Let me just get the obvious out of the way because I know what you’re thinking: what am I doing here? Shouldn’t I be packing for our move, which is less than 24 hours from now? These are all valid questions, but you see, there is history here, a long history of kitchen-related procrastination. Two days before our last move, I sheeted pasta and peeled favas. I spent the last week of my pregnancy stocking the freezer with foods to bribe charm labor and delivery nurses with. When I was done with that, I made a cake for people coming to visit the new baby. When my induction was trudging along pitifully slowly, I pulled out my laptop and wrote up a new recipe I’d made in the days before. Thus, it should be no surprise that on Tuesday, with a totally straight face, I made the argument by turning the last splash of heavy cream, handful of chocolate chips and a half-pint of vanilla ice cream leftover from this into hot fudge sauce, I was “packing.” But yesterday, I didn’t even have an excuse; I just needed a break from having exasperating conversations a store that lost the mattress we ordered and could maybe get us a replacement sometime in September, arrgh.
Ahem. I’ve been in a bit of a fervor this summer over the apricots from Red Jacket Orchards. I shared a photo of them the other day and someone asked me what I was going to make with them and I was confused. Make? With apricots? Why on earth would you make something with apricots, when you could eat them as-is, even four in a row as my son did before my dropped jaw yesterday. But then the next wave of procrastination hit and why, yes, making something with apricots was a brilliant idea!
In another era of my life, this would have been a tart. I would have made a tart shell and pressed it into a fluted, removable bottom tart pan, trimmed the overhand, pricked it all over with a fork, filled it with pie weighs and par-baked it before filling it elegantly. This all feels way too fussy for my current lifestyle — and by “lifestyle” I mean “barely managed chaos” — and so I made bar cookies instead. Bar cookies are your friend. The crust can be whizzed up in a food processor and pressed into the bottom. You parbake it with no docking and no pie weights, and while it’s in the oven, you use the bowl of your food processor that you didn’t even wash (because la dee da, it doesn’t matter) to grind the pistachio frangipane filling.
Frangipane is usually made with almonds; frangipane is delicious with almonds. But what I really want to eat with apricots is nubby green pistachios, and so I made a pistachio paste instead. As the sole purpose of this baked good was to allow me to avoid handling the real things in my life that need to be handled, and I was very distracted while baking it, my expectations were very low for the results. I figured it would be a disaster and one day, preferably in my new kitchen, I’d make it again properly. But the kitchen faeries were with me — it’s like they wanted me to willfully ignore my to-do list! And who am I to argue with faeries?! — and these are actually wonderful, buttery and rich but not too sweet. For a bar cookie, they are downright elegant. As a way to evade a big looming deadlines, astoundingly effective. Now, who wants to come over and help us pack?
One year ago: Kale Salad with Pecorino and Walnuts
Two years ago: Leek, Chard and Corn Flatbread
Three years ago: Peach Butter
Four years ago: Everyday Chocolate Cake
Five years ago: Lighter, Airy Pound Cake
Six years ago: Key Lime Meltaways
Seven years ago: Mixed Bean Salad
Apricot Pistachio Squares
This recipe is lightly spun from this pear-almond tart from Dorie Greenspan, with a simpler crust and streamlined steps. This is the kind of bar recipe that should theoretically be flexible to use with other ingredients; I’ve been eager to try a peach-pecan or plum-walnut combo. I’d love to hear what kind of spin you give them. You can estimate roughly need twice the weight in pistachios if you’re buying them in their shells.
Yield: 16 or 25 bars, depending on how you cut them
Crust
1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (4 ounces or 115 grams) unsalted butter, cold is fine
Filling
3/4 cup (a scant 4 ounces or 110 grams) shelled unsalted pistachios
1 tablespoon (10 grams) all purpose flour
Few pinches of sea salt
6 tablespoons (75 grams) sugar
5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter, cold is fine
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon almond extract, 2 teaspoons brandy or another flavoring of your choice (totally optional)
1 pound firm-ripe apricots
To finish
Powdered sugar or 1/4 cup apricot jam
Heat your oven to 350 degrees F. Cut two 12-inch lengths of parchment paper and trim each to fit the 8-inch width of an 8×8-inch square baking pan. Press it into the bottom and sides of your pan in one direction, then use the second sheet to line the rest of the pan, perpendicular to the first sheet. (If you have an 8-inch square springform, you can skip this and just butter it well.)
Make the crust: Combine the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Cut the butter into chunks, and add it to the bowl, then run the machine until the mixture forms large clumps — that’s right, just keep running it; it might take 30 seconds to 1 minute for it to come together, but it will. Transfer the dough clumps to your prepared baking pan and press it evenly across the bottom and 1/4-inch up the sides. Bake for 15 minutes, until very pale golden. For the sake of speed, transfer to a cooling rack in your freezer for 10 to 15 minutes while you prepare the filing.
(Don’t have a food processor? You might have an easier time using softened butter and preparing this cookie-style: cream it with the sugar with a hand mixer, then spoon in the salt and flour, beating until just combined. It might help to chill this mixture a bit before pressing it into the pan, or it might feel too greasy to easily spread.)
Make the filling: In your food processor bowl (which I never bother cleaning between these steps), grind your pistachios, sugar, flour and salt together until the nuts are powdery. Cut the butter into chunks and add it to the machine. Run the machine until no buttery bits are visible. Add any flavorings and egg, blending until just combined.
Spread filling over mostly cooled (warmth is okay but it’s hoped that the freezer will have firmed the base enough that you can spread something over it) crust. Cut apricots in half (or, you might find that you can tear them open at the seams with your fingers) and remove pits. From here, you have a few decoration options: you can place the apricot halves in facedown or up all over the pistachio base. You can do as I did, which is cut them into strips, then slide each cut half onto a butter knife or offset spatula, tilt it so that it fans a little, and slide it onto your pistachio filling decoratively. (With this method, I ended up not using all of my apricots.) You could also arrange the strips like petals of flower around the pan, for maximum pretties.]]
Bake the bars for 60 minutes, or until they are golden and a toothpick inserted into the pistachio portion comes out batter-free. This might take up to 10 minutes longer depending on the juiciness of your apricots and the amount you were able to nestle in. Let cool completely in pan; you can hasten this along in the fridge.
To finish, you can make a shiny glaze for your tart by warming the jam in a small saucepan until it thins, and brushing this mixture over the top of the cooled tart. Or, you can keep it rustic with just a dusting of powdered sugar, as I did.
Cut bars into squares — chilled bars will give you the cleanest cuts. Keep leftover bars chilled.
Um, this looks amazing. And I love that it can be done just with the food processor alone. I am going to the store to get apricots and pistachios NOW!
It’s like you read my mind – all I need is some way to use up a bazillion apricots/peaches from our CSA. And here you are with this. Excellent. Thank you!
Yum! Good luck with the move, Deb! While you finish packing, will you contemplate whether this recipe would work with Italian plums? We have a tree out back that will be ripening soon and I’m always looking for new ideas (beyond eating straight up).
If I was NYC I would come help. I just did the same for my daughter and her family.
Thank you for all the great recipes. I would hate cooking without your inspiration!
Hope the move goes well.
Can I say that these are two flavors that I absolutely adore separately, but can’t believe I never thought of pairing together? Also, I haven’t actually cooked with pistachios as much as I love them. :) Thanks!
I’m about to pack myself for a move soon, so I wish you luck! As for the recipe, I have a feeling that I have some nuts destined for a frangipane before I leave this house. So now, just to track down some apricots…
They look soooo yummy! Abi :) myw0rldmyview.blogspot.co.uk
Oh what, my two favourite sweet flavours? Guess I have plans for this evening. I might mess with it slightly by adding a touch of cardamom to the base…mmm!
Exactly the recipe I’ve been looking for! I have some pistachio paste I bought in France. Do you think I could use this as the filling? Should I still add the flour/sugar/flavorings?
Sarica — I haven’t tried this from existing paste, so it’s hard to say how it would work. I’d expect it to replace the nuts and sugar, but maybe not the egg, butter, or flour. You might want to start with 3/4 to 1 cup paste.
Just as we were recovering from the blueberry crumb cake, this comes along. Can’t wait to try it!
We’re moving in a couple weeks, so I should be packing up my stuff as well. Guess I’ll be making some apricot bars. ;)
Ohh I love this combination, good luck with moving!!
Just tore an Apricot-Pistachio Biscotti recipe out of an old ( shamefully old…) magazine last night…now all I can think is “who needs a DRY cookie?” when you can have these bars????? Dry in winter maybe, when you can’t get good apricots…but now???? no way- these are IT! Thanks Deb, I’m on it.
