Apricot crumble bars recipe inspired by: Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
Besides its towering sandstone formations and spectacular views, Capitol Reef National Park is also famous for its historic orchards.
Planted by Latter-Day Saints pioneers between the 1880s and 1960s, these thousands of trees used to provide food and income to the families who lived in the settlement of Fruita.
Nowadays, Fruita is the touristic heart of Capitol Reef National Park, home to the park’s visitor center, a campground, trails and—yes—several surviving orchards.
These iconic orchards are protected as part of the Fruita Rural Historic Landscape and contain about 1,900 individual trees. From apples, pears and cherries to plums, peaches and apricots, visitors can now pick their own fruit here, a totally unique national park experience. Additionally, foraging is also allowed in Capitol Reef, although with some restrictions.
In addition to fruit trees, the Capitol Reef orchards also have a variety of nut trees, including walnuts, almonds and pecans.
Apricots are very common in the orchards in Fruita. According to the National Park Service website, of the nineteen Fruita orchards, no fewer than ten have apricot trees.
Five of them have one or more type of nut. One particular orchard, located near the park’s famous Petroglyph Panel, contains only pecan trees.
At the historic Gifford Homestead, which now houses a quaint shop, you can buy all kinds of handmade items, products and foodstuffs, from quilts, soaps and candles to jellies, jams, ice cream and fruit pies.
This apricot crumble bars recipe is inspired by Capitol Reef National Park’s historic orchards and the modern-day treats sold at the Gifford Homestead.
It’s one of my favorite national park-inspired dessert recipes.
Capitol Reef Apricot Crumble Bars
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Bake time: 35 minutes
- Cool time: 1 hour
- Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Servings: 42
- Calories per serving (one apricot bar): 118
A super-fun dessert, and a recipe that’s very closely related to a national park, these apricot crumble bars use ingredients that you can literally buy at Capitol Reef yourself. (They’re also available in all grocery stores, though!)
The star ingredients in this recipe are apricot preserves and chopped pecans, both of which grow in the Fruita orchards.
Depending how big you cut them, this recipe makes dozens of apricot crumble bars. I cut them pretty small, which resulted in no fewer than 42 bars. Awesome!
This Capitol Reef National Park-inspired recipe for apricot crumble bars contains affiliate links. You can read more about our Terms of Use / Disclosure here.
Necessary Kitchen Tools
- Large mixing bowl
- Silicone spatula
- Teaspoons and tablespoons
- Measuring cups
- 9 x 13 baking pan
- Wire cooling rack
Capitol Reef Apricot Crumble Bars Recipe
Inspired by the historic orchards and amazing food products you can buy at Capitol Reef National Park, this apricot crumble bars recipe makes dozens of sweet dessert bites.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cups pecans, chopped
- 1 1/2 cup apricot preserves
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Melt butter in a small bowl in the microwave.
- Pour melted butter into the flour mixture and stir with a silicone spatula until well combined.
- In a cup, whisk egg and the vanilla extract together, then add to the mixture in the large bowl and stir thoroughly until well combined.
- Add pecans to the mixture and, again, mix until well combined. The result should be a thick dough.
- Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan with olive oil.
- Spread about 3/4 of the dough in the baking pan. Press gently with a silicone spatula to smooth out.
- Spread the apricot preserves over the dough layer. Sprinkle the remaining dough over the top with your hands.
- Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes until the top is beautifully browned. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- When cooled, slice the apricot crumble into bars.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Note: Instead of chopped pecans, you could also easily use chopped walnuts or almonds. Or you could leave out the nuts entirely. The crunch they provide is really nice, though!
Nutrition Information
Yield
42Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 118Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 16mgSodium 63mgCarbohydrates 16gFiber 0gSugar 9