Apricot squares are chewy, golden bars with a thick layer of dried apricots cooked down into jammy fruit between almond crust and streusel. Sliced almonds toast over the top for crunch against the soft, tangy filling. Twenty-four squares that taste like sunshine and keep beautifully in the tin.
MAKES 24 SQUARES
Ingredients
1½ cups almond flour
1¾ cups sliced almonds
⅔ cup palm sugar + 1 tablespoon (15 ml) palm sugar
1 pinch salt
6 tablespoons (90 ml) coconut oil, cut into 12 pieces and softened
1 pound (454 g) dried apricots
½ cup apricot jam (see Fruit Jam recipe, page 221)
1 cup (240 ml) of water
½ teaspoon grated fresh lemon zest
1 teaspoon (5 ml) fresh lemon juice
Coconut oil for greasing foil
Preparation
1.В В Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a 13x9 baking pan with a foil sling. Make foil sling by folding two long sheets of aluminum foil; the first sheet should be thirteen inches wide and the second sheet should be nine inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan. Grease with coconut oil.
2.В В Process the flour, 1¼ cups of the almonds, ⅓ cup of the palm sugar, and ½ teaspoon salt together in a food processor until combined (about 5 seconds). Add the coconut oil and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-sized pieces of coconut oil (about 20 pulses).
3.В В Reserve ½ cup of the flour mixture for the topping. Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake the crust until fragrant and golden brown (about 15 minutes).
4.В В While the crust bakes, mix the remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of palm sugar and the reserved flour mixture together in a small bowl and pinch the mixture between your fingers into hazelnut-sized clumps of streusel.
5.В В Pulse the apricots, one cup of water, and jam together in a food processor until the apricots are roughly quarter-inch chunks (5 to 7 pulses). Cook the apricot mixture in a large nonstick skillet over high heat until it is thickened and jam-like (10 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.
6.В В Spread the cooked apricot mixture evenly over the hot crust and sprinkle with the streusel topping and remaining ½ cup of almonds. Bake until almonds are golden brown (about 20 minutes), rotating the pan halfway through baking.
7.В В Place the pan atop a wire rack and let the bars cool completely (about two hours). Remove the bars from the pan using the foil, cut into squares, and serve.
Pro Tips
- Simmer the apricot mixture until it's genuinely thick — dried apricots hold a lot of water and a loose filling makes the bars fall apart when cut.
- A pinch of salt with the lemon zest at the end is what wakes up the apricot flavour; without it the filling tastes flat and one-dimensional.
- Pinch the streusel into hazelnut-sized clumps rather than sprinkling fine crumbs — the big clumps are the whole appeal of the topping.
- Cool the bars completely on a rack before cutting. Two hours sounds excessive and is exactly right for clean squares.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use fresh apricots instead of dried?
Dried apricots are what give the filling its concentrated, chewy character. Fresh fruit would need far more cooking and never sets the same way.
What jam works in the filling?
Apricot jam doubles down on the fruit flavour, but peach or orange jam works nicely too — pick something thick and not too sweet.
How do I store apricot squares?
Airtight at room temperature for three days or refrigerated for a week. The flavours deepen and the streusel stays pleasantly crisp.
Can I freeze them?
Yes — cut, layer with parchment, and freeze for up to two months. Thaw at room temperature and they're as good as fresh.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Method
- 1. В В Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Line a 13x9 baking pan with a foil sling. Make foil sling by folding two long sheets of aluminum foil; the first sheet should be thirteen inches wide and the second sheet should be nine inches wide. Lay sheets of foil in pan perpendicular to each other, with extra foil hanging over edges of pan. Push foil into corners and up sides of pan, smoothing foil flush to pan.
- Grease with coconut oil. 2. В В Process the flour, 1¼ cups of the almonds, ⅓ cup of the palm sugar, and ½ teaspoon salt together in a food processor until combined (about 5 seconds).
- Add the coconut oil and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-sized pieces of coconut oil (about 20 pulses). 3. В В Reserve ½ cup of the flour mixture for the topping.
- Sprinkle the remaining flour mixture into the prepared pan and press into an even layer with the bottom of a measuring cup.
- Bake the crust until fragrant and golden brown (about 15 minutes). 4. В В While the crust bakes, mix the remaining 1 tablespoon of palm sugar and the reserved flour mixture together in a small bowl and pinch the mixture between your fingers into hazelnut-sized clumps of streusel. 5. В В Pulse the apricots, one cup of water, and jam together in a food processor until the apricots are roughly quarter-inch chunks (5 to 7 pulses).
- Cook the apricot mixture in a large nonstick skillet over high heat until it is thickened and jam-like (10 minutes).
- Remove from heat and stir in lemon zest, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. 6. В В Spread the cooked apricot mixture evenly over the hot crust and sprinkle with the streusel topping and remaining ½ cup of almonds.
- Bake until almonds are golden brown (about 20 minutes), rotating the pan halfway through baking. 7. В В Place the pan atop a wire rack and let the bars cool completely (about two hours).
- Remove the bars from the pan using the foil, cut into squares, and serve.