These apricot bars look amazing! I’m always looking for ways to give my daughter apricots to keep her a little more “regular.” These bars are going to do the trick! Thanks.:)
oh boy, these look incredible. i think the colors (and flavor of course!) would be perfect for thanksgiving.
I’m co-opting your brilliant use “lifestyle” for “barely managed chaos”. Sheer genius, that. As is this recipe. PS – repeating phrase at end of first paragraph (maybe just for emphasis?): “I just needed a break”.
Molly — Thanks, now fixed. Or maybe it was for emphasis?
(P.S. Seriously, I’m like this tweet when I seem surprised that I’m kinda stressed out today when, hello, apricot squares.)
Damn you Deb! Going back over those transitioney posts is making my uterus forget everything that I swore I would never forget the first time around.
assuming you could use already ground pistachios, (or almonds or hazelnuts) – would you still use 110 grams? how about also subbing in for some of the flour in the crust?
deb — Swap ground pistachios for the weight, yes. I do think you could swap in some in the crust, but too much and it may not come together as well.
Not a pistachio fan, but these still look good. I may try them with almonds.
What is the effect of parbaking a crust for a tart or bar like this when the whole thing cooks for another hour? I have baked a lot of pies and tarts and have never parbaked the crust if the pie has to cook for more than 40 minutes. I usually start the baking with the temperature higher for 10-15 minutes and then turn it down and I haven’t had any issues with soggy crusts. None of my crust recipes have butter in them though (I use crisco or oil), so maybe that’s the difference? Or is it purely a flavor preference, as the shell gets more browned?
I can’t wait to try this flavor combination! Two of my favorite things.
That tweet kills me, figuratively and practically literally. How can a tweet hurt so much? Ouch, dude.
This is a dumb question. Salted or unsalted pistachios? I love everything about the ingredients in this recipe!
I notice you added a little salt to the pistachio layer. Did you use unsalted nuts? Just wondering because sometimes pistachios can be a little salty.
Deb! As always, just when we think you have brought out the most fabulous recipe, you surprise us with delicious looking apricot and pistachio bars!
Quick question (as always): Since you mentioned food processors a couple of times – I am on the lookout for a good food processor. Nothing too fancy, but something super reliable. I am good with mini processors too cause it will just be my fiance and I at the apartment. Do you recommend any brands? And which one do you have?? I have been going crazy looking at Vitamix and Cuisinart and Jamie Oliver Philips but I just can’t bring myself to spend 400 quid on a food processor (Read: my fiance won’t allow me to).
Thanks again for giving us recipes even when you’re swamped!
xx
Wow these are beautiful! What an interesting combo – I can’t wait to try!
I’m a nut-paste fiend, and these squares look sensational. Am within moments of ordering a pound of shelled pistachios. Did you use roasted or raw? Thanks.
I, myself, am in the midst of an apartment purge — a HELLISH business. And when I’m done, the apartment will still be a dog (albeit an uncluttered dog).
Hope your move goes smoothly, Deb. I envy your swell new digs!
YES to everything in this recipe, a million times over. And I too am guilty of the baking-procrastination. Its not really procrastination if you are making a whole gosh darn PIE right??
You know we’d all come if you had a packing party. And you’re just moving in the same building, right? We could build a human chain and just pass things along. Be done in an hour. Sorry if this just gives you a bittersweet daydream. If you’re not afraid of stalkers, though, you should let us all come help you! xox
I am always so envious of the great quality of ingredients you seem to have to hand in the states. I am a big fan of pistachios and the apricots are ready in the garden. And the fact that this is such a sweetly simple recipe means I have to make it. Lush :) Hope the move goes well.
Apricots with pistachios? yum!! I need to make these soon. what a lucky coincidence my holiday starts tomorrow. :-)
If I may offer one piece of advice re. apricots: If you can, try and get Bergeron apricots (or Bergarouge, which is similar). I’m an apricot lover, but am often disappointed when the fruit turns out mealy or too sour. Bergeron apricots, usually easily discernible because of their reddish speckles, are the perfect combination of sweet and tangy. When they’re ripe, I prefer them over any other type – both for eating raw, baking and jam-making.
The colour combo is lovely. Just playing with the colurs would be fun.
Mmm apricots! This looks so good!
How did they LOSE your mattress? Super uncool.
Those look great!! Your recipes are always so consistently awesome, and I really appreciate that! Anything I’ve ever made of yours has turned out perfectly, and been a hit :-)
These look wonderful, but not a huge fan of apricots. What do you think of switching out with peaches – would they go ok with pistachios?
Hope your move goes well : )
Deb! I love you! I’ve been wanting pistachio butter but didn’t know where to start. What a great gateway to pulverizing nuts in my food processor! Looks delish!
Pack Schmack – you’re only schlepping upstairs right? I say BAKE AWAY! Oh and keep up the purging – that’s my MOST FAVORITE ACTIVITY EVER! Good luck in your new digs! Can’t wait to see the new kitchy!
These look amazing – pistachios are such an integral part of Persian dessert culture so I love seeing it used elsewhere! Love Deb L’s idea of adding some to the crust also!
Looks awesome. I’ve never had apricot and pistachios together. I should really give the combination a try!
I love your recipes and always referr to you before anyone else. These cookie bars look incredible and I will be trying them out as soon as I’m not working again. My question is about the lovely baking pans you use. What brand are they and where would I purchase them. Thanks so much for your beautiful and delicious creations.
oh I want to eat these but I have to lose weight. But I will save them for when I have done this and next summer when I am thin and can have a delicious dessert every now and then, I will make these. Not interested in helping you pack, but, if you need a rather plump interior designer (who has made and eaten many, many and then many, many more servings of your delicious recipes with way too much abandon), for your new space to help you unpack. Call moi.
Hey, thank you so much for your wonderful recipes! Especially the light brioche burger buns changed our burger experience ;) I am really happy that you added in this recipes the ingriedients needed in gramm – so I don’t have to do the math :) I would be grateful if you could provide the size of the pan.Thank you in advance! Good luck and strength for the relocation! :)
I’m in the southern hemishphere with no apricots in season… could we use canned or will they be too moist?
I LOVE pistachios! Is there any other good use for this paste?
i have to say that i love the comparison of the frequency of your initial comments to now that they have tapered off … i hope this means that people FINALLY showed up to help you and your two boys pack?! or perhaps the need for procrastination was superseded by the honking moving van? regardless, happy moving … can’t wait to see the new recipes from the new kitchen!!
I am a serial procrastinator and find that as long as I bake something good, I never get a scolding. Not even when it’s really important that I stay on task.
Nineteenth time my two-liner comment hasn’t posted. Getting old.
Susan — I’m sorry to hear that.
Is anyone having trouble with their comments posting, where you have to try more than once? We can definitely look into it.
Briar — I’d just drain them really, really well.
Safrina — I have one from Cuisinart. I love it; I’ve always had one like this. But I would go to more of Cook’s Illustrated to get good comparisons and reviews across different brands and models.
Sarah — Yes, unsalted nuts. Will clarify.
Kailee — Unsalted. Will clarify.
Always been curious — It gets a lot better texture, color and flavor on the crust layer if you par-bake here. It would also be difficult to spread the paste on an unbaked base.
Just came here from facebook to say that this is an amazingly original recipe and mix of ingredients and I just loved it!! I don’t have a blender, but there’s a supermarket I go to that sells pistacio paste, maybe I’ll give it a shot ;)
Hi Deb,
Should the pistachios be roasted or unroasted? Good luck with the move!
Jane
Jane — Wow, I have to admit that I’ve never considered whether my pistachios were roasted or unroasted, and mine weren’t labeled. That said, they tasted unroasted — green but not very deep in flavor. I have a hunch you could use either here, however.
Joe — I think sour cherries might be a cooler climate thing, actually. Or, at least, we had a tree in my parent’s backyard in New Jersey growing up. I think you can use sweet cherries here. You might drop the sugar in the pistachio paste by 1 tablespoon to compensate.
Looks awesome! I’m already thinking up alternative fruit/nut combos… If I were to do this with say, cherries and almonds, should I use toasted or raw almonds? Also, I’ve noticed in a lot of your cherry recipes you call for sour cherries and I’ve never been able to find them unfortunately. Apparently Southern California is sweet cherry central- do they go by any other name than ‘sour cherries’?
This sounds incredible!!! Looooove anything with pistachios, especially sweets!
