's a good one. However, if you prefer, use an equal amount of almond flour. This recipe yield about two dozen bars.
2 sticks unsalted butter
12 ounces almonds or 1 cup almond flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 12-ounce jar apricot preserves
2 ounces dried apricots
1 tablespoons brandy
Non-stick cooking spray
1. Place butter into a large bowl to soften.
2. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Lay the dried apricots onto a cutting board and use a small, sharp knife to cut the apricots into thin ribbons. Cut across the ribbons to form tiny dice. Place the diced dried apricots into a bowl and add the brandy; toss gently to coat. Set aside to reconstitute until ready to mix the filling.
4. Lay a sheet of aluminum foil across the length of a 13 x 9 inch rimmed baking sheet, leaving a one-inch overhang. Lay a second layer of foil across the width of the pan, leaving a one-inch overhang. Spray the double layer of foil with cooking spray.
5. Put the almonds through a nut chopper set to medium. The grind should be somewhat coarse; it is okay if some small bits of whole almond remain. Measure out 1 cup of ground almonds or an equal amount of almond flour if using that.
6. Add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to the almonds; stir to combine.
7. Use a pastry cutter to cut the flour-almond mixture into the butter until ingredients are well incorporated and mixture holds together when pressed in the palm.
8. Measure out one half of the flour-almond mixture (it is okay if the measurement isn't exact) and set aside for the topping.
9. Distribute the remaining half of the flour-almond mixture across the prepared plan; use your palm to press mixture into an even layer to form bottom crust. Place in oven and bake just until set and edges begin to brown, approximately 15 minutes.
10. While bottom crust is baking, empty preserves into a small bowl. Add reconstituted apricots along with any collected juices; stir to combine.
11. Once bottom crust is cooked, remove from oven. Use a rubber spatula to spread apricot mixture across crust. Sprinkle top with reserved flour-almond mixture. Return to oven and bake until crumb topping is golden brown and apricot filling bubbles through topping, approximately 15 minutes.
12. Remove from oven. Allow to cool.
13. Once cooled, use aluminum foil "handles" to lift cookie out of pan. Lay foil and cookie onto clean cutting surface. Cut cookie lengthwise into ribbons and cut across the ribbons to form bars. Remove bars from foil and either pack for travel between layers of parchment paper, or serve.
In our home, bar cookies are filled with jam: bright strawberry for spring, garnet raspberry for the dog days of summer, dusky fig for back to school, even Christmas cranberries. For Memorial Day cookouts, I like to contribute a big batch of apricot bars. For all jam bars, the qualities of the fruit that were highlit when the jam / preserves were put up should be intensified by the crumbly top and chewy bottom crust between which the filling finds itself. Here is my recipe for just such a jam bar, in which substantial, flavorful crusts frame an intense filling whose rich, warm qualities are the taste of sunlight itself.
APRICOT BARS
For these bars, grinding your own almonds creates a satisfying crunch. A nut chopper is a good tool to have in any kitchen; here's a good one. However, if you prefer, use an equal amount of almond flour. This recipe yield about two dozen bars.
2 sticks unsalted butter
12 ounces almonds or 1 cup almond flour
2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 12-ounce jar apricot preserves
2 ounces dried apricots
1 tablespoons brandy
Non-stick cooking spray
1. Place butter into a large bowl to soften.
2. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
3. Lay the dried apricots onto a cutting board and use a small, sharp knife to cut the apricots into thin ribbons. Cut across the ribbons to form tiny dice. Place the diced dried apricots into a bowl and add the brandy; toss gently to coat. Set aside to reconstitute until ready to mix the filling.
4. Lay a sheet of aluminum foil across the length of a 13 x 9 inch rimmed baking sheet, leaving a one-inch overhang. Lay a second layer of foil across the width of the pan, leaving a one-inch overhang. Spray the double layer of foil with cooking spray.
5. Put the almonds through a nut chopper set to medium. The grind should be somewhat coarse; it is okay if some small bits of whole almond remain. Measure out 1 cup of ground almonds or an equal amount of almond flour if using that.
6. Add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt to the almonds; stir to combine.
7. Use a pastry cutter to cut the flour-almond mixture into the butter until ingredients are well incorporated and mixture holds together when pressed in the palm.
8. Measure out one half of the flour-almond mixture (it is okay if the measurement isn't exact) and set aside for the topping.
9. Distribute the remaining half of the flour-almond mixture across the prepared plan; use your palm to press mixture into an even layer to form bottom crust. Place in oven and bake just until set and edges begin to brown, approximately 15 minutes.
10. While bottom crust is baking, empty preserves into a small bowl. Add reconstituted apricots along with any collected juices; stir to combine.
11. Once bottom crust is cooked, remove from oven. Use a rubber spatula to spread apricot mixture across crust. Sprinkle top with reserved flour-almond mixture. Return to oven and bake until crumb topping is golden brown and apricot filling bubbles through topping, approximately 15 minutes.
12. Remove from oven. Allow to cool.
13. Once cooled, use aluminum foil "handles" to lift cookie out of pan. Lay foil and cookie onto clean cutting surface. Cut cookie lengthwise into ribbons and cut across the ribbons to form bars. Remove bars from foil and either pack for travel between layers of parchment paper, or serve.
As a non-fruit eater, you'd think I'd be unable to partake of bar cookies, but we've got a couple of non-fruit bars in our recipe books: chocolate with caramel filling and vanilla with chocolate filling. MMM I do like lemon squares. Do they count?
ReplyDeleteYes, lemon counts. As does chocolate.
ReplyDelete