Apricot Oatmeal Bars

As we progress to fall weather, I have to say that our weather here in the Seattle area changed very quickly. We went from warm to smoky and now it’s rainy. Here, the rainy season officially starts on October 1, and that’s pretty soon! It’s hard to go from one extreme to another, and inevitably there will be some flooding, but I am glad to get back to cooler, and yes, rainy weather.

This bar seems a little summery to me, with the apricot preserves, but you can make it what you want it to be. You could use any type of preserves, which would dramatically change the nature of the bars. You could even use mincemeat if you wanted these to be for Christmas! I used apricot (and peach, I think) preserves as that was close to the original. I heated my preserves in the microwave for about 30 seconds, as that makes it much easier to spread.

Overall, I didn’t change much in the original recipe, but I did use the food processor instead of cutting in the butter by hand. I’m never very successful when I try to do that, and I feel like the food processor accomplishes the same task and is so much easier. These came together so quickly it was ridiculous, as I think I was done making the dough and assembling in the time it took to make my bagel and tea that I have for breakfast! They are quite crumbly, so make sure they are completely cool before cutting into bars. Thankfully they are less crumbly when cut, and I don’t know how such a simple cookie can be so tasty and wonderful!

Apricot Oatmeal Bars
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1¼ cups rolled oats
¾ cup flour
½ cup butter, cut into pieces
1 cup apricot preserves

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8” square baking pan with foil and spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large food processor, combine the brown sugar, baking soda, oats, and flour. Pulse to combine. Cut the butter into pieces and add to the food processor. Process the butter in the mixture, using about 20-25 on/off pulses, until the mixture is crumbly. Press two cups of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. 

Top the crumb mixture with the apricot preserves, carefully spreading the preserves almost to the edge of the pan. Top with the remaining crumb mixture.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the bars begin to brown. Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan and cutting into squares.

Recipe from Mom Endeavors