Deb, roughly how much paste do you get from processing the nuts? I have a wonderful source of organic pistachio paste from nuts grown on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily. It’s one of the best products in my kitchen.
thanks to this comment, I just searched and bought a similar product online. I can’t wait until it arrives!
The pistachio is such a lovely contrast to the peaches!!
These are gorgeous. Can’t wait for an excuse to make them.
You had me at “pistachio frangipane filling.” Wow! Can’t wait to try these. Maybe a plum+raspberry+hazelnut version would be lovely too?
I’ve been a big fan of Red Jacket Orchards since I lived first in Ithaca, NY and then in NYC. I would buy huge bags at the Union Square Market, they were such a treat!
Of COURSE the kitchen fairies were with you… this is their last gift to you (and yours to them) for all the Love and gloriousness to come out of that kitchen over the past several years. The recipe looks delish and I hope the move goes smoothly (or as smoothly as it can…) No bed? I would be NUTS… and not pistachio’s!
MOVING?! I sure hope you’re taking that salt and pepper backsplash with you for food styling continuity.
Deb, it may not make you feel any better, but I have a good chunk of my apartment packed up even though I’m still looking for a place to buy and get out of renting all together.
That said, this looks fantastic.
At Safrina, Don’t necessarily look at new, nor the larger size, unless you need one.
I bought an older Cuisinart food processor at an estate sale 4 years ago for $30, US, and it’s the 11cup DlC-8 model that I can still get parts for if needed, and it was complete with all the shredding/slicing discs etc, including the plastic scraper and the owner’s manual too. If it’s just you and the hubby, go for the 7Cup model as it’ll run you less than $200 US.
Also, sour cherries are sometimes called tart cherries or pie cherries. They are typically the Montmorency variety, tho’ occasionally others like Morello. If you have access to a Gordon’s Food Service in your area, they have (or can get) bags of frozen tart cherries. Usually you only find them at farmers markets, or occasionally stores if you live in a state (like Michigan) that is known for growing vast orchards of them. I’m *BLESSED* that I have 3 gallon bags frozen in my deep freeze waiting for good recipes, so will likely try Joe’s tip on a tart cherry/almond version. I’ll keep you all posted.
Deb…DEB…you had me at pistachio. These are everything I need this week. I’m only half unboxed after my own move, and my new kitchen is, on a good day, half the size of my last one, and sometimes I want to cry when I walk into it. I’m going to dig out my pans and make these while I glare at the rest of the boxes.
This just looks so amazing.
Oh, man! You cook/bake for me like this and I’ll do all the packing/moving for you! But, . . . don’t think I could get there before you actually need to do the moving part! :)
Beautiful! I will make it with our plums as soon as they’re ripe (3 trees laden) – definitely with walnuts – and maybe also with pears/almonds as we have 2 trees which are nearly ready to pick. Another riff would be damsons with walnuts – really sharp and delish. mmm. But might make this one as a proper tart if I can get apricots before we go on holiday… sounds too tempting
At Safrina – I’ve had a Magimix for a few years now, it’s still good as new (was a present). Before that I had my grandmother’s old magimix (and I mean old) and it worked a dream but I couldn’t get parts any more and she’d lost(?) some of the bits I wanted. The motor on them is amazing, they can deal with anything, and the parts are good quality so you don’t get snapping plastic etc. I’d agree with ciddyguy, look for 2nd hand if you can, but do check it’s got all the bits you need (for example, I never use the juicer…). Also check you have space to store it and all its bits – they are bulky things. Have fun!
Cobnut, Frangelico and late Scottish raspberries….
Greengage and elderflower liqueur with almond……
Rosy quince and eau de coings and hazelnut…..
Seville orange cooked down with brown raw sugar and pistachio paste….
Medlar and walnut…..
Oh boy Deborah, you have got me thinking of autumn and all the wonderful bosky and rustic tarts and slabs I am going to make from our allotment produce.
Deb-
I have had a couple of comments disappear. One about the chef/writer Rebecca Rather and i wondered it it was mistaken for spam as it mentioned another book and chef?
Hi Nicola — Sorry to hear that. I found the comment in the Spam folder and approved it. We’re looking into the problem. In the meanwhile, feel free to let me know whenever it happens and I will fish it out.
Deb, I so understand what you’re doing. You ARE packing! See you’re using up ingredients so they don’t have to be packed. It is so much easier to transport bars than apricots { they could get bruised} and flour, sugar etc. See?! You were packing and the bars sound so delicious!
Deb:
I love your humor and your recipes so much that if I were not an ocean and a couple of countries away, I would, indeed, come over and help you pack.
My husband had leg surgery yesterday, and i found myself with an urge to bake while he was sleeping off the anesthesia (he’s usually the baker int he family, while I’m more of the cook). Stumbled on this recipe, and I had all the ingredients on hand (well, swapping peaches for the apricots and using half pistachios, half walnuts anyway). It turned out just great, despite the fact my pan was a little too small for the recipe. It’s making for a great breakfast, and it was a great comfort to make as well. Thanks!
Hi, Deb!
Good luck with the move. Once, we moved five times over the course of seven years. But to balance that, we have stayed in this house for ten years now. Inertia is a wonderful thing!
What is the kitchen scale you use? I cannot make out the brand in your picture. Is there one you would recommend over all others?
Thanks.
Would these bars freeze okay? I usually freeze any uneaten cake, bars, muffins etc for a future treat
These look wonderful, Deb! FYI I’ve never had trouble with comments posting here. Sending you organized, productive vibes ;)
I recently had some sweets with a pistachio paste in them, which were absolutely divine. Now I need to make these.
How long do these keep in the fridge for? Can they be made a couple of days ahead?
hello Deb I just love your apricot pistachio squares and I put pistachio liquor in mine that I made last night and that look so good to me and the flavor that was coming out of the oven was driving me absolutely crazy and so I had a pieces and it was delicious! :-) <3 :-)
The picture where they are ready to bake looks like a party in a pan! Beautiful!
This is gorgeous. I love the colors!
This bar cookie looks like it could be made just for California. The colors are absolutely gorgeous and you have chosen two of my favorite things. I do wonder, however, about the almond extract. I love almond extract with almond pastries, but wonder if it would overwhelm the pistachio flavor which is pretty subtle. Is there pistachio extract? Would it be silly to have another extract bottle in the cupboard if there is? Best wishes on the move and I, for one, certainly hope you will be able to keep blogging as soon as you have moved because you have certainly kept up before the move. I guess I am just greedy for your great recipes! Thanks!
What a gorgeous and easy recipe to do. Just wondering, can I use peaches instead? It’s what I have on hand. But at any rate, this is another wonderful dessert. Thanks for sharing. Happy weekend, Deb!
Hi! What a wonderful recipe and photographs!! I was curious if I wanted to bake this in a 9×13 pan would it be okay to double the recipe?
Apricots!!!! I am totally and utterly in love with apricots, I rarely cook them either because raw they are just perfect. This recipe sounds delectable. Best of luck with the move :)
Deb I don’t blame you! I would have done the same if I was in your place. Last time the night before moving, I tried to convince my husband to let me keep the juicer unpacked so only I can make fresh juice in the morning at 4am before we leave!!!
On another note, I am making these tom!!
Can you think of any fruit that might go well with pine nuts? Would this be at all delicious with pine nuts? The TJ’s bag in my cabinet is calling my name!
Way to make a bar cookie look gorgeous! I’m allergic to pistachios, could I use the same amount of almonds?
We’re moving tomorrow and I’m reading this instead of finishing the last bit of packing. :)
I’m so excited about this recipe and I have a good feeling that it’s going to be a favorite. With one hiccup: I’m not a huge fan of apricots. Besides cherries (checked comments first; woohoo!), what do you think would be a good substitute while keeping all other major parts of the recipe intact (I.e. dough and dreamy pistachio paste)? Peaches maybe?
You’re the best!!!! Keep walking ;)
Wow! I’ve made your oatmeal cranberry cookies, salsa, and blueberry cake (to rave reviews). This is going to be next! I think the colors are great for a Halloween party, no?
Hi Deb ,I made one with Peach and roasted Pecan with Almond Liqueur and peach preserve glaze. .
I all so made the apricot and pistachio one too …p.s. they were both delicious. :-)
Okay, Deb, I just made these now and they are buttery, nutty and fruity goodness rolled all into one. Thanks for this recipe and also your whole blog which is deliciously awesome!
These look amazing! Did you toast the pistachios before grinding them? If I use walnuts, would you recommend toasting them, or maybe I don’t need to since they are going into the oven anyway?
