I don’t know how many times I go to the store and forget my grocery list, or, forget to even make one!  When I discovered I had 3 jars of apricot preserves in my pantry, I knew it was time to use one up, especially when there is not enough room in my pantry to begin with!  Double this, double that…especially baking supplies! 

How many of you have seen a recipe you want to make because it sounds so awesome, but, you don’t have that one ingredient, the one that has no substitution, the one that makes this recipe extra special?  Well, that’s me, I do it all the time.  I’ll go to the store and remember I saw this awesome recipe that uses…say, pine nuts!  You know you must have that recipe somewhere at the top of your things to make, you get home and then, you cannot find it, anywhere!  You dig through your most favorite cookbooks thinking surely it would be in one of those…not there!  Then you dig through your most recent magazines…again, not there!  So, because you now have a bag of pine nuts with no recipe, you go to the computer to search for a recipe that calls for pine nuts!  So much trouble, all because you DID NOT, rip that recipe out of that magazine, or lay the cookbook open…all because you didn’t take the time at that exact moment to write the recipe down! lol  With all that being said, that must have happened to me at some point, why else would I have 3 jars of apricot preserves.  I love apricot preserves, but not enough to buy 3 jars of it! lol 

So, when I came across this recipe that called for apricot preserves, I thought…is this the one?  lol  Most likely not, but since I was there, and in the mood to bake, this was the recipe choice of the day!

This was a very easy recipe to make, one that can easily be changed using different flavors of preserves.  I think this would be really good using raspberry preserves, blackberry preserves as well as many other types of fruit preserves. I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Recipe from cookbook “Taste of Home Grand Prize Winners.”

Quote from cookbook:  This recipe is down-home baking at it’s best.  It’s won blu ribbons at country fairs and cookie contests in several states.  This treat is easy to make, and it’s perfect for potluck suppers, bake sales, lunch boxes or just plain snacking.  Bake a batch tonight.

 Happy Bar Baking!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 and 1/3 cups flaked coconut

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 jar (10 to 12 ounces) apricot preserves

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar and vanilla.  Add egg, mix well.  Combine flour and baking powder.  Gradually add to creamed mixture.  Fold in coconut and walnuts.

2. Press two-thirds of dough into a greased 13-inch x 9-inch baking pan.  Spread with preserves; crumble remaining dough over preserves.  Bake at 350 F for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool pan on a wire rack.  Cut into bars.