I’m always looking for new ideas. Ideas for my next novel or blog post; ideas for what to make for dinner or dessert; ideas of how to use up super ripe fruit or the last few cinnamon chips. Sometimes I come up with ideas easily, other times inspiration strikes when I least expect it. And then there are those times when I got nuthin’. My mind is empty, and the harder I try to come up with something, the less likely it becomes ideas will strike.
So I turn to Mom and Dad. Mom has come up with quite a few good ideas. I know, of course, she’s Mom! But Dad will admit he has no ideas. If I need to answer a history question or map out my dream house, Dad’s my guy, but not so much when it comes to a great new and unique recipe.
He makes up for this by picking up cooking magazines on occasion. He did this awhile ago and I flipped through it and tore out a couple of recipes before placing it in the recycle pile (we recycle a ton). Dad jokingly prodded me about why his kind gesture was in the recycle. I reassured him I had put it to good use.
These Apricot Oat Nut Bars came from the most recent magazine and have been in my pile of recipes to make for a few months now. After finally collecting all the ingredients, I popped these in the oven. Mom wasn’t sure the dough had come together and would bake up properly, but after one bite, we all agreed they were outstanding and will be made again. The base is firm and cookie like with the sweet, gooey jam in the middle, and the sandy topping with some dried fruit and white chips for added flavor and texture. The nuts are super crunchy and toasty, which I just love! This recipe is also flexible. I think it would be good with pretty much any nuts, preserves, and dried fruit you love and have on hand. Regardless, these bars are sure to become a new favorite. And since today’s Sunday Supper is all about picnics, I figured these were super appropriate. They are portable, don’t have to be kept cold, and are easy to whip up today for your Memorial Day picnic tomorrow.
Don’t forget to check out all the other Sunday Supper recipes!
Salads and Slaws:
- Bacon Ranch Potato Salad from Juanita’s Cocina
- Caprese Spinach Salad from Small Wallet, Big Appetite
- Chicken Chopped Salad from Table for Seven
- Cold Pea Salad from Shockingly Delicious
- Creamy Potato Salad with Roasted Pears, Cilantro and Romano Cheese from Gourmet Drizzles
- German Potato Salad from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
- Hawaiian Cole Slaw from Curious Cuisiniere
- Italian Chopped Salad from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Kale Pasta Salad from Hip Foodie Mom
- Mediterranean Pasta Salad from Peanut Butter and Peppers
- Mizeria (Polish Cucumber Salad) from From Fast Food to Fresh Food
- PA Dutch Pepper Cabbage from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Pineapple Slaw from I Run For Wine
- Spaghetti Salad from Country Girl in the Village
- Tortellini Pasta Salad from Supper for a Steal
Sandwiches and Mains:
- Avocado Chicken Salad Sandwich from Momma’s Meals
- Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese, and Tomato Sandwich from Magnolia Days
- Grilled Bratwurst and Onion Open-Face Sandwiches from The Urban Mrs
- Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Green Goddess Sauce from Foxes Love Lemons
- Herbs-Garlic and Parmesan Croissants from Basic N Delicious
- Indian Spiced Chicken Drumsticks from Soni’s Food
- Japanese Picnic Bento Box from The Ninja Baker
- Mini Chicken Salad, Avocado and Cheese Subs from Big Bear’s Wife
- Moroccan Fried Chicken from MarocMama
- Pepper, Spinach and Goat’s Cheese Quiche from Happy Baking Days
- Picnic Basket Buttermilk Fried Chicken from Noshing with the Nolands
- Salmon in a Jar from Healthy. Delicious.
- Smoked Trout Deviled Eggs from The Wimpy Vegetarian
- Spam Musubi fromKimchi Mom
Desserts:
- Apricot Oat Nut Bars from Pies and Plots
- Chocolate Dipped Rice Krispie Treat Pops from In The Kitchen With KP
- Cocoa Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Fruit Salad from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
- Fruit Salad with Honey Port Drizzle from Family Foodie
- Loaded Butterscotch Bars from Vintage Kitchen
- Nathan’s Cookies from What Smells So Good?
- Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Treat Truffles from Chocolate Moosey
- Shandy Popsicles With Raspberries from Ruffles & Truffles
- Texas Sheet Cake with Pecan Frosting from Food Lust People Love
- Triple Chocolate Punch Bowl Cake from Neighborfood
Drinks:
- Fresh Limeade with Chia Seeds from girlichef
- Pineapple Sangria from Growing Up Gabel
- Strawberry Basil Lemonade from The Messy Baker Blog
- Strawberry Lemonade from Gotta Get Baked
- Top 10 Wines for Picnic #SundaySupper from ENOFYLZ Wine blog
- Watermelon Agua Fresca from Daily Dish Recipes
Check back on Sunday for all the recipes! You can join in the chat on Twitter too: we’ll tweet throughout the day and share all of our picnic recipes. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm EST. To join in, just follow the #SundaySupper hashtag, and remember to include it in your tweets. You can also check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more delicious recipes and photos.
