Apricot Almond Oat Slice (Oat Bars)

Name: Apricot Almond Oat Slice (Oat Bars)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 16
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1.5 cups Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (I used gluten-free old fashioned rolled oats, but regular or wholegrain old fashioned rolled oats will work too.); 1.5 cups Wholewheat Flour (wholemeal wheat flour); ¼ cup Light Brown Sugar; ½ cup Desiccated Coconut; ½ cup dried Apricots – chopped; ½ cup unsalted raw Almonds – roughly chopped; ½ TSP Baking Soda; ¼ cup Honey; 100 grams (1/2 cup) Unsalted Butter – chopped into smaller chunks; 1 TSP Almond Extract (or vanilla extract); ½ TSP ground Cinnamon; ¼ cup Water

by Lavina // posted April 6, 2020 — updated October 14, 2022

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This Apricot Almond Oat Slice is quick and easy to make, lower in sugar than store-bought oat slices, and the perfect healthy snack to have around for kids and adults! It’s made with heart-healthy oats, flour, coconut, crunchy almonds, dried apricots, brown sugar and honey for some sweetness! They’re chewy, crunchy, sweet, and simply SO GOOD!

Apricot almond square shaped oat slices on parchment paper. Oat slice on bottom left corner is sticking out.

Hi everyone.

How are we all doing? I’m hoping everyone is safe and well, and I hope you are all managing to find joy in the little things in life during these difficult times.

With all the anxiety that I’ve been feeling lately, stress baking has become the norm in my home. (Have you guys been stress baking too? What have you been baking? Let me know in the comments section below!) Easy home baking for me though, and none of that complicated, extravagant, and gorgeous baking stuff we see the pros doing on television.

Today, I’m sharing my new favorite easy baked snack with you – this Apricot Almond Oat Slice!

Two apricot and almond oat slices on a white round plate.

It’s made with a few pantry staples and ingredients, and it’s deliciously sweet, chewy, and crunchy!

These oat slices are also:

Pretty healthy (they are lower in sugar than your average store-bought oat slices (oat bars).
Are great for a grab and go breakfast. (Although, I know we’re not really going anywhere these days and trying to stay indoors as much as possible!)
Also great as a dessert!
Fantastic for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up snack!

My Dad, Mom, and sister are as addicted to them as I am, and these delectable little oat slice treats have been in high demand ever since I first made them! I truly think you and your family will love these Apricot Almond Oat Slice too! 🤗

So who’s in for some Apricot Almond Oat Slices?

Close up of two apricot and almond oat slices on a white round plate.

ABOUT THESE APRICOT AND ALMOND OAT SLICES

A few weeks ago, I was killing time in a mall while waiting for a dentist appointment. I got a bit hungry, so I strolled into City Super (a well-known international foods supermarket here in Hong Kong) in search of a snack. I ended up buying a soft granola bar lookalike snack called an “oat slice” which was made in Australia. (In the U.S., these oat slices are called “oat bars”.) It was made with almonds, apricots, honey, and coconut, and it blew my mind! Yum. Yum. YUM!

But it was HK$ 26 (US$ 3.35), which IMO is kind of pricey for such a small treat even if it is organic. 🙄 Anyways, I vowed to make it at home so that I’d never have to spend that much on that particular small snack again. I took a picture of the ingredients label, jotted down my own recipe for this tasty treat in my trusty recipe notebook, and a few hours later, this Apricot Almond Oat Slice was born in my kitchen (and for much cheaper I might add)!

I used less sugar and honey than you might find in store-bought oat slices, and sprinkled in some cinnamon for a subtle, yet kickin’ spicy-sweet note! These oat slices are also egg-free, and can be made vegan with vegan honey or maple syrup, and vegan butter. (See ‘Variations’ section for more on how to customize this oat slice.)

Ready to make some oat slices and wow yourself and your family?

Two apricot and almond oat slices on a white round plate. More oat slices in top left corner on top of parchment paper.

INGREDIENTS

To make these delicious Apricot and Almond Oat Slices, you’ll need…

Old Fashioned Rolled Oats: I used gluten-free old fashioned rolled oats, but you can use regular or wholegrain old fashioned rolled oats instead too.
Flour: I use wholegrain wheat flour (wholemeal wheat flour). But you can use all-purpose white flour, plain flour, or white whole wheat flour instead too if that’s what you have on hand.
Light Brown Sugar: To sweeten the oat slices.
Desiccated Coconut: You can use unsweetened shredded coconut instead if you prefer.
Dried Apricots: Chop these up into small pieces. I used sulphured (orange) dried apricots here. But I love using unsulphured apricots too, which are dark brown, and sweeter and richer in flavor!
Almonds: Roughly chopped. I use unsalted raw almonds.
Baking Soda: To keep things nice and moist.
Honey: To also help sweeten the oat slices, and to bind the mixture together with its stickiness.
Unsalted Butter: Chop these into smaller chunks so that they’ll melt more easily.
Almond Extract: I love the sweet, fragrant, and nutty flavor that almond extract adds to sweet treats and desserts! But you can use vanilla extract instead if that’s what you have on hand. It’ll taste great with either!
Ground Cinnamon: Just a pinch for some spicy-sweet notes!
Water: To help keep things nice and moist.

