Apricot Oat Bars

My mom left me this recipe to make, and tonight I finally got around to it. And I'm so glad that I did, because these turned out delicious! I love desserts with rolled oats, like my cobbler recipe I have that I need to make again so I can post it. These bars are not too sweet, but chewy and fruity! They would definitely make the best unhealthy granola-type bars to take hiking or camping! Or really just an awesome portable dessert.

Crust, then apricot filling

Bars right out of the oven

Bars about to be eaten! They would go great with ice cream too, but I just had a big glass of milk.

Here's the recipe adapted from Giada at Home.


Prep Time: 20 min | Cooking Time: 30-35 min | Difficulty: Easy | Serves: 24 Bars


Ingredients:
Vegetable Oil Cooking Spray
Filling:
1 (13-ounce) Jar Apricot Jam Or Preserves (About 1 ¼ Cups)
8 Dried Apricots, chopped into ¼-inch pieces (about ⅓ cup)
Crust:
1 ¾ cups All-Purpose Flour
1 Packed Cup Light Brown Sugar
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon (we have this mixture of cinnamon and sugar, I used 2 tsp of this mixture)
¾ tsp Fine Sea Salt
¾ tsp Baking Soda
1 ¾ cups Old-Fashioned Oats
1 cup (4 ounces) Coarsely Chopped Walnuts
1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, melted (all we had was 1 unsalted stick of butter and 1 salted, so I used less salt then it calls for)
1 Egg, at room temperature, beaten
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract


Directions:
1. Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 13 by 2-inch metal baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with vegetable oil cooking spray and set aside.


2. Filling: In a small bowl, mix together the jam and the apricots. Set aside.


3. Crust: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Stir in the oats and walnuts. Add the butter, egg and vanilla and stir until incorporated.


4. Using a fork or clean fingers, lightly press half of the crust mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Using a spatula, spread the filling over the crust leaving a ½-inch border around the edge of the pan. Cover the filling with the remaining crust mixture and gently press to flatten. Bake until light golden, about 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for 1 hour. Cut into bars and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.