Linda toast them in the oven for 7 to 8 minutes at 350 f. On a baking tray cookie sheet and after let them cool down to about warm and then grind them :-) P. S. It gives them a but flavor :-)
Incredible! The pistachio frangipane mix in the tin is the most amazing colour. My mum’s obsessed with pistachios, she’d love this – thank you so much for sharing :) xx
Pinned the outstanding pic of apricots to my favorite fruits board at Pinterest.
Great pics and good luck with the move.
Sadly, I haven’t had apricots in a long time; maybe this recipe will end that drought!
Oh me oh my…
I have a feeling lemon zest rather than brandy will send this recipe to the heavens. I’ll keep you posted!
Unless of course I end up in heaven after my first bite :)
I’m not a pistachio person, but this looks great! :)
These were awesome. I’m in australia so no apricots at the moment. I made it with half pistachio and half almond in the filling along with the zest of a mandarin, 1 tsp of vanilla and 1 tsp of brandy. Then I topped it with sliced pears and a few fresh cherries. It was so good, can’t wait to try it with different fruit and nut combinations. Thanks for the great recipe!
Deb, I just happened to be looking up your recipe for Lobster Rolls today, and your post there from five years ago seemed to indicate that right about now it should be A Certain Husband’s 40th birthday, am I right? So…. are you moving AND baking birthday cake this week?
These were amazing. I made them for a dinner party and second helpings were had. Hope the move goes well!
I followed your directions exactly but when I went to go check at 40 minutes it had already started burning a lot around the sides. Any idea what I could have done wrong? It’s not my oven, the temperature is correct.
So these look amazing and I want to try them, but there are some serious nut allergies in my house. Are you aware of any other grain or granola or something else that I could substitute? otherwise I might just go with apricot bars.
Wow! I have never seen something like this before, what a unique dessert!
Pistachios are my favourite nut, but I’ve never used them in a dessert bar.
Will try next Sunday! Thank you :)
This is so creative, and I love all the colors! Apricots and pistachios are such a delicious combination. :)
Wow. These look amazing, and I bet they taste even more so! I will be making these-or some version that you suggested-for Sunday dinner dessert. Thanks for the inspiration! :)
FYI – Trader Joe’s sells unsalted pistachios (dry roasted) in 8 oz bags, if you haven’t been able to find them at a local, regular grocery store, like me.
Baked these today with my 88 year old grandma. We used her heirloom 8×8 pan that has hours of baking stories associated with it (and of course the stories were shared over coffe while waiting for the bars to bake). Grandma’s two favorite things to eat are apricots and pistachios….so she is happy, happy, happy, and so am I. Such a treat. Thanks for posting :)
Hello Deb, I hope you are talking to me. ..lol.. because I do make Wedding cakes/Cakes/and Birthday Cakes and cupcakes too, but I think really you are talking about some one else :-) but thank you. . And I’m in Canada, Ontario, Barrie.
Mine burned a bit! And my oven is not very hot! Edges were blackish and bitter. Is is my pan? I only kept in in for 40 minutes as it was cooking so quickly. Any suggestions?
Am not a complainer! I love your blog. Thanks for all that you do! So admirable.
Just made these, and they turned out very well! I doubled the recipe to make a batch for home and a batch to give away. I will roast the pistachios next time so their flavor is a bit more conservative, I reduced the butter in the filling by 2 Tbsp, Grand Marnier for flavoring, and used white nectarines (no apricots at the market).
Both pans turned out beautifully, just rotated half way through baking (which took about 40 minutes).
Thanks for another great recipe!
*assertive pistachio flavor. Oops
Hi Deb, I have loved your site for a long time and have found your way of cooking/baking quite simpatico with my own. This is actually my very first comment if you can believe it, but long overdue. This recipe sounds wonderful and I hope to try it with some leftover frangipane I have in my freezer (left over from a baking course I took, as I am not in the habit of making frangipane believe me). I think I will try it with peaches.
Very nice recipe. I like the shortbread-like crust and the pistachio-apricot combination.
I did find the pistachio mixture way too sweet and will cut back by one or two tablespoons next time. May even reduce the sugar in the crust by a tablespoon.
BTW, I found (too late) that Trader Joe’s sells unshelled, roasted, unsalted pistachios. Would have made the prep even easier.
I made these today for company and they were just great. I used walnuts and added cardamon for the seasoning. Deb, you never let me down.
Made these last night, and used peaches and plums instead of apricots-my market didn’t have apricots :( I also vegan-ized this recipe.
I cut back on the sugar in the filling, and only used 2 TB honey. I omitted the egg, and added 1 TB ground golden flax and the juice of 1 whole lemon to the filling, and finally 1/8 teaspoon baking powder to replace that “poof” that the egg usually gives traditional frangipane.
I also cut-back on the fat in the shortbread by adding 2 TB fruity olive oil, 2 TB coconut oil. I added the zest of 1 lemon as well.
These are super rich and tasty-and I will definitely be trying a walnut-apple combo in the fall! Thanks Deb :)
I accidentally bought unsalted pistachios recently, to the dismay of my family. We ate half the bag, but have about enough left to make this tart! Now all I need is fresh apricots. Thank you thank you thank you!
Made these with wheat free flour, and amazingly they were superb! No one in the house seemed to notice the difference, and its all gone :D thanks for an brill recipe :)
My favorite dessert of all time in Paris is the Tarte aux Abricots-Pistaches. Thank you SO much for transforming the best texture and flavor into a weeknight bar cookie! You have absolutely made my summer.
Made this with pecans and sweet cherries this weekend — it was fantastic! I cut back on the sugar in the filling, and used a bit of whole wheat flour in the crust.
Definitely a recipe I will revisit…thanks for sharing, Deb!
One word……YUM!!!
Just made this almost exactly as written and it was amazing! (I left my crust in an extra 3 minutes to get it to the right color, and the whole thing seemed done 7 minutes early). It also cut beautifully while still warm. And my pistachios were roasted, although I can’t imagine that it would make a difference if they’re not.
A few years ago, we made a few versions of frangipane tarts based on the idea of your pecan cranberry tart – we came up with blackberry pecan, mango cashew, and pistachio topped with fresh strawberries. All of them turned out really well. Thanks very much for getting us started on a frangipane kick!
“Nubby” is the most perfect adjective for pistachios I have ever come across. Good luck as you move and may you, your pots and your pans be reunited as soon as possible! (also, these just look ridiculously good).
I made these this afternoon and they came out really well! I made a mistake and bought nectarines instead of apricots and they still came out well. I really like the pistachio frangipane, and can’t wait to try them tomorrow after they’ve been in the fridge for a night. Thanks for posting a great recipe!
Deb (or anyone else) — how were these the next day? Having a little dinner party on Friday night and wondering if I can get away with making these on Thursday night. This recipe has literally been like a siren song since I spotted it last week — I can’t think of any other dessert I’ve had this reaction to in ages. Must. Make. ASAP!
Rach — Mine kept up well in the fridge. We just finished the last one yesterday. And by “we,” I of course mean myself.
Katie — I’m sorry to hear that. What kind of baking pan did you use?
Maggie — You are very astute! Though, I had the sense to make the cake before the move, but we had a weekend full of parties and dinners while trying to unpack and both fighting off plagues. It was… memorable. :)
Linda — I didn’t, but I could imagine getting a deeper flavor if I had.
Matt — With pine nuts, maybe figs?
Suki — You could definitely double it in a 9×13. I think they’d be a touch thicker.
I just made these today, happened to have all the ingredients on hand. Super yummy, a tad over baked at an hour, should have checked on them again but was visiting with my dad. Can’t go wrong with butter, nuts and fresh fruit.
OMG! This is my next dessert. They are by the way few and far between and must be deemed calorie worthy by my husband the compulsive self weigher. . . Oy vey!
Made this Saturday with pistachios and was so head over heals in love with it that, still with oodles of apricots, and finding a big bag of walnuts in the cabinet Sunday – I doubled the recipe and made it for a party my family was having. Surprise! It was my mom’s birthday! I made it in a big rectangular pan and wrote happy birthday in chocolate ganache. Sensational!
These were fantastic!
I put two in a little baggie to take to work with me… and ate them as soon as I backed out of my driveway. The tartness of the apricot is so so good against the filling and crust. I am already dreaming about having another piece (or five) when I get home!
Hmmm…You must be unpacking. Apricots are good in KRINGLE, too.
