Best First Place Apricot Date Bars Recipes

FIRST PLACE APRICOT-DATE BARS

First Place Apricot-Date Bars image

This recipe goes way back; I grew up loving these bars. I entered this in the Jefferson County Fair on August 28, 2010. It won First Place.

Provided by Judi Harris

Categories Desserts Cookies Fruit Cookie Recipes Date

Time 2h10m

Yield 48

Number Of Ingredients 11

Ingredients

½ cup brown sugar
1 cup pitted Medjool dates, cut into small pieces
8 ounces dried apricots, cut into small pieces
½ cup apricot nectar (such as Kern's®)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup vegetable shortening, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups rolled oats

Steps:

Place 1/2 cup of brown sugar into a saucepan along with the dates and apricots; pour in the apricot nectar. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and cook, stirring constantly, until the nectar has mostly evaporated and the mixture is sticky, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Grease a baking sheet.
Stir the melted shortening and vanilla extract into 1 cup of brown sugar in a large bowl until no lumps remain. Stir in the flour mixture and oats; work well with your hands until the mixture is evenly combined. Press half of the oat mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread the cooled apricot mixture evenly over the oats, then press the remaining oat mixture evenly over top.
Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into bars and serving.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 107.8 calories, Carbohydrate 18.6 g, Fat 3.5 g, Fiber 1.1 g, Protein 1.2 g, SaturatedFat 0.8 g, Sodium 77.5 mg, Sugar 11.5 g

FIRST PLACE APRICOT-DATE BARS

First Place Apricot-Date Bars image

This was in my mother's handwritten cookbook. It's a family favorite and so yummy! It won First Place at the Jefferson County Fair on August 28, 2010.

Provided by Judi Harris-Nulle

Categories Cookies

Time 50m

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

FIRST PLACE APRICOT-DATE BARS
CRUMB MIXTURE
3/4 c melted shortening
1 c brown sugar, firmly packed
2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 c old-fashioned oats
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
APRICOT FILLING
1 c pitted dates cut into small pieces
1 8 ounce package dried apricots, cut into small pieces
1/2 c brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 c kern's apricot nectar

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. For the crumb mixture, in a large bowl blend shortening, sugar and vanilla. Sift flour, soda, and salt and add to bowl. Add the oatmeal; work well with hands. Press 1/2 of the mixture onto a medium greased cooking sheet, pressing down firmly.
3. For the apricot filling, put the pitted dates, dried apricots, brown sugar, and apricot nectar in a sauce pan and cook for about 5 minutes until thick. Stir constantly as it can easily burn. The apricot nectar should evaporate while it cooks. Cool slightly (about 5 minutes) before spreading on crumb mixture. Once cool, spread apricot mixture on top of the crumb mixture. Top with the rest of the crumb mixture, pressing down firmly. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is brown. Cool before cutting and serving.