Roasted Apricot Crumb Bars

It’s apricot season!!! Does anyone else get insanely excited when the stone fruits start coming in? First the cherries arrived (see my celebratory recipe for those here), and now the apricots, nectarines, and peaches are popping up at the farmers’ market. Just one problem – I always let my excitement get the better of me and wind up purchasing more fruit than I can eat out of hand before it’s overripe. Sure, I can turn some of it into a compote or glaze, and maybe grill a few halves to toss into a salad, but when I have an abundance of ripe fruit staring at me expectantly from the kitchen counter I usually default to baking with it. I went overboard with my apricot purchase last week, so I created these amazing Roasted Apricot Crumb Bars.

I absolutely adore apricots. Even when ripe they retain a good amount of tartness, so they’re never achingly sweet. Roasting the apricots until they caramelize concentrates their wonderful flavor, but it does make them sweeter too, so I like to add a touch of lemon. Once roasted, the apricots are pulsed into a chunky puree that acts as the filling for these crumb bars. It’s way more appealing to me than jarred apricot preserves. You get the fresh roasted apricot taste and some tender bits of apricot in a flavorful filling that isn’t loaded with sugar.

The demand for grain-free recipes is pretty high these days so I reworked one of my oat-based recipes for crumb bars by substituting almond and coconut flours. It worked like a charm, and the almond and coconut flavors totally complement the apricot. I’ve also swapped out some of the oil for tahini, and added allspice to enhance the apricot flavor even more. Oh, and did I mention that they’re also vegan? Now let’s bake these tasty treats.

Wash and dry the apricots, then cut them in half and remove the pits. (Side note: please do us all a favor and discard those pits unless you want to plant them to grow apricot trees. Despite what you may read on the internet, they do NOT cure cancer, and are actually poisonous when consumed in large enough quantity.)

Grease a baking dish or rimmed sheet pan – the rimmed part is important because you want to keep all the apricot juices in the pan. Place the apricot halves in the pan cut-side up in a single layer, and scatter the coconut sugar over the top.

Roast the apricots in a 425°F oven for about 15 minutes, until they’re starting to caramelize but still hold their shape. How good do those look?! Set them aside and let cool for a few minutes, and lower the oven temperature to 350°F.

Once the apricots have cooled a bit, scrape them into a blender or food processor. Some of the apricot juice and caramelized sugar probably oozed into the pan – make sure you get all of that into the container!

Add the vanilla, lemon juice, and salt, and pulse the apricots just until they form a chunky puree; you want some texture in there. Stir in the arrowroot – it will thicken the filling as it bakes. Cover the container and pop it into the fridge to chill the filling while you work on the crust.

Whisk the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, salt, and allspice in a bowl. Now measure the tahini, coconut oil, maple syrup, and coconut sugar into a liquid measuring cup or small bowl, and whisk to combine.

Add the wet mixture to the dry, and stir it all together until it forms a crumbly dough.

This is what your dough should look like – crumbly bits that hold together into clumps if you squeeze them.

Line a 2-quart baking dish with parchment paper. I like to create two parchment slings – one that lays inside the pan in each direction – so you can grasp the ends and easily lift the entire thing out of the pan once it’s baked.

Transfer two thirds of the dough to the pan, and press it into the bottom until you have an even layer of crust. I don’t know about you, but I like a pretty generous crust on my crumb bars.

Bake the crust for 12-15 minutes or until it’s firm to the touch and looks a bit puffed up and you see a touch of golden color at the edges.

Set the pan on a trivet or cooling rack and pour the apricot filling over the crust, spreading the filling all the way to the edges.

Scatter clumps of the remaining dough over the filling, and put the pan back in the oven to bake for another 25-30 minutes until the filling is set and the crumb topping is lightly browned and cooked through.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack, and let cool completely before cutting into squares. I know it’s tempting to dig in straight from the oven, but be patient! The filling sets up a bit more as it cools, and slicing will be way easier. When you’re ready to serve them, cut into eight equal portions and dig in. These crumb bars are great if you like a little sweetness for breakfast or with your afternoon coffee or tea. You can also top them with your favorite vanilla ice cream for an indulgent dessert.

Enjoy!