Layered Apricot Bars . . . and Going with the Flow

Well, I feel like it's officially summer now. The weather's been astoundingly pleasant. Robins and sparrows convene daily for a splash in our bird bath. Jittery black squirrels, which seem to have multiplied overnight, dash in circles around our backyard every morning, just like little kids.

 On the human front, my younger son finished his sophomore year of high school last week and my older son is finally back home after a challenging freshman year in college; their relief is palpable.

My husband, who likes to paint in his precious spare time, has lately been setting up his easel in the backyard. He looks so calm and content with a paintbrush in his hand.

This kind of thing, taken in total, gives me a quiet sense of confirmation that, for the moment at least, all is perfectly well in our little nest. However fragile, however fleeting, these delicate moments of complete satisfaction with life are what it's all about. Maybe it's a mom thing. Or maybe not . . . do you find that to be true as well?


And despite the increasingly warm weather, I find myself in the last week or so more interested than ever in baking. It's like something about the four of us being all together again has suddenly caused my nesting instincts to ramp up, so I figure I'm just going to go with the flow.

Gonna bake whenever the spirit moves me, and if I want to bake something odd or old-fashioned or outrageous or boring, well, that's all fine. This summer, as a baker, I think I'm just gonna let my freak flag fly.

 About this recipe . . .

Adapted from this Hungarian apricot bar recipe on Chowhound, this makes a big, big pan of bars! I added candied ginger and ground cinnamon, used toasted pecans instead of walnuts, and fiddled with the method somewhat. I also added a little lemon juice and sugar into the apricot filling formula. This recipe is kind of labor intensive for a bar, what with the rolling out of the three soft dough layers, but I thought it was worth the time and effort.

Layered Apricot Bars with Candied Ginger
(For a printable version of this recipe, click here!)

Yield: 1 half-sheet pan (18" x 13") lined with parchment paper cut to fit the bottom of the pan without extending up the sides

Ingredients for the apricot filling:
12 oz. dried apricots, chopped small
12 oz. good quality apricot preserves
1 cup water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Ingredients for the dough:
5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

8 oz. unsalted butter, softened but not warm
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
Yolks of 4 large eggs
1 cup thick sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste


Ingredients for the mixture of sugar and nuts:

1 and 3/4 cups toasted pecans, chopped small
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped candied ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Make the apricot filling first:
Simmer all of the filling ingredients together in a medium size saucepan until thick and bubbly. Keep the fire medium-low so it doesn't burn, and stir the contents frequently. Set aside to cool.

Prepare the sugar and nut mixture next.

In a small bowl, stir together all ingredients for the sugar and nut mixture; set aside.

Make the dough:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In the large bowl of your mixer, on low speed, mix together the butter, shortening, egg yolks, sour cream, and vanilla until well combined. Add all of this into the bowl of dry ingredients and stir it in. Divide the dough into equal thirds. Wrap each piece in plastic wrap and chill it in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Take one piece of dough from the fridge and roll it out onto the parchment paper from your pan. Try to roll the dough as close to the edges of the pan as you can. Use flour on your rolling pin and sprinkle it lightly on the dough as needed. The dough may be quite soft and sticky.

After the dough is rolled out, place it, still on the paper, into the pan. Spread about two thirds of the sugar and nut mixture evenly over the top. Remove another piece of dough from the fridge. Scatter chunks of it on top of the nut layer. Flour your rolling pin again (reflouring it as needed), and roll the chunks of dough out as best you can over that; this layer of dough may look patchy here and there (as shown in the picture below) but that's okay.

Spread all of the apricot filling evenly on top of the layer of dough.

Now, on a well floured piece of parchment, roll out the remaining piece of dough. Make it the same size as the sheet pan; this is the piece you will end up cutting into strips to make the faux-lattice design. Once rolled out, use a pizza/pastry wheel to evenly divide the strips length-wise. Try to make each strip about one inch wide; try to get about 16 strips in all. Carefully lift the strips evenly lay the long ones first atop the apricot layer; use about 6 of them. Cut the remaining strips so they're about 14 inches long, and lay about 10 of them, perpendicular, over the long strips.

Over the top of the lattice, scatter the remainder of the nut and sugar mixture.

Bake the bars for about 30 minutes, until they're nicely golden on top.

Cool them completely on a rack before cutting them and attempting to remove them from the pan. They'll hold up well for a few days, if you keep them covered, before they start to dry out. (Store any leftover bars, as soon as they're cool, well wrapped in the freezer.)

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Fresh Apricot Cinnamon-Chip Muffins . . . Tart & Sweet!

Here we are, moving into the tail end of June, and the onslaught of bright, fresh, summer produce is finally upon us. Among other things, this means that we now have access to a multitude of reasonably priced, and adorably cute, apricots.

A sensitive and delicate fruit, so they say, the apricot is a bit of a homebody that, apparently, doesn't cope well with traveling. It's easily bruised and it doesn't care for the jostling, tight quarters, and  occasional indignities inherent in a long-distance journey. Perhaps you feel the same way?

