these quick and easy apricot cookie bars are made from a sweet and buttery cookie base filled with lemon zest, rosemary, white chocolate and dried apricots. the result is a chewy, slightly crumbly cookie bar that is deliciously balanced between sweet and savory, with notes of pine, citrus and caramelized chocolate.
stand mixer with paddle attachment or elecric hand mixer with beaters
8X8 pan
parchment paper
Ingredients
1 ¾ c (210g)all purpose flour
⅓ c (32-37g)almond flour
½ tsp salt
1c (200g)granulated sugar
1zest of medium lemon
1tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1c (227g)unsalted butter, room temperature
1(57g)large egg, room temperature
1tsp (5ml)vanilla extract
1c (6oz./ 170g)good quality white chocolate, chopped
½ c (85g)dried apricot, chopped (about 11-12)
1-2 tsp flaky salt for finsihing, optional
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C).Line a 8X8 (20cm) pan with parchment paper along the bottom up the sides and with a 1-2" overhang. This makes it easier to left the cookies out of the pan without breaking them.
Whisk the flours and salt together until well combined.
In a stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand mixer with beaters) rub the sugar, lemon zest and rosemary together until a wet, sand like texture appears.
Add butter to the infused sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
Add the egg and vanilla extract, beating each one on low for about 20 seconds before adding the next.
Add the dry ingreidents to the wet and mix by hand or on the lowest setting until JUST combined.
Fold all the chopped apricots and about ¾ white chocolate into the cookie dough. While the dough is still in the bowl, use your hands to incorporate any stray pieces that didn't get worked into the dough.
Starting at the edges, working in to the center, evenly press the dough into the prepared pan. Top with the remaining ¼ of the chopped white chocolate.
Bake the dough in a 350F oven for 30-35 minutes or until the edges are set and golden brown. The center will look lighter – more a light golden brown. Remove the baked cookies from the oven to cool in the pan on a cooling rack for about 30 minutes. Top with flaky salt if desired.
Slice and enjoy!
Notes
almond flour: the weight of ⅓ c can range depending on the brand you use. the easiest way to figure out the weight for the brand of almond flour you have it to look on the back. most have the weight for ¼ c. multiply this number by 4. now divide the total by 3. this will tell you the weight of the flour you are using. almond flour sub: use ¼ c + 1 tablespoon all purpose flour (38g) in place of the almond flour. the almond flour gives the cookies a nice chewiness, so keep it if you can! apricots: for this recipe, I used dried Turkish apricots from trader joes. each apricot was chopped into quarters. each quarter was chopped into 2-3 more pieces, yielding about 8-12 chopped pieces per dried apricot. white chocolate: for this recipe, I used Ghirardelli white chocolate bars chopped into roughly the same size as chocolate chips.
Keyword apricot cookie bars, buttery cookie bars, caramelized white chocolate cookies, rosemary cookies
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