Apricot Coconut Date Bars

I have a confession.  Ever since Leslie posted her Lara bar recipe months ago, I.have.been.addicted.  I L.O.V.E. them.  When I told Leslie that I had been making them a couple of times a month she encouraged me to post a variation.  HUH? VARIATION?  I love them just the way they are . . . they need no adjustment.  (I’m kinda like that.  Once I find a good thing I kinda stick with it, ya know?)

However, I recently fell in love with apricots.  Oh my.  I had no idea what I was missing all these years.  Seriously, I had never eaten them except for maybe once as a kid when I must have decided that I just didn’t like them.  So glad that I actually gave them a try again now that I’m all grow’d up.  They’re wonderfully tart and just slightly sweet.  YUM. But this post was about Lara bars, no?  You must know where this is leading.  I paired my two loves — Lara Bars and apricots.  And since the date bars were slightly pushing ‘too sweet’ the apricots add a tartness to offset the sweetness.  Its a perfect combination.

Pre-prep

There is a little bit of pre-prep involved if you don’t have access to dehydrated apricots.  I actually dehydrated my own.  Just set the oven as low as it will go.  Line a pan with parchment paper. Halve the apricot (obviously remove the pit) and slowly dehydrate in the oven for a few hours until the desired dryness is achieved.  To make this recipe, you will not want to fully dehydrate but keep some of the sticky consistency, like dates.

[gmc_recipe 7260]

Post links to: Frugal Days, Real Food Wednesday, Whole Food Wednesday, Keep It Real, Eat Make Grow, Scratch Cookin’, Simple Lives, Fresh Foods, Pennywise Platter, Whole Food Friday, Fill Those Jars,