Apricot Crumble Bars

These bars, stuffed with honeyed thyme roasted apricots with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla are my summer staple and replace the cranberry and rhubarb versions that appear in the cooler months.  

Roasting the apricots brings a jammy soft texture but not overpowering sweetness which ensures their fresh tart flavour doesn’t dull in the baking process. The crumble topping is basically a riff on my earlier versions, with variations below to keep them nut and dairy free if required.  

If you are procuring stone fruit by the kilo while its at its peak, make these with peaches or nectarines or plums or a combination of all of them.  It will work a dream.  Or if you just have some excellent jam hanging around in your fridge you can use that instead of any roasted fruit.  The world is your crumble bar oyster. 

P.S. If you are an apricot lover like me, roast extras and use the extra glut on a piece of toast with labeneh or whipped feta, in your yoghurt topped with nuts and seeds or granola or in salads.  They are the gift that keeps on giving.

I use brown butter here because I am obsessed with it, but if you prefer to just use melted butter (which I don’t recommend but I understand the reticence), simply use 175g butter and melt, removing from the heat before it browns.

Start by roasting the apricots.  These can be done a good few hours in advance. 

Preheat oven to 200C (400F)

Halve the fruit and place in an oven proof dish where they fit snugly. Strip the thyme leaves from their stem and sprinkle over the cut halves, add the cinnamon stick, drizzle of honey, vanilla and salt and stir everything around together until they are fully coated. Make sure the apricot halves are facing cut side up in the pan.  

Roast in the middle of the oven for about 20-25 minutes until they are blistered and softened.  Allow to cool.

To make the brown butter crumble and assemble the bars:

Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F)

Line base and sides of a 20cm (8 inch) square baking tin with parchment paper

Start by browning the butter.  This process allows all the water to evaporate and results in a nutty, dark, golden delicacy. It only takes about 5 minutes, but if you decide to skip this step (which I don’t recommend) you will only  need 175g melted butter for the recipe (the difference in weight is lost in the evaporation/browning process).

In a medium size saucepan, melt the butter over a medium heat, giving it a gentle infrequent stir or swirl to check it’s not burning.  It will go through a couple of stages in the browning process – from melting, to foaming and trembling in height, but once the foam subsides its done and you should take it off the heat.

Immediately transfer into a large bowl to stop the browning and prevent burning.  It should now weigh 175g.

Allow the butter to cool slightly, then add the flour, ground almonds, sugar, oats cinnamon and salt and stir it all together with a spatula to combine until it’s the texture of crumble topping (it might be easier to use your hands here). 

Tip 2/3 of the mixture into the prepared tray and press down to make the base

Place the apricot halves evenly over the base, gently squishing them down and making sure you don’t waste any of the honey liquor in the bottom of the pan. Crumble the remaining flour/oat mixture over the top to make the crumb.

Sprinkle over the flaked almonds or pecans or pistachios if using and pop into the oven

Cook for 45 minutes until golden

Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars

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