These coconut almond apricot bars were first made popular by a cookbook called Robin Hood Home Baking. A version has since been featured on Fine Cooking, and another adaptation was shared with us by Jen Maharaj-Stott when she wrote for Just Baking. We further adapted them to work a better with dairy-free ingredients.
The bars have a wonderfully buttery crust and a chewy, sweet, apricot filling. The apricots are soaked in water, but Jen says you can soak them in orange juice for even more flavor. And the folks at Fine Cooking like to add a touch of apricot jam to the filling.
Photo above by The Canadian Baker, Jen Maharaj-Stott. Photo in recipe from Fine Cooking.
Special Diet Notes: Coconut Almond Apricot Bars
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, peanut-free, soy-free, and vegetarian.
- ½ cup dairy-free buttery sticks (1 stick), softened
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1¼ cups + ⅓ cup all-purpose flour, divided
- 2 tablespoons dairy-free milk beverage
- 1 cup diced dried apricots
- Water, as needed
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut
- ½ cup chopped almonds
- Preheat your oven to 325°F and grease a 9-inch square baking pan.
- Beat the buttery stick and sugar together in a mixing bowl until light and creamy. Add the 1¼ cups flour and mix until coarse crumbs form. Add the dairy-free milk beverage and mix. Press the dough evenly into your prepared pan.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until light golden.
- Place the apricots and enough water to cover in small saucepan. Bring to boil over low heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain the apricots. If they are too chunky, you can pulse them in your food processor a few times to break them down more.
- Beat the eggs and brown sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Add the remaining ⅓ cup flour and baking powder and mix to combine. Stir in the apricots, coconut, and almonds.
- Spread the mixture over the warm crust.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan on a rack. Once cool, cut into squares.