Wholegrain wheat flour, desiccated coconuts, old fashioned rolled oats, light brown sugar, chopped almonds, chopped dried apricots, and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.

HOW TO MAKE APRICOT ALMOND OAT SLICE

Prep: Preheat oven to 180°C/356°F/Gas Mark 4. Grease a 9 x 9-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper (nonstick cooking paper) so that the ends are sticking out. (This will make it easier to transfer the baked oat slice slab to a cooling rack later).

Melt butter and honey: Combine the unsalted butter and honey in a microwave safe measuring cup or bowl. Heat in 30 second increments, stirring with a spoon in between, until melted.

Combine dry ingredients: Combine the old fashioned rolled oats, flour, brown sugar, desiccated coconut, dried apricots, almonds, and baking soda. Mix with a large spoon or rubber spatula until evenly combined.

Pour in honey and butter: Pour in the melted unsalted butter and honey into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and add the almond extract, ground cinnamon, and water.

Pouring melted butter and honey in a large mixing bowl with dried apricots, wholemeal flour, chopped almonds, and oats combined together with a spoon.

Mix: Mix with a spoon until the mixture is evenly combined.

Transfer to baking pan: Spoon into the prepared baking pan. Flatten the mixture using the back of the spoon or rubber spatula.

Apricot almond oat mixture flattened down in a parchment paper lined baking pan.

Bake: Bake for 20-22 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the middle has set. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Then use the nonstick cooking paper edges as “handles” to lift the baked slab and transfer to a cooling rack.

Baked apricot and almond oat mixture in baking pan on top of cooling rack.

Cool, slice, and enjoy!: Allow to cool completely, then cut into squares and enjoy!

Apricot and almond oat slices on parchment paper.

Or you can store the slices at room temperature in a sealed container for 5-7 days. But I highly doubt they’ll last that long in your home because they’re too darn delicious and addictive! 😉

Full ingredient amounts/instructions in the recipe card below.

Hand holding up an apricot and almond oat slice with a bite taken out of it.

CAN I FREEZE THE OAT SLICES?

Yes, you can. Although, I haven’t tried freezing these oat slices myself because they disappear very quickly in my house – they don’t last for more than a couple of days! But if you’d like to freeze these oat slices for later, I suggest wrapping each oat slice individually in cling wrap, and then wrapping them all in a foil package. Place the foil package in an airtight sealed container or freezer bag and freeze for up to one month. You can pull out a slice and thaw on the counter for 30 minutes or so, then enjoy!

Hand holding up an apricot and almond oat slice with a bite taken out of it above a plate with an oat slice below.

VARIATIONS

There are plenty of ways that you can customize this oat slice. You can…

Make it vegan: Use vegan honey or maple syrup instead of honey to sweeten the oat slices. Also, be sure to use a vegan butter.
Omit the refined sugar: Use 1/2 cup of honey or maple syrup and completely omit the light brown sugar.
Make it gluten-free: Use gluten-free oats, and gluten-free oat flour or almond flour instead of all-purpose flour.
Add a nut butter: Peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, etc. would all taste fab in this oat slice snack! You can use a natural or sweetened nut butter. I recommend adding 1/4 cup nut butter to the mixture in Step 4.
Allergic to nuts?: Simply leave them out.
Switch up the nuts: Instead of chopped almonds, feel free to use cashews, pine nuts, pistachios, pecans, macadamias, hazelnuts, walnuts, or any other type of nuts that you like!
Don’t have dried apricots?: No problem! Substitute with dried cranberries, raisins, blueberries, strawberries, dates, or other dried fruit that you have on hand instead.
Add seeds: Feel free to add pepitas (pumpkin seeds), sunflower seeds, hemp, chia seeds, flaxseeds etc. if you like.
Add chocolate: If you’re like me and adore all things chocolate, you can fold in white, milk, or dark chocolate chips or chunks into the mixture too!
Not a fan of coconut?: Simply leave out the desiccated coconut.

Hand holding up an apricot and almond oat slice with a bite taken out of it, and apricot almond oat bars on parchment paper.

MORE SWEET SNACKS & TREATS

MADE THIS RECIPE? If you make this recipe, leave a comment and review it below with a STAR rating! I always appreciate your feedback. Take a photo and be sure to tag it with @thatspicychick on Instagram and hashtag it #thatspicychick and I’ll be sure to share.

Apricot almond square shaped oat slices on parchment paper.

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