Apricot Almond Bars
These Apricot Almond Bars are a favorite holiday treat that I’ve been making for years now. Super dense and rich, you can cut these little goodies into bite-size bars for your friends and family to enjoy. This is a keeper recipe that you’ll make again and again!
I love to include these or my Almond Biscotti with Dried Fruit in little packages of heaven on my Christmas goodie trays for gift-giving each year.
I found this recipe in a little cookbook that was either a Betty Crocker cookbook or a Pillsbury cookbook, not sure. You know the kind – the ones that are always up by the check-out stand at the grocery store?
Yep. Anyway, once I made these cookie bars, I never stopped. They are absolutely delicious and I get tons of requests for these during the holidays. They also serve up great beside my Almond Biscotti with Dried Fruit.
I also like to make the Apricot Almond Bars for special Spring events, too – graduations, tea parties, brunches, Mother’s Day, etc.
Everyone loves them with a cup of hot coffee or tea, and I’m always besieged with recipe requests. Lots of people are surprised to learn that this dessert is made with a yellow cake mix. 🙂
Apricot Almond Bars
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Ingredients
Base
- 1 standard-size yellow cake mix, 18 oz.
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
- 12 oz. jar apricot preserves, warmed (may substitute apricot jam)
Filling
- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbs. all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 1 egg
Topping
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
- 1/2 cup sweetened flake coconut, toasted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (325 degrees F. if using a glass baking dish).
- Generously spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
- To prepare the cookie base, combine the dry cake mix and the melted butter in a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer set on low speed, mixing just until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the 1/2 cup of almonds, then reserve 1 cup of this prepared base mixture.
- Press the remaining cookie base mixture evenly over the bottom of the prepared 9 x 13 baking dish. Warm the apricot preserves in the microwave 20-30 seconds. When the preserves are warm enough to almost be pourable, spread them over the top of the base mixture in the 9 x 13 pan, leaving a 1/4-inch edge all the way around.
- In the same mixing bowl, prepare the filling by combining the softened cream cheese with the sugar, flour, and salt; beat in the egg and vanilla, mixing until the mixture is smooth; spread the prepared cream cheese mixture over the apricot preserves.
- To prepare the topping, combine the reserved cup of the cookie base mixture with the coconut and ¼ cup sliced almonds, then sprinkle this over the top of the cream cheese layer.
- Bake, uncovered, on the center rack of the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until golden brown and the center is set. Cool the bars completely before cutting to serve. (Tip: The cookie bars are easier to cut when they are chilled.) Store the bars in the fridge, but serve at room temperature. Delicious with coffee or hot tea.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Chef Alli is not a dietitian or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate.
Ingredients needed to make this recipe –
Yellow Cake Mix: Use any brand of yellow cake mix you prefer. I typically use Duncan Hines or Pillsbury, but I also like the cake mixes available at Aldi, too. This is a standard size cake mix which is anywhere from 15-18 oz at the grocer.
- Unsalted Butter: I prefer unsalted butter for cooking and baking. This allows me to add the salt to taste instead of trying to figure out how much salt is already in the butter and doing a work-around as I cook. I do purchase salted butter for spreading onto warm slices of bread, but for cooking, I like unsalted butter. (And, if you hit a sale during the holiday season, remember that butter freezes just great, so stock up when you can save some $$$$.)
- Toasted Sliced Almond: Almonds give nice crunch and texture to this dessert, both in the base as well as in the topping. I’ve never substituted another type of nuts in this recipe, such as pecans or walnuts, but as long as they are chopped up fairly small, I think you could use either one. I try to purchase all of my nuts in bulk so that they aren’t quite as expensive, toasting them all at one time. (See how to do that in the recipe tip section below) Then, once they are toasted and cooled, I package them into 1/2 cup or 1 cup portions in freezer bags, placing them into the freezer to use as needed.
- Apricot Preserves: You’ll find apricot preserves in the jelly section at your grocer. I usually wind up purchasing apricot jam (which works just fine) since most grocery stores in my area don’t carry preserves. When it’s time to spread the apricot preserves (or jam) over the base of this dessert during the preparation, warm the preserves in the microwave for a few seconds to make them much more easily spread -this helps so much!
- Cream Cheese
- Toasted Coconut: I was never a fan of coconut flakes…..UNTIL I toasted them! Talk about a huge difference in flavor and texture – toasting coconut is life-changing! Now I can’t get enough of it. Adding the toasted coconut flakes to the topping in this dessert makes it extra crunchy and so pretty, too.
- Granulated Sugar
- All-Purpose Flour
- Almond Extract: You can also substitute vanilla extract.
- Egg
- Salt
Apricot Almond Bars FAQs
Are apricot preserves the same thing as apricot jam?
Technically, preserves have more fruit than jam, or at least the pieces of fruit are supposed to be more chunky in form. Jam has crushed pulp and fruit and should be a bit smoother in texture than preserves. (And while we are at it, jelly doesn’t have fruit at all, just fruit juice, and is supposedly more stiff in texture than jam or preserves.)
What if I don’t have apricot preserves on hand. Can I substitute something else?
Sometimes I don’t have apricot jam on hand, either, so I’ve been known to substitute peach jam in it’s place and that works great. However, what DOESN’T work great is orange marmalade! I used this one time in a pinch and it was awful…..so disappointing!
Also, I once substituted raspberry jam in place of the apricot jam and that worked well, too. Long story short – you can probably use nearly any flavor of jam or preserves you have on hand – just not ORANGE MARMALADE……ewwww.
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Nice recipe
hi I cannot open this email for recipe…… thanks