Apricot Oat Nut Bars #SundaySupper
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 18 bars 1x
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cubed
- ¼ cup shelled unsalted pistachios
- ¾ cup walnuts
- ¾ cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
- ¾ cup white baking chips
- 1 18 ounce jar apricot preserves (I used Sarabeth’s Apricot Peach)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large bowl, stir together flour, oats, sugar, and cinnamon until combined. Add the butter and using your hands, blend it into the dry ingredients until it is pretty well combined and uniformly distributed. The dough will still be crumbly but should be starting to come together. It is like making a crumble topping. Add the nuts and mix in with your hands. Reserve 1 ½ cups of this mixture. Take the remaining mixture and press it into an ungreased 9 by 13 inch pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
- While the crust bakes, add the apricots and white chips to the reserved topping and stir to combine. Once the crust has baked, spread the preserves over it, leaving about 1/8 inch border. Sprinkle with the reserved topping. Bake for about an additional 30 minutes, rotating halfway through if necessary until golden brown and the jam is bubbling in the center of the pan. Cool completely in pan before cutting. Bars may be stored at room temperature for up to 4 days, or frozen, wrapped in parchment and foil and placed in a zipper bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for about an hour or in a 350 degree F oven for about 10 minutes.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Fine Cooking
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
I love apricot, and these bars look delicious – perfect for a picnic!
Anything with oats, apricots and white chocolate has my vote! How wonderful, Laura, that your father had that cooking magazine so you could share this yummy recipe for SundaySupper =)
Yes, oats, apricots, and white chocolate make everything yummy 🙂 Thanks!
I buy cooking magazines too, but never recycle them…lol! I yet have to make bars with apricots. These sound perfect Laura, and I do love my oats in any recipe!
These are gorgeous! I love apricots and know we’d love these!
I just came across a recipe similar to this but using dates last night. I wasn’t sure how the crust would hold up based on the instructions but it’s almost the same ratios as you used here so I think I’ll give it a shot. Maybe half apricot half date ….
The crust is really amazing! I think you’ll really enjoy it. I love dates too, so you can’t go wrong with either dates or apricots. Thanks, Amanda!
Any bar with dried apricots and white chocolate chips has got to be a winner! These look fantastic!
I can’t get enough of apricots. Thanks for sharing!
What great bars! The perfect sweet treat at a picnic. Love that they can easily be changed out w/flavors and ingredients, especially as I’m allergic to nuts. Apricots and oats are my fav!
Since your allergic to nuts, you may want to add additional dried apricots and white chips to give them enough flavor. Thanks, Diana!
Scott and I just bought apricots today! I just love them….. These bars sound amazing!
I love them too and they have been so tasty lately!
Oh wow, apricots and white chocolate that sounds like a match made in heaven
They look great! I love apricots in any dessert and oats in my bars. Definitely i mast try them.
YUM! I would love to try these bars out. Great photos 🙂
Thanks, Megan!
Don’t those look ooey gooey good!!
A good looking bar.
Thanks, Kathia, and thanks for visiting!
It’s not often I like desserts without chocolate, but these remind me of something I had once and really liked plus i like apricot jam. My coworker who doesn’t like chocolate will thank you for this (although I may sneak in some chocolate chips).
The recipe suggests either white chocolate or dark chocolate chips. I went with white because I’m allergic to chocolate, but I say go for the dark chocolate ones if you love chocolate. Thanks, Carla!
Fruit and nut bars are ideal for picnics! Love it
I love apricots and with the white chocolate chips and walnuts, I bet these are incredible!
I really enjoy snack bars such as this. And I love the oat/nut/apricot combo you’ve put together. Great recipe!
What sticky beautiful bars! I think the crunchy, toasted nuts would be my favorite part too, Laura!
Sound great 🙂 I’d love some of these right about now, i don’t use apricot enough!
Apricots are one of my favorite fruits and this is so easy because it uses dried apricots and jam. Fresh apricots are great in cakes.
gorgeous photos, these bars sound amazing… love the combination!
These are beautiful bars, Laura! I love anything that’s chewy and crunchy, especially when it’s on top of a buttery cookie crust. The nuts, oats and dried fruit make them healthy too 😉
Healthy for sure 😉 Thanks, Nancy!
Oooohhhhhh….I want some of these badly. Giada has a similar recipe that I’ve tried, and it’s very good. BUT hers doesn’t have white chocolate chips, so I think you win! Take that, Giada!
I also made the Giada ones and really loved them. In fact, it would be hard for me to pick a fave between them, but I’d make them both again.
Such a great picnic food! This would also be great to take on a hike or something. Yumm!
This is really great for any on-the-go occasion. Thanks, Ashley!
these look delicious!!! I seriously love any and all sweet baked treats with dried fruit and walnuts. . delicious!!!
I’m so into dried fruit and walnuts right now too! Thanks, Alice!
These look seriously ooey gooey and moist. Love them!
I am apricot OBSESSED right now! Love these bars.
I’m apricot obsessed too! Thanks, Ashley!
Love these, they look yummy! Apricot preserves included really must give this a great taste.
These were the perfect IDEA! What a great combination of ingredients!
These Apricot Oat Nut Bars look incredible, and I love the gooey center. Perfect little snack or dessert!
Thanks so much and thanks for visiting 🙂
Apricots and walnuts with some oats in the mix sounds heavenly to me. They look so rich and gooey. Yum!
These are fantastic, healthy little bars! Perfect for a grab and go breakfast. I’ve pinned them to my Breakfast Galore board. 🙂
Thanks, Julie! I appreciate the pin 🙂
Laura, I love old fashioned baked goods. These remind me of something my grandma might have made. But no pistachios. She would have used ust walnuts. However, let’s not quibble. These look fantastic and I love apricots.
I have some oat/apricot bars that I posted a couple years ago! Yours remind me of them. Only I didnt use white choc; but did work in some PB. I love bars like these with tons of texture and lots of flavors going on!