Apricot Oat Bars

I feel like I’m in between worlds right now. Summer is starting to end. The sun is still bright and shining, but the weather is getting colder. Kids are back in school, yet vacation pictures are still all over Facebook. The days are getting shorter, but the world is still green.  It’s not summer anymore, but not quite yet fall.

How can I become ready to greet the fall season? Fall means apricots and oats and cinnamon. I think we can come to an arrangement with those!

This apricot treat with vanilla, oats and loads of  honey flavor is a delicious dessert for fall. It’s crisp, crunchy sweet top and bottom coats an inner world of apricot.  Apricot bliss! It’s sweet apricot flavor is delicately spiced with cinnamon. I hope you are ready for fall because this is definitely worth greeting.

Apricot Oat Bars (adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

Filling:
1 1/4 cups (13-ounces) sugar free or naturally sweetened Apricot Jam
10 Dried Apricots, chopped coarsely
1 teaspoon Honey

Crust:
1 3/4 cups Spelt Flour
3/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon (divided) Coconut Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon Sea or Pink Salt
3/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 3/4 cups plus 1 Tablespoon Oats
3/4 cup coarsely Chopped Walnuts
2/3 cup Honey
1 cup Coconut Oil or unsalted Butter, melted
1 beaten Large Egg, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
Optional: 1 Tablespoon flax seed

Start by mixing your apricots, jam and honey in a small mixing bowl. Set aside.
For the crust, mix together your flour, 3/4 cup coconut sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, oats and walnuts. Stir in your honey. Add the melted coconut oil or butter, beaten egg and vanilla and stir until well combined. Spray a 7 by 11 or a 9 by 13 baking dish. With clean fingers, press half of the crust mixture firmly in the bottom of your baking dish. Spread your apricot jam filling all over the crust. Cover the apricot filling with the remaining crust mixture and press lightly to flatten and firm. Sprinkle on bars 1 teaspoon of coconut sugar. Bake at 350 for 28-30 minutes. Let cool for at least 30 minutes to an 1 hour.