Because of this, only about one quarter of the apricots grown in the U.S. actually make their way to retail markets, so the experts say. These are picked just at the beginning of ripeness, when still firm. But what of the remaining 75 percent? Those lucky fellows are allowed to linger on the trees and, as a result, grow remarkably sweeter than their less fortunate counterparts; they end up canned, frozen, dried, and so on. This means that the fresh apricots you lovingly select one by one in your local grocery store may indeed be cute, but it's a roll of the dice as to whether or not you'll find yourself smiling or puckering after you bite into one.

This all just seems to make sense, though, doesn't it? One could make the case that it's analagous to life. Aren't we sweeter when we aren't rushed? Aren't we more appealing when we've had a good supply of uninterrupted leisure in which to sleep, dream, and reflect? Of course we are.

It's not always a baker's tragedy, though, if the apricots to be used in a recipe lean toward the tarter end of the spectrum. Perhaps two thirds of the apricots that I used in these muffins were kind of astringent, while the rest were only mildly sweet. I think, though, that in certain cases a flavorful but tart chunk of fruit balances remarkably well with its more sugary surroundings. These muffins present a perfect example. The cinnamon chips provide a burst of sweetness here and there that equalizes and nicely offsets the surprising tang of any less-than-fully-ripe fruit pieces.

About this recipe . . . 

Adapted from a blueberry muffin recipe in Flo Braker's wonderful book, Baking for All Occasions, I made a number of changes in order to produce these. In addition to substituting apricot chunks for blueberries,  I swapped out a bit of the white flour in favor of a small portion of whole wheat flour and oats. Instead of using buttermilk, which I love but didn't have on hand, I used half sour cream and half milk, along with a smidgen of lemon juice. I omitted the lemon zest.

And, instead of  dipping the warm muffin tops in butter and then plopping them enthusiastically in cinnamon sugar, as Flo indicates should be done, I lightly brushed the tops with melted butter and sprinkled them with just a very small amount of cinnamon sugar. It seemed to me they would have been practically inedible if I'd followed Flo's recommendation to dip them in her "doughnut topping," because melted butter sops up a huge amount of sugar (ever noticed this?).

I was pretty pleased with how these came out. The texture was right on target--really tender with no tough or rubbery aspect whatsoever--and the muffins had fine flavor. The cinnamon chips that I used came from King Arthur Flour, so of course they weren't cheap. But less costly brands of cinnamon chips are pretty common in grocery stores now, too. If you'd prefer to skip the cinnamon chips altogether, certainly do so; you might want to just add in some cinnamon with the dry ingredients--maybe a teaspoon or less--before they're mixed with the liquids. The muffins won't be as sweet without the chips, but they'll still be good, I'm sure of it.

Apricot Cinnamon-Chip Muffins

(For a printable version of this recipe, click here!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and prepare a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners, or spray liberally with baking spray.

For the batter:
1 and 1/2 cups All-Purpose flour (I used unbleached)
3 Tbsp. whole wheat flour
1/4 cup regular or quick-cooking (not instant) oats
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt (I used a generous 1/2 tsp.)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup milk (I used 2 percent)
3 oz. unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled (aka 3/4 of one stick, or 6 Tbsp.)
2 eggs, large
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup of unpeeled fresh apricot pieces, chopped small
2/3 cup mini cinnamon chips 

For the topping:
1/4 granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 oz. unsalted butter, melted (1/2 of one stick, or 4 Tbsp.)

In a large mixing bowl, using a whisk, combine the white flour, whole wheat flour, oats, sugar, salt, and baking soda.

In a medium size bowl, using a spoon, blend together the sour cream, milk, melted butter, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.

Add the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients and stir together until just combined; use care not to overmix. With a spatula, gently fold in the apricot pieces and the cinnamon chips.

Fill the muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake on the middle rack of your oven for approximately 20 minutes, until light golden brown and the centers spring back when lightly pressed with a finger.

Cool the muffins in the pan for about 10 minutes. Remove them from the pan to a cooling rack. Using a pastry brush, coat the tops with melted butter and a small sprinkling of cinnamon sugar.

 
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Big & Bright Apricot Bars . . . .

If you love apricots, and I mean really love apricots, you will probably like this recipe. In this case, though, we're talking about dried apricots. So, are you crazy about dried apricots? I'll give you a moment to think about it . . .

Yes? Well, okay then. Feel free to proceed.

Coming to us from Marcy Goldman's 2007 book, A Passion for Baking, these bars are stuffed full of dried apricots that have been simmered with sugar and citrus juices, and then pureed. The fruit is spread over a layer of partially-baked dough, then another of layer of the same dough--which is first frozen and then shredded with a grater--is sprinkled atop that. Baked until glowing and lightly golden, the whole thing is crowned, once cooled, with a perky dusting of confectioners' sugar. And there you have it--big, bright, apricot bars.

