Apricot Cherry Bars With Oatmeal Crumble Topping Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the apricots, cherries, sugar and flour. Grease an 8 by 8-inch or 1 1/2 quart baking dish with the butter. Pour the fruit mixture into the dish. In a separate bowl, mix together the oatmeal, flour, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and salt and mix well. Top the fruit with this mixture and place in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• First make the topping. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with parchment. Place the oats, rice flour, whole-wheat flour or ground flaxseeds, turbinado sugar, salt and nutmeg in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse several times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the butter is evenly distributed throughout the grain mix. The mixture should have a crumbly consistency.
• Spread the topping over the parchment-covered baking sheet in an even layer. Place in the oven and bake 10 minutes. Rotate the pan, stir the mixture, and bake another 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. You can keep this in an airtight container or freezer bag in the freezer for several weeks.
• Raise the oven heat to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together the apricots, honey or agave nectar, cinnamon, cornstarch, slivered almonds, vanilla and almond extract. Cover and let sit for 15 minutes.
• Butter a 2-quart baking dish. Scrape the fruit and all of the juice in the bowl into the baking dish. Spread the crumble topping over the apricots in an even layer. Bake 20 minutes, or until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is nicely browned. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 13-by-9-inch Pyrex baking pan with vegetable cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, mix flour, oats, brown sugar and salt. Stir in butter with a fork until well mixed and clumps have formed. Spread 1 1/2 packed cups of oat mixture over the bottom of the pan, pressing to form a thin crust.
• Mix coconut, almonds, cherries, apricots and milk in a large bowl. Pour over crust, using a rubber spatula to evenly distribute and press down. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture over dried fruit filling.
• Bake until lightly golden, about 30 minutes. Cool to room temperature. (You can cover and store at room temperature up to 2 days.)
• To serve, cut into generous 1 1/2-inch squares.