These were awesome! I went to France in June and this is a flavor combination I saw (and ate!) quite a bit and lamented its absence when I got back–why don’t we use pistachios as much as they do in Europe?. And then this recipe!!! I felt like I was back in Paris. Thank you.
Ooooo. I’ve been meaning to make some apricot and nut granola bars for way too long now, but they might still have to wait now i’ve seen these! They look absolutely delicious, and from what other people have said, they taste delicious too! Looking forward to them :)
Wow, Deb, I just love your blog! Several months ago I had the pleasure to buy what might have been a similar bar in a bakery. It was so delicious and was on my list of recipes to reverse engineer. I think you might have saved me the trouble as yours looks the same and I will definitely make them! By the way I made your blueberry crumb cake last week and of all the blueverry crumb cakes I’ve made over the years, yours is by far the best! An extraordinary recipe!
I made these this weekend and they were delicious! I had a moment at the grocery story and accidentally purchased nectarines instead of apricots but they were still WONDERFUL! This was a great recipe and I really appreciated the fact that I could do (essentially) all my prep work in the food processor. WINNING.
I hope your new home is shaping up. I made these bars with some plums and pluots and substituted hazelnuts for the pistachios. The fruit was varicolored, yellow, pink, ruby and um, plum colored so alternated the colors to make a pretty pattern. Lots of compliments from my guests, thanks for the recipe!
Speaking of making apricots into something….I am just finishing the spoon-licking batch of Marissa McClellan’s Apricot Lavender Butter (here: http://www.simplebites.net/honey-sweetened-apricot-lavender-butter-recipe/ ). It’s so stinkin’ good. Think this has to be my next apricot endeavor!
Mmmmmm these look amazingly delicious. I wondered can I use gluten
Free flour and if I did would it compromise the outcome?
Also I’ve been making this great dish from virtually home made, they are Mac and cheese bites with ham. I thought you may be able to do something wonderful with that. My son who is 3 1/2 can demolish an entire batch.
I made these today using Gluten Free flour from Trader Joes and they are amazing! I did not add anything extra to the flour (I.e. No xanthan or guar gum) and they held up really well. I used half apricots and half yellow peaches. My husband and I finished half the batch already! I just discovered your blog and cannot wait to make more of your recipes!
Hi Deb,
It is just amazing how you could come up with ideas even with the move on your checklist. Love the idea of it being flexible to any ingredients and can’t wait to try it on my own. Good luck on the move and eagerly waiting for your next recipe
I made these a couple days ago and they definitely fall into the category of “things that taste better the next day”! I’m not much of an apricot person, but they have such a nice tartness to them that goes so well with the richness of the pistachios and the really, really buttery cookie base and frangipane. Since I’m currently in France, it is perfectly acceptable to eat such a thing for breakfast with a hot chocolate, so I did!
JP — Sorry for the delayed response. You totally don’t need to use it if you’re worried it would overwhelm. For me, 1/4 teaspoon was a subtle taste. Pistachio extract, if you could fine it, would be wonderful. I haven’t seen it. Also, I realize in hindsight that toasting the nuts might help deepen their flavor.
norah — Mine kept for a week.
charm — It’s this one. It works but I don’t love it. It feels very lightweight and dinky, and wants to tip every time I press a button. Also, I find I have to press the button like 5 times, sometimes 10, to turn it off. The hunt continues!
Cheffy — I’m so sorry but I didn’t measure it. This was such a hasty, distracted recipe. (But it works!) I will check next tim eand update accordingly.
Swapped out apricots and pistachios for peaches and almonds. Delicious and so easy to make all in the food processor.
Hi.. we substituted apricots for apples as we don’t get fresh apricots where we live. It turned out really tasty. We toasted the nuts as well, and added a glaze of apple juice and honey right before eating. Thanks so much for such a wonderful recipe! Delicious!!
Made a version of this last night using plums and hazelnuts…turned out amazing and was a huge hit! Thanks so much! I can’t wait to try other combos!
I love the combination of apricot and pistachio. I have a pistachio and apricot cake recipe that turned out amazing. It’s a winning combo.
Hi Deb,
I made these this weekend and they’re delicious! But my pistachio mixture didn’t stay nearly as green as yours – is there something that you added to keep that pretty green color?
Thanks!
Kate — No, but were yours toasted? I think mine were raw so extra-green. Another thing is that I bought them (for a fortune, ugh) already shelled. It’s possible that machines take off more of the brown paper skins than hands? Did you shell them by hand?
I couldn’t even find the time (or where I packed the shampoo) to *shower* before we moved last spring. Heck, I’m pretty sure one of the kids is still in a box in the basement. The fact that you’re still recipe-ing, posting, etc., is pretty amazing. Hope it went well!
Deb, you rock! I’ve been trying some of your recipes and they are all winners. I made the Apricot Pistachio squares this weekend and am in love with them! YUUUUMMM!! And so pretty too. I modified it slightly by adding a little bit of hazelnut flour to the crust mixture to give it a little more somethin’ somethin’ – but these turned out beautifully!
I made these with plums and walnuts and they were delicious! I toasted the walnuts beforehand, used only brown sugar since it was what I had, and sliced the plums thin and spread across in rows. Big crowd pleaser. What I love about your recipes is that they are so adaptable. Thank you for this recipe and the many others that have become staples in my kitchen!
This looks divine! So good to read in the comments that people have also tried this or a similar recipe with plums instead of apricots, since I was wondering if this would give me something new to make with the several kilo’s of Reine Claude plums our tree produced this year and that are currently inhabiting our freezer. My birthday is in a week, so guess what I’m going to serve my guests. Thanks for this recipe!
Just wanted to make sure you knew that this post is pictured in a Feedly update! http://blog.feedly.com/2014/08/22/feedly-slider/
Has anyone substituted apricot jam for the whole apricots? My husband is a whole-cooked-fruit-hater, but is fine w/ jams & preserves. Depending on the consistency of the pistachio filling I’d likely do the jam layer first then pour over the filling & top w/ additional chopped nuts. Any thoughts on the likelihood of success — or total lack thereof? Thanks!
Carissa — Have you seen a bakewell tart before? It begins with a thin layer of jam over the crust, then adds an almond frangipane. (I have a version in the archives.) You could approach this that way here. Or, I supposed you could drop spoonfuls of the jam over the base. They might stay as dollops, but they’re more likely to just spread and tangle with the pistachio as it bakes. Neither should taste bad.
Thanks, Deb. I’ve not only seen a Bakewell Tart but have made yours before & brought it to a dinner party then had too much wine and became an unreliable taste-tester of my own baked goods. I hate when I do that (thereby leading to the implication that this has happened more than once. Which may be — or may not be but probably is but don’t judge — true. I’ll let you know if it’s a success for the upcoming, apricot-free fall & winter months.
These were amazing! Definitely worth the effort. The only substitutions I made were using vanilla instead of almond extract and using muscovado sugar instead of granulated. My mom and my husband (who proclaims to hate fruit desserts) loved them. They are also excellent the next day for those who are wondering. Can’t imagine they would last in our house for more than one day past baking day! I am going to call them California Bars b/c of the ingredients :) Thank you!
Made this yesterday for a dinner party, cut into larger triangles and served with unsweetened whipped cream. It was a hit and reminded us of the similar pastry from Eric Kayser in Paris. High praise, indeed.
I made this with the ingredients I had on hand, which were pluots and a pecan/almon mixture. It came out quite delicious, and was so trivially easy and fast to make. This will definitely be on the regular summer rotation.
I just wanted to report that we used mangos instead of apricots (because we couldn’t find any, not just to be contrary :) and they worked really well with the pistachios! On the 8×8 pan we used 1/2 of a really large mango.
I made these over the weekend and brought some in to work. What a hit! Everyone is asking for the recipe!
Made this tonight with plums and walnuts. Scrumptious! I have two enormous peaches on my counter and a huge bag of pecans from Costco, so we’re going to be trying that version out in a few days. We actually had this following the cherry tomatoes and farro dish for dinner. So it was a one pot meal followed by a one (food processor) bowl dessert. Hooray for quick weeknight meals. (It helped that my dad was in from Jerusalem and could watch Lilli while I futzed in the kitchen.) Also: Hi!
Made these tonight and they were absolutely delicious! I had to sub nectarines as I couldn’t find any good apricots. Seriously amazing. Thanks for a great (and easy) recipe!
I’m so glad to meet a fellow kitchen related procrastinator! I have baked your banana bread when I should have been packing boxes. These look wonderful. Unfortunately I can’t get apricots in Cambodia, otherwise I’d be baking them now, instead of doing the mountain of marking that I should be doing!
