Apricot Crumble Bars. Buttery oat-crumble bars with a thin apricot-preserve layer and golden crumb topping. The formula and timing below are working estimates for a future kitchen trial, not a claim that a batch has been made.

Jump to ingredients · Jump to method

A jam-centered bar

A buttery oat crumb makes both the pressed base and loose topping, with a modest layer of apricot preserves in between. Lemon juice cuts the sweetness without turning the filling watery.

These are working bars, not a kitchen-tested bake. The ratio of crumb to preserve needs a trial to ensure the center cuts cleanly.

Choose a thick preserve

A good spoonable apricot preserve should spread thinly without flooding the edges. Very runny fruit spread can make the bottom soft; note the brand and consistency.

Cold butter creates crumbly clumps. If it melts before pressing, chill the mixture briefly rather than pouring extra flour into the formula.

Ingredients for 16 bars

Working measured recipe
Ingredient	Amount	Use
All-purpose flour	1 1/4 cups	Base and crumble.
Old-fashioned rolled oats	3/4 cup	Base and crumble.
Light brown sugar, packed	1/2 cup	Sweetens crumb.
Baking powder	1/4 teaspoon	A little lift.
Fine salt	1/4 teaspoon	Balances filling.
Unsalted butter, cold and cubed	10 tablespoons	Cut into dry mixture.
Apricot preserves	3/4 cup	A thin fruit layer.
Fresh lemon juice	1 teaspoon	Stir into preserves.

Step-by-step method

Heat oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch metal square pan. Stir 1 1/4 cups flour, 3/4 cup oats, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt.
Cut in 10 tbsp cold cubed butter until coarse clumps form. Press roughly two-thirds of the crumb mixture firmly into the lined pan, reserving the rest for topping.
Stir 3/4 cup apricot preserves with 1 tsp lemon juice, spread a thin even layer over the base and scatter reserved crumble across it. Bake about 30–35 minutes until the top is golden and fruit bubbles near the edges.
Cool in the pan about 90 minutes before cutting sixteen small squares. Test crumb cohesion, preserve leakage and actual fruit sweetness before publication.

One mix, two uses

Reserve roughly one third of the flour-oat mixture for the top and compress the rest into the parchment-lined pan. This gives a firmer hand-held bottom.

Keep the preserve layer off the very edge if leakage is a concern. Scatter the topping loosely so some amber fruit remains visible.

Bake and cool

Bake until the crumb is golden and fruit bubbles near the sides. The thirty-to-thirty-five-minute estimate may vary with the pan and preserve thickness.

Cooling is not optional for tidy bars. If slices break, record the exact cooling time and pressed-base thickness in a trial before altering butter.

Serving and storage

Cut into sixteen modest pieces for a mixed dessert tray. They are fruit crumble bars, not apricot blondies or a fresh-fruit cobbler.

Keep covered after cooling; a reliable quality or freeze-thaw period has not been tested for this preserve brand and crumb texture.

Apricot-bar questions

Are fresh apricots used?

No. The working filling is measured apricot preserves.

Why reserve crumb?

The same mixture provides a pressed base and scattered topping.

Can I cut them hot?

Wait until cool so the fruit and crumb have a better chance to hold together.

Further reading and related Chefly recipes: Building Feasts apricot crumble bars. These are relevant references and other dishes, not evidence that this proposed formula was tested.

Allergens: Wheat; Milk; Check oats and preserves for cross-contact. Review packaged ingredients and cross-contact before serving.

Apricot Crumble Bars

Author: Leo Bennett
Total Time: 145 minutes
Yield: 16 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Description

Sixteen small apricot-preserve oat-crumble bars from an eight-inch pan.

Ingredients

Scale

1 1/4 cups All-purpose flour
3/4 cup Old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup Light brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon Baking powder
1/4 teaspoon Fine salt
10 tablespoons Unsalted butter, cold and cubed
3/4 cup Apricot preserves
1 teaspoon Fresh lemon juice

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Heat oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch metal square pan. Stir 1 1/4 cups flour, 3/4 cup oats, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/4 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt.
Cut in 10 tbsp cold cubed butter until coarse clumps form. Press roughly two-thirds of the crumb mixture firmly into the lined pan, reserving the rest for topping.
Stir 3/4 cup apricot preserves with 1 tsp lemon juice, spread a thin even layer over the base and scatter reserved crumble across it. Bake about 30–35 minutes until the top is golden and fruit bubbles near the edges.
Cool in the pan about 90 minutes before cutting sixteen small squares. Test crumb cohesion, preserve leakage and actual fruit sweetness before publication.

Notes

Recipe-development draft; not kitchen-tested. Timing and yield are estimates. Nutrition has not been calculated.

Additional chilling, resting or cooling time: 90 minutes, included in the total.

Untested estimate: 30–35-minute bake and 90-minute cool before clean slicing; oven preheat excluded.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Chilling, resting or cooling: 90 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Category: Bars

Nutrition

Serving Size: One small square