When I made these a couple of days ago, I adhered pretty closely to the original recipe, with one minor substitution. I switched ground almonds for the small portion of optional ground walnuts in the crust dough. If you're going to try these, a couple of caveats: Beware that the dough is really quite soft, so judiciousness is called for when adding in the few tablespoons of heavy cream. Too much cream and you won't be able to work with it well. And, if you're going to try the shredded frozen-dough technique, your dough really has to be frozen. It defrosts quickly, too, so don't cheat with this step or you'll have a sticky mess on your hands.

What were the final thoughts on these apricot bars in my household? My husband was pretty enthusiastic about them, but suggested the filling could be a little "tarter," while I thought they were not bad but felt the filling should be sweeter, so we had no consensus there. (My kids were uninterested, not being big fans of dried fruit, but that was to be expected. At least the younger one was willing to hold one and sniff at it before turning up his nose! Keep in mind, these are not topped with something like the sweet streusel you might find on the top of a coffeecake.)

If I were to make these again I'd like to jazz them up a bit. Maybe add a pinch or two of cinnamon, nutmeg, or some similar spice to the dough, and possibly substitute more ground nuts for some of the flour. I might increase the amount of salt in the crust a tiny bit, too. And, rather than dust the top with confectioners' sugar, which has a tendency to almost disappear after a little while on the bars in terms of both appearance and flavor, I think sprinkling the top generously with cinnamon sugar (perhaps just before it goes in the oven?) might be an intriguing alteration, too. As for the filling, maybe another shot of lemon juice? In any case, I believe this one of those recipes that should be open to your own interpretation.

All in all, though, it's a good basic concept Marcy Goldman's got going on here and one that could be fun to play around with and tweak. She is, in her book, very encouraging of bakers customizing her recipes, within reason at least, so I suspect she'd probably approve of any such creative adjustments. So if you're in the mood, approach this recipe with an open mind, give these a whirl, and let the dried apricot fans have at 'em!

Apricot Bars

(For a printable version of this recipe, click here!)

For the dough:
2 and 1/4 cups All Purpose flour (I used unbleached)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt (I used a heaping 1/4 tsp.)
1/4 cup ground walnuts, optional (I substituted ground almonds)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 Tbsp. vegetable shortening
2 eggs, large
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 to 6 Tbsp. heavy cream (I'd be careful here; don't pour it all in at once or your dough may be way too soft!)
For the apricot filling:3/4 cup orange juice (I used fresh squeezed)
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
4 cups dried apricots (preferably Californian, per Marcy)
1/3 cup granulated sugar

* * *

Confectioners' sugar for dusting on the baked bars

* * *

Make the dough first.
Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nuts (if using) in the bowl of a food processor. Add in the butter and shortening, and pulse to form a mealy mixture.


Add in the eggs, vanilla, and gradually add in the cream to form a soft dough.


Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead gently to form a firm but soft dough. (Note from Jane: My dough was very, very soft, so I needed to use a more heavily floured work surface, otherwise it would have been quite unworkable. Next time, I'll be more conservative when adding in the cream!)


Divide the dough equally into two pieces and wrap them separately in plastic. Refrigerate one half of the dough for one hour, and put the other half in the freezer.

Make the apricot filling.
Place all of the filling ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan and simmer over low heat, tossing the fruit to moisten and soften it, for about 8 to 12 minutes.


Let it cool for about 15 minutes and then puree it in the food processor. Chill the puree.


Assemble the bars.

Preheat your oven to 350. Liberally coat with baking spray, or line completely with parchment paper, one 11" x 7" pan, or one 9" x 9" pan. Place the pan on a cookie sheet that has also been lined with parchment. (Note from Jane: Marcy Goldman recommends doing this with many baked goods; it may sound like a bit much, but it really works and helps prevent overbrowned bottoms!)
Pat out the refrigerated half of the dough into the bottom of your pan, as evenly as you can.


Bake this for 10 to 12 minutes, then let it cool well.

Over this cooled and half-baked dough, smoothly spread out all of the apricot puree. It will be a pretty thick layer.


Using a box grater, coarsely shred the frozen half of the dough directly onto the layer of apricot puree, taking care to evenly cover the entire surface. (Note from Jane: You may want to shred one smaller chunk of this frozen dough at a time, so as to keep from inadvertently defrosting part of the whole chunk while you're holding it. You can also shred it all onto a plate first, if you prefer, and then sprinkle it onto the apricot layer.)

Place the pan on the parchment-covered baking sheet, and bake for 22 to 25 minutes, until the top crust is lightly golden brown. Cool completely in the pan, on a rack, then dust the bars with confectioners' sugar. If you've used parchment in the pan, use the overlapping paper to lift the bars out in one solid piece, then slice that while it's still on the paper.


Recipe full disclosure! The recipe in Marcy Goldman's book, A Passion for Baking (2007, Oxmoor House), from which this one is adapted, is called "Bookstore Cafe Apricot Squares," and it appears on pages 164 and 165.

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