Ingredients
Scale
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, very cold and cut into cubes
- 1 ½ cups high-quality apricot preserves
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest (from one small orange)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides for easy lifting.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, rolled oats, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the cold, cubed butter to the dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender, your fingertips, or a food processor, cut the butter into the mixture until coarse crumbs form, with some pea-sized pieces remaining. Be careful not to overmix; you want a crumbly texture.
- Reserve about 1 cup of the crumb mixture for the topping. Press the remaining crumb mixture evenly and firmly into the bottom of the prepared baking pan.
- Bake the crust for 15-18 minutes, or until lightly golden brown around the edges.
- While the crust is baking, prepare the filling: In a small saucepan, combine the apricot preserves, orange juice, orange zest, and cinnamon (if using). Heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the preserves are warm and slightly loosened, about 3-5 minutes.
- Once the crust is partially baked, remove it from the oven. Evenly spread the warm apricot-orange filling over the hot crust.
- Crumble the reserved 1 cup of topping mixture over the filling.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbly around the edges.
- Let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before lifting them out using the parchment paper overhang. This is crucial for clean cuts.
- Once fully cooled, cut into squares or bars.
Notes
For an extra layer of flavor, consider adding a pinch of ground cardamom to the crust mixture. These bars store beautifully at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week. They also freeze well for longer storage. If you prefer a different fruit, raspberry or peach preserves would also work wonderfully.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar (1/16th of recipe)
- Calories: 300
- Sugar: 28g
- Sodium: 125mg
- Fat: 14g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 45g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 35mg