Nature's Garden Apricot Almond Shortbread Bars

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

2. In a saucepan over medium heat add the apricots and water. Once the water begins to boil reduce the heat to medium-low, and let the apricots simmer for 20 minutes.

3. Drain the water from the apricots and reserve ¼ cup of the apricot liquid. Chop the drained apricots.

4. In a saucepan over medium-low heat add the apricot liquid and ¼ cup of sugar. Cook the mixture stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. Add the chopped apricots to the liquid in the saucepan and stir to combine. Set aside until ready to use.

5. In a bowl add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine. Add the sliced almonds and mix until the almonds are incorporated into the flour.

6. In a large bowl cream, butter and sugar for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add the flour and almond mixture to the creamed butter and stir with a spatula until all the ingredients are incorporated.

7. In an 8 by 8-inch baking dish lined with parchment paper add 1 cup of the shortbread mixture. Press the shortbread evenly into the baking dish with the bottom of the measuring cup.

8. Bake the shortbread for 20 minutes. Let the shortbread cool for at least 10 minutes.

9. Spread the apricot mixture over the shortbread, then sprinkle the rest of the shortbread mixture over the top of the apricot mixture. Squeeze the shortbread mixture together, then crumble it for a nice texture. Gently press the crumbles down into the dish to pack them if it looks too loose.

10. Bake the apricot shortbread for 35 minutes.

11. Let the shortbread bars cool completely. Lift (holding the parchment paper) the shortbread bars out of the dish and place them onto a cutting board.

12. Slice the bars twice vertically then twice horizontally.

13. Enjoy!