
I have a fabulous cookbook that highlights favorite recipes from bed and breakfast inns across the country. This week I found a recipe for apricot chicken breasts that called for a portion of a jar of apricot preserves to top the breasts while baking. I thumbed through the cookbook shortly thereafter and found a recipe for these apricot and oatmeal bars. What a great way to use up the balance of my preserves. This turned out to be a delicious treat as my family raved over these simple bars.

Apricot-Oatmeal Bars
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 – 12 ounce apricot jam/preserves
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients to form a crumb mixture.
Pat 1/2 of crumbs into a greased 11x7x1 1/2β or a 9×9β pan.
Spread the entire surface with apricot jam. Top with remaining crumbs.
Bake for 40 minutes or until the surface is golden bown.
Cool before cutting.
Those look delicious!
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They are delicious and pretty simple to throw together as they use just a few staple ingredients. Use any flavor jam/preserves you like. I packed them up for a long car ride today and everyone enjoyed the delicious snack as we had few options for a food stop along our path.
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I am thinking my family would love seedless raspberry jam! Thanks!
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Can you help me to solve the math problem :)? I have the same leftovers of apricot filling from my holiday kolacki, but I have a little bit less than 8 oz. And – I have no 9-inch square pans, only 7-inch. I think that having 2/3 of everything will work, right :)?
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π you have a 7″ square pan. 7 x 7 = 49 square inches. 8 x 8 = 64. So your pan is 49/64th the size called for. That’s 0.76, call it 3/4. So you need to use 3/4 of 8 ounces which is 6 ounces of apricot preserves.
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Sorry– 3/4 of all ingredients.
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Actually, it calls for 9X9 pan, OR 11X7 (which produce different sq inch number), and for 12 oz preserves, and I am trying to figure out, what I will need to reduce π
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YIKES! I apologize for not paying attention. You are right. The pan is 9″ not 8. So 2/3 is right. Gosh. I feel stupid.
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That’s OK, I do it all the time :). It is not really a math problem, but more “to which degree you can approximate”
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Thanks. I am serious, I actually blushed I felt so stupid. Good luck with the bars!
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please don’t!!! You know what I am always telling my junior colleagues? I has in the industry before you were born, so I made more mistakes in my life than all of you combined π
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Wow, sounds like you two have sorted this out. Hettie, the jam/preserves make a delightful filling and using a bit more or a bit less wonβt really matter. As for the other bar ingredients, Iβd be sure to scale things down as you had first suggested as the bars will be way too thick if you proceed with the full recipe. They really are quite tasty so I hope this works out for you. Enjoy your weekend!
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I will let you know, as always! BTW, the Apple cake had another smashing success with my daughter’s family:) People are crazy about it!
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Yes, that cake is a winner!
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It worked perfectly!
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Glad to hear it, Hettie!
Enjoy your weekend…
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Wow
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