- 2
Ingredients
- Base
- 1 cup almonds
- 2 cups gluten free oats
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup honey (vegans, use maple syrup or alternate sweetener)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- Filling
- 3 cups pureed apricots
- Crumble Topping
- 2 cups oats
- 1/3 cup hemp seeds (read below for possible substitutions)
- 1/4 cup flax meal (read below for possible substitutions)
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 Tbsp honey (vegans, use maple syrup or alternate sweetener)
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Preparation
Step 1
Base
1 cup almonds
2 cups gluten free oats
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup honey (vegans, use maple syrup or alternate sweetener)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup coconut oil
Put all the ingredients in a food processor. Process until almonds are ground and the dough starts to clump together, scraping the sides down with a spatula if need be. Put the mixture into a 9×9 pan. Using your hands, parchment paper or plastic wrap, press the crumb mixture down to get an even packed down surface.
Note: Taste the crumb mixture before pressing it into the baking pan. If it is not quite sweet enough, add another 1/8 cup -1/4 cup of honey or an alternate sweetener like maple syrup, palm sugar or a few drops of stevia. Pulse the food processor long enough to incorporate the addition sweetener. Taste and adjust again if required. Remember, it’s easy to add, but much more challenging to take it away if you’ve added too much.
Filling
3 cups pureed apricots
Spread the pureed apricots over the base in an even layer.
Note: The recipe only makes 2 cups of puree. Use 3 1/2 – 4 lbs of fresh apricots to get 3 cups of pureed apricots. Our pureed apricots had no added sweeteners. But the recipe linked above does use a few Tablespoons which will ease the transition to less processed foods. If you’ve already reduced your taste for sweetness and your apricots are quite sweet, forgo the honey altogether, as my sister did.
Crumble Topping
2 cups oats
1/3 cup hemp seeds (read below for possible substitutions)
1/4 cup flax meal (read below for possible substitutions)
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 Tbsp honey (vegans, use maple syrup or alternate sweetener)
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Place all the ingredients and pulse until crumbly. Sprinkle the crumble topping over the apricot layer.
Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes. Allow the squares to cool. Refrigerate the squares. Because we are using coconut oil, and the inside temperature is often above 74 degrees, the coconut oil will melt and the squares won’t hold their shape at that temperature.
Note: To replace the hemp seeds, feel free to use almond meal, chia seeds or roughly ground nuts. Instead of flax meal, substitute a whole grain flour such as spelt, kamut, buckwheat (GF) or even almond meal. I’m pretty sure coconut flour, corn meal or even tapioca starch would work, but I have not tried it.
RAW: Baking this dish is not necessary and can be enjoying as is. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving to allow the coconut oil to solidify before slicing.