Hi Deb, I made this tonight with walnuts instead of pistachios, 2 tsp vanilla extract in the filling and these small red almost sour plums from the farmers market instead of apricots. The sweet salt balance was perfect, thank you for this recipe!
love pistachios….boyfriend’s allergic sadly.
Made this using a bag of almond meal and apricot preserves (husband hates cooked whole fruit and kidlet loves preserves) and the bars turned out fabulous. I doubled the recipe and used a 9×13 springform pan and a 15 oz jar of apricot preserves. I was concerned that double the frangipane, which I spread on top of the jam, would be too much but they baked up beautifully golden-brown & set in about 45 minutes. I’d pre-measured my dry ingredients & popped them into separate containers a few days ago so the whole recipe came together quickly when I had a Cuisinart-shaped spot available in a waiting-to-be-started dishwasher — a lovely reason to bake if ever there was one. Next time I’ll stir 1/2 C. chopped slivered almonds or pistachios into the topping for some textural contrast.
Thank you!
This is lovely. I have now made it three times – once as published,with beautiful and delicious and astonishingly expensive pistachios. The plan was to next use hazelnuts, which we have a-plenty, having harvested at a u-pick farm.
Before we could do that, a weekly soup-and-art dinner with friends happened; they are nut-allergic, but I knew they’d love it.
Instead of nuts, I used pumpkin seeds, which I expected to be a sad substitution, with local nectarines and home-grown figs.
No sadness – the seeds, toasted freshly and ground fine were perfect, earthy and sweet, and we’re planning ahead for a holiday feast repeating this with poached and drained cranberries. Thank you!
I made these last night and they were amazing! I used almonds since I didn’t have pistachio’s (although I can’t wait to try them that way too!) and they were still delicious :) I’ve already got people asking for the recipe!
I love this recipe…! I’ve since made it twice: the first time as directed and the second time with peaches and almonds. I loved them both, but much prefer the apricot and pistachios (the sweet with a little bit of tartness from the apricots is so nice! the peach and almond combo was much more subtle in flavors although still very good). I don’t think I can emphasize enough how I love your blog and recipes, Deb!
Hi Deb
This recipe sounds very nice. I have a very annoying but small question for you. I have a lot of Pistachio butter (Just ground up pistachios no additives). If I want to use it instead of pistachios what would be a good starting point. I know you may not haven tried it that way but you have more experience that I do for such experimentation. Please let me know
thank you
Kiran
Thankyou again. This recipe is absolutely divine- it even converted my husband, who does not normally like apricots, to loving it….as I live on Mallorca where almonds (and apricots) are plentiful and unslated pistachios hard to come by, second time I tried 80% ground almonds, 20% pistachios, not quite as beautifully coloured, but still works very well (and saves on shelling time!)…suspect that a 50-50 combo may give the balance of taste, extra crunch and colour. Doh, I will just have to experiment again. Damn.
Could you make the crust and spread the frangiapane and then refrigerate a day ahead and add the fruit/bake it the next day? These were amazing when I made them, but I thought they were definitely best the first day (which by no means stopped me from pretty much eating the entire batch by myself over the course of less than a week).
Naomi — I think so, but your crust might get a bit soggy before baking.
Can I make them with canned apricots? Thanks!
I just have to say that I will hardly be able to get fresh apricots here in Costa Rica, but if I do, I will definitely make these! The colors in this recipe make my food loving heart sing, thank you!
I made this last summer first with apricots, and later with fresh plums!
This is a fantastic delicious combination of flavors.
I have frozen apricots, and am wondering if I could make it work…….
Possibly by draining all the liquid I can first?
Anyone have suggestions for me?
Debra — Just drain them well, you’ll be fine. Glad they’ve been a hit.
I found this recipe last night while searching for a way to use up an overabundance of figs to make something to share at an office morning tea today and suffice to say it’s not getting anywhere near the office. It took only one bite and my other half (who uncomplainingly watches many sweet treats leave our house destined for other hungry mouths) simply said ‘No – I’m keeping this one’.
Thanks Deb – can’t think of a single thing of yours that hasn’t turned out fabulous.
Hi Deb, made these recently and they were an absolute hit – gone within a couple of hours! I may have to try doubling the recipe in a 9×13 inch tin to make it last longer in our house with 4 hungry boys. I also reblogged the recipe on my new blog, so just wanted to say thank you for another amazing recipe! Pistachio-apricot was a flavour combination that I was initially unsure of, but it was absolutely sensational and loved by everyone :)
In case anyone else read the recipe three times but then put ALL of the pistachio filling ingredients in the food processor at once anyway (and then noticed that Deb tells us to do it in stages)… It works very well and came out delicious. I just blended until the nuts were pretty well chopped and the butter was not visible.
Made it. Added a bit of cardamom in the crust and everyone loved it. Mine took almost 70 minutes in the oven to set. Will try adding more cardamom next time.
I also added cardamom (I know, Deb, you hate it) — I’m obsessed with it. I put some ground into the crust and some cardamom bitters in with the brandy in the filling. That was this week’s batch; last week I just followed the recipe. I love both. I will never be able to look at apricots again without wanting to make this — i can see it in permanent early summer rotation, and don’t know how I will survive the rest of the year without it.
I just made it for the 3rd time in 10 days, this time a double-batch for a large potluck. I may not be able to stop making it until apricots run out. Not sure I’ll love it as much with any other fruit/nut combo, but i may need to try nectarines. I love them too much to really want to cook with them, but…well…bars. darn you, putting me on this endless bars kick!
My goodness!!! So delicious, just made these tonight used almonds instead of pistachios (used the same weight as in recipe, then blanched them), and added a smidge of cinnamon to the tart dough.
I made this yesterday but in a pie dish. Did not partake the crust and it was fine. However mine was ready, crust a nice color and all after 45m, which is weird because Deb’s cooking times usually work for me. I would recommend checking after 45m and checking it in 5m increments thereafter. My husband and I both really really liked the flavors. This recipe is a keeper – not even that time consuming if you buy pistachio flour instead of grind them yourself!
This sounds amazing for rosh hashana! Any way to make it parve?
I still wish you had Print Friendly, but I found your print icon. Thanks for sharing.
Two of my favorite things! Apricots and pistachios! Looks so lovely and I can’t wait to try it. ; ) THanks!
It reminds me the pistachio-apricot tart in eric kayser in Paris. Yum!
made this today, they were TERRIFIC!!!
My pistachio paste was rather brown by the time it was done baking which I guess can’t be helped, but the taste and texture was amazing. Will try adding some apricot brandy next time! Thanks for the recipe :-)
Apricots are hard to come by in Montréal in winter.
So here is my version, with apple.
It’s FANTASTIC!!!
Humm…. I want to make this now but it is not apricot season. Dare I try canned apricots? (drained) I don’t think I can buy frozen apricots.
The French would say eat the fruit in the right season……
Americans are impatient.
thanks!
Louise — So, of interest, I was first introduced to this kind of tart, which I’ve turned into bars, in an article about how the French are more willing to embrace canned fruit. I talked about it here. Do canned apricots work here? I’m not positive, but it’s not as un-French as we think. :)
I was able to make this successfully in my 3-cup mini processor today, in case anyone else was curious! So glad I didn’t make a giant mess or need to go hunt down my full size one in the basement, since evidently I never unpacked it.
Hi Deb – I’m making these for a large dinner party and planning to use a 9 x 13″ pan. Should I just multiply the crust and filling by 1 1/2? That’s my instinct but curious if you have a rule of thumb.
Sarah — I double these and other 8×8-inch square things in a 9×13. It will end up a TINY bit thicker but it’s otherwise closest in bottom area (which is what I use to scale because my goal is to keep the thickness the same).
I’ve made these twice, and have been very happy! Here are my observations. The first time, I used roasted pistachios, and was,a little annoyed that the filling was brown instead of the lovely green in your pic. Second time, I used unroasted (that I had to shell) and the color was perfect. I admit I got a little obsessive and rubbed all of the brown papery husks off too. So, I recommend unroasted. Also, the first time I stuck to the recommended initial baking time, and the crust ended up a little burned. So, this time, I only baked for 10. I didn’t let it cool, so it was a little hard to spread the filling, but I preferred this batch’s taste. Also, this time I used fresh raspberries from my garden, and it was a divine substitution. We love this shortbread crust! This recipe is a keeper.
I just made this with apricots in my CSA box. It was amazing!
