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apricot cookie bars

apricot cookie bars

Megan
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.
4.89 from 9 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Cooling 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Equipment

  • stand mixer with paddle attachment or elecric hand mixer with beaters
  • 8X8 pan
  • parchment paper

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ¾ c (210g) all purpose flour
  • c (32-37g) almond flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 c (200g) granulated sugar
  • 1 zest of medium lemon
  • 1 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped
  • 1 c (227g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 (57g) large egg, room temperature
  • 1 tsp (5ml) vanilla extract
  • 1 c (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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