I made exactly to recipe. Except I was a little greedy and put too many apricot slices on top, so by the time everything on top was brown, the bottom was a touch too dark (almost burnt) in places. Despite this, my husband and I inhaled the squares in two days by ourselves. Thanks!
I made this today for a poorly friend and it was a great success. I put a bit of ground cardomom in the base which went really well with the apricot. Another time I would gently toast the pistachios before grinding to enhance the flavour, and glaze with apricot jam. Thank you for another winning recipe!
Hello deb- I’m a long time fan of yours from sunny Singapore! Have made a couple of your recipes with great success. Thank you :) I am planning on making this for a girls staycation tomorrow. As I don’t own a food processor , how do you suggest I make the filling please? Thank you!
You’ll want to use ground pistachios, beat the butter, stir it in, etc. Like a cookie dough.
Would this work with dried apricots? My husband bought a huge bag from Costco…
It’s trickier with them. You’d want them fully plumped and even then, they might just seem firm once this is baked…
Thank you! I’ll report back if I’m feeling adventurous and give it a try.
Hi Deb! I was thinking of using this pistachio filling in a hamantaschen – do you think it would hold up and have a nice chewy frangipane-y texture?
In fact, I did a frangipane filling (hazelnut) for hamanataschen last year; I’d use that recipe but with pistachios instead. Enjoy!
These turned out beyond amazing!!! I used your hazelnut recipe and subbed the pistachios – they were incredible. My hamantashen dough is a yeast dough with butter and sour cream (great grandmother’s recipe)- it’s more of a danish than a traditional dry cookie dough hamantashen. Definitely check it out, I think you would appreciate it! https://freshprincesscooks.com/2014/03/16/hamantaschen-of-new-york/
I’ve made this several times and I love it. It has been a while though and I don’t remember them well enough to answer this question for myself. I am considering making this is in a round springform and slicing it like a pie. I don’t understand the nuances and differences between a tart, bar cookie, pie, etc. Is it too heavy to serve it this way?
These were AMAZING! Perfect balance of tart and sweet. Great texture, too. Definitely don’t skip glazing with apricot preserves.
Wow – this was glorious! We’re enjoying one of our first crops of apricots and given they all ripen around the same time, I needed help putting them to good use. The tart was savory and sweet and moist. So lovely!
I made this in a tart pan and it turns out fabulous. Everyone loved it!! So delicious and elegant for a party.
Last week I made these with strawberries and walnuts. not *quite* as good as apricot-pistachio but still fantastic. I made a vegan and a regular batch and both were devoured by their recipients.
I’ve also done plum-something (i don’t remember the nut, but I remember that the plum flavor got totally lost), and peach-pecan (tasty but a little too rich with just pecans — they are so buttery to begin with).
I can’t wait for apricots to arrive at the market.
These look amazing! I’d love to bring them on vacation, but would need to freeze them first, then hold in a cooler, then fridge then put in the fridge. Any thoughts on how they might hold up…individually wrapped in a container? Also, any suggestions on another fruit (fresh or frozen) that would pair well with the pistachios filling? Although I’d love the apricot, I don’t think I’ll be finding any around me.
Thanks!
Other firm-ripe stone fruit and toasted nuts work here. These freeze and refrigerate well. You can individually wrap them but they’ll keep even if they’re not.
I just made this today with almonds instead of pistachios (would love to try the pistachios but couldn’t find unsalted ones). It’s a massive hit, so delicious and very pretty! I’m so looking forward to using up the plum glut with this recipe.
I made this with almonds instead of pistachios for the middle layer and then used peaches and blueberries. Outrageously delicious.
My favourite bars! I make these every summer!
I wanted to make this without going to the store so I used almonds in the frangipane and nectarines as the fruit. The combo was superb. Only issue I encountered is that the edges got very dark, even with a parchment lined pan… i usually have opposite problem in my oven (inadequate browning.) I will be making this again, next time might try a slightly bigger pan for thinner layer, or perhaps lowering the temperature slightly.
I was so excited to make these! And I made them! And it was so easy! And then I took them out of the oven… and realized… I forgot to add the butter to the pistachio paste… whoooooops. Hopefully they are not awful.
Success! Not awful!
Do you think it work work if I made them in muffin tins?
Sorry my wifi cut out and posted before I could say “thank you in advance!”
I love the idea of this recipe combining two of my favorite things – apricots and pistachios! But of course I am only seeing the recipe now, in November, when fresh apricots are long gone. Can you envision a way to make this with dried apricots? I am guessing that the apricots would need to be soaked/softened so they don’t get hard during baking. Would love your thoughts on this!
Not the season for fresh apricots but would love to try these with canned apricots or cherries. Has anyone substituting with canned or frozen fruit?
I was just wondering about frozen fruit too. If that works, it’d be a recipe with almost all ingredients already on hand. But would there be too much water using frozen fruit? Has anyone tried this?
My original intention was to make the amazing apricot breakfast crisp but because I had some pistachios I thought I’d try this and oh boy it is just delicious. Everyone who tried it absolutely loved it and it was so good served with a drizzle of thick cream.
I especially love the edge pieces which had a delightful chew to it. Really looking forward to making this again soon. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe.
I did the petal design but the crust burnt /browned while the filing didn’t set even though baked for 80+ minutes. It’s way better with the glaze than sugar dusting
We snack on salted, roasted pistachios, so we have them around in bulk. I rinsed some well in a strainer, and didn’t add any salt to the frangipane mix. I used salted butter, too. The bars turned out just fine, and as advertised, are even better the next day.
Thank you for this tip! I too have salted, roasted pistachios around all the time and was just wondering I’d have to go out of my way to buy unsalted ones.
Wonderful combination of flavors! I used salted, roasted pistachios so I left out the added salt in the filling. Mine were done within 60 min, and probably could have come out sooner as the edges were very browned. Will certainly made this again, I think with some cardamom in the base? Or perhaps rose water in the place of almond extract.
Deb this sounds like it would be delish (and quick and easy!) on frozen puff pastry. How would you handle baking that? Par bake the frozen crust first?
I’m not sure — I think it would flatten the pastry a lot, might taste greasy. It might be better spread thinner than you would for bars, like more of a classic frangipane tart. You’d probably want more apricots for that, but I can’t say for sure without testing it.
Should I use dry roasted pistachios or raw? Thank you!
This came up again on August 2018 feed. I was able to get Red Jacket apricots at Whole Foods here in Connecticut this week, so am baking these in homage to my most beloved apricot tree in San Diego. Waiting for them to cool…. they are beautiful and the aroma is just incredible. I fear I may not want to share!
holy crap this is good. so glad i took a chance on this recipe.
pistachio frangipane baked onto shortbread – even without the fruit – is incredibly delicious. it was worth shelling all those nuts for sure.
will make again, with a few notes: the dough recipe wasn’t enough for me to cover my pan, so i made a second half-batch. also, i wish i could make the “fanned” apricots prettier…
looking forward to glazing this with my homemade (!) apricot jam.
i had to make more dough too. I made 1/2 the first amount. Tasted the pistachio mixture and it was too sweet on its own for my taste. I used 1/2 almond flour.
I have made the apricot-pistachio version of this many times this summer. Always turned out great. Today I made the pecan-peach version, and I can’t believe it, but I think I like it better. This is so easy, so yummy, and sure to be a hit wherever you take it.
Highly recommend this recipe! I received huge kudos from so many. I did make a couple of substitutions to go with what was on hand – almonds for pistachios and peaches for apricots. Making it now for second time in one week. Sending a thank you to my peach tree and a thank you for this recipe and the reviews that convinced me to give it a go.
I made this dessert over and over and over this summer. First with apricots, which I do think makes the best version of this. Then as apricots became less available with peaches, nectarines, pears, and tart apples in the fall. I also started subbing in 1/4 cup of buckwheat flour for the regular flour which added something really interesting to the mix. I am excited to try other fruits as they come into season next year. I have found that with juicier fruits (nectarines, peaches and pears) and a slightly longer baking time the crust really caramelized on the bottom, and created something really quite incredible.
Because this seems like it would be relevant to your life, I made these with a hazelnut frangipane (using Bob’s hazelnut meal, a heaping half cup-ish?) and strawberries, and a thin layer of bittersweet chocolate between the shortbread and frangipane layers. I can assure you it was excellent.
I just made this in the kitchen of an AirBnB in France. I didn’t have measuring spoons or cups, or a food processor, or the right size baking dish, so…. fingers crossed. It looks amazing already, and it hasn’t even baked yet :)
Cherri-almond is delicious at this time of year!
I made this over the holiday weekend, I had to use what remained of 10 lbs of apricots from my CSA after I made jam with most of it. The bars were great! I did not use sugar or glaze. I will definitely make it again.
I made a 1.5* recipe of this (because, as a household with two teenaged boys we don’t have cute little 8 inch X 8 inch pans), and it was fantastic! I’m now looking for other places to use the pistachio frangipane. Although almond frangipane + plums also seems like it’d be fantastic…
We do own pistachio extract (from a specialty spice shop, although it wasn’t alarmingly expensive) and it does make the thing even yummier, if that’s possible.
I tried this in mini-galette form, using your ricotta pastry, adding a few more pistachios (25% by weight) to the frangipane than called for to ensure it wouldn’t be too runny, and glazing with apricot jam once baked. I divided the pastry into four, use four apricots, and had quite a bit of leftover frangipane. But it worked… deliciously. I expect a full galette would work well, too!
delicious!….FYI although this is already pretty healthy recipe, I kicked it up a health notch: I used 25% whole wheat flour and replaced the white sugar with monk fruit sugar in crust, and used coconut sugar ( about 10 grams less than called for) in pistachio batter. It tasted great! only technical problem is that when you bite into a bar, the strips of apricot come off the whole bar with one bite….maybe need to cut them smaller, even though you lose the pretty look of the fanned out apricots.
I made these with gluten free flour today (King Arthur’s baking blend) and everything else exactly the same (I used almond extract) and OMG these are gooooood. I knew they would be, but when I took that first bite I was shocked. These would be a great dessert to bring to a dinner party. They seem so fancy but they were super easy to make.
Could you double this recipe for a 9×13 version?
Yes
I’ve made this at least 5x since last summer (we liked it a lot). A few notes:
-1st time: recipe as written. I used a bag of shelled salted pistachios from Trader Joe’s, and rinsed them to take the extra salt off, which worked just fine.
-2nd time, no fresh apricots available: used dried apricots that I tried to reconstitute. Not worth the ingredients/time. Note to self: watch for apricot season!
-3rd, in a temporary kitchen so no mixer: I used room temp butter to mix by hand. This worked just as well as 1st time. Also, I used mangos (available), and a pistachio paste I ordered from Amazon, and almond flour for the frangiapane. The mango combination was wonderful, especially with buttermilk ice cream.
-4th, temp kitchen, quarantine edition: used almond flour instead of precious, can’t-find-any-anywhere regular flour in the cookie base. I meant to mix flours, but forgot and used 100% almond. Also mangos and pistachio paste. The almond base is crumblier and nuttier — it’s a different thing from the regular recipe, but worth a try on its own. It’s wonderful, we may even like it better.
I made these tonight… the recipe was perfectly described as a chef and sweet lover I was intrigued… it turned out not only beautiful to look at but delicious. Thank you for the recipe. I know many who will enjoy this as well as myself….❤️❤️❤️
Crazy good! Subbed toasted hazelnuts for the pistachios, but otherwise followed the recipe. My bake time was 50 minutes. Truly, this was one of the most delicious desserts I’ve made, helped by wonderful Frog Hollow Farms apricots.
OMG! Why haven’t I made these before? I made them with peaches and added 1 t of vanilla to the filling – baked for 60 minutes. They are SO GOOD.
Are the pistachios roasted or raw?
Thanksssss!
I made mine with roasted unsalted pistachios from Trader Joe’s. It turned out well. When I’ve made a pistachio paste recipe, it called for roasted pistachios.
I’ve made these many times and it turns out that I prefer them a) with raw pistachios, as pictured, and b) with halved/quartered apricots rather than fanned slices, as suggested but not pictured.
Hoping this comment will remind me next year!
I made 2 batches of these for a BBQ and while DIVINE I don’t want to spend the week eating the leftovers and feel bad about It. Can I freeze them you think? Wrapped individually and then defrost when the mood hits?
I LOVE your blog and recipes! Keep them coming! Anyway to use dried apricots? Thanks
I made this with plums (decent apricots are impossible to find where I live) and almond meal instead of pistachios and used a little bit of amaretto to flavor the almond cream, and it was delicious and turned my subpar plums into a great treat. Thanks for a great recipe.
I made this as a plum + hazelnut combination using your Hazelnut Plum Crumb Tart as a guide, Deb :) It was September perfection!! I threw it in the fridge for an hour or two straight out of the oven and then dusted with powdered sugar and cut into bars. I made it “pretties”-style with firm plums sliced very finely over a mandolin forming concentric circles across the top and then dusted with freshly ground nutmeg prior to baking. Highly recommend!!! The toasted hazelnuts and almond extract definitely kick this up a notch from a classic fruit tart.
I’ve tried this 3 different ways based on what’s in season, and they all have been delicious: pistachio + apple, walnut + pear, and almond + fresh cranberries blitzed in the food processor. My only complaint is that the crust being in the oven for 1h15m total makes it a little too brown for my liking. I’ll try dropping the second bake from 60 minutes to 50 minutes next time and hope that will be adequate for baking the frangipane. Thanks for the recipe!
Ran out of apricots making freezer jam – lol too many projects at once and too lazy to go back to the store so I used blueberries instead and it was AMAZING! Great base!
I’m thinking of experimenting with these bars (but with almond, not pistachio) and then rhubarb, or strawberry rhubarb combo. Do you think I need to cook down the rhubarb in some way THEN bank, or that I could bake these just fine without cooking rhubarb first?
Deb has a recipe for that!
https://smittenkitchen.com/2016/05/almond-rhubarb-picnic-bars/
What beautiful, perfectly balanced bars these are. I think the slightly less juicy tart/sweet apricots worked well – made in a 9×13 and made 1.5 quantity crust and double the frangipane. Looking forward to trying with other fruits that others have suggested. Thank you Deb!
This dessert was delicious! We had an overabundance of apricots from our CSA share to use up, a jar full of pistachios, and just enough butter to create this dessert! I used 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract since I didn’t have almond extract nor brandy. It was a perfect recipe to make for my 16th wedding anniversary (!) and is highly recommended. I’ll definitely make it again! Thanks Deb for having such consistent and delectable recipes that I can always count on!
I loved Red Jacket Orchards apricots. But they are not sold at the Union Square Farmers Market or in stores in metro NY any longer. I will save this recipe for next year when I go apricot picking.
Yes, they left a few years ago. But there are still some beautiful apricots there right now — go soon, they won’t last. (Also: Apricot picking? Where do you go? It sounds like a dream.)
Oh baby this is so good!!! I made it with nectarines and pistachio, with some almond and vanilla extracts. This is a two thumbs up keeper!!
Can this be made with either peaches or canned apricots?
I haven’t tested it with them. I suspect if you want to try it, you’ll want to rinse them well, blot them dry, and then do it. The syrup/moisture is my biggest concern here. Let us know how it goes!
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Hi Deb, I have a huge bag of salted roasted pistachios in the shell. Can I use these if I rinse the shells and omit the salt in the filling? This combo sounds like heaven! Thank you.
I haven’t tried this before but I think it’s worth trying. The salty kick might be nice!
This is a lovely bar cookie! Perfect combo of fresh apricots and pistachios. I added brandy rather than almond extract. Yummy!
This recipe is amazing! I’ve now made peaches + pecans, cherries + almonds, and plums + hazelnuts. Very inspired by other commenters and agree this is a keeper! Looking forward to using cranberries in fall!
I Love apricots- especially the dried ones. I have never found the fresh ones that tasty- bad luck I guess? Any suggestions?
What about cream cheese instead of butter?
I made this in a rectangle tart pan- no weights, no pricking with a fork… I cut the recipe by 1/4, then used white nectarines. Delish. Last minute dessert to take to a dinner.
Hi Deb – I made the crust as directed, but as it was par baking, it was super bubbly and had a bunch of holes. Literally looked like a wet english muffin. Any idea what went wrong? I’m pretty sure I measured correctly.
Thanks,
S
Hi Deb, can you substitute pistachio for any other nuts? My son is allergic to pistachios but can have some of the other nuts. Thank you.
Yes, walnuts, pecans, almonds….
This was delicious and I loved that I could do it all in the food processor without cleaning between uses. Made the whole process quick and easy. I did peach/pecan as peaches are very good right now and I have a lot of pecans on hand. Definitely want to try the other varieties. I made these for a dinner party and did them one day ahead and refrigerated after they completely cooled. They were perfect the next day. Not much was left after 6 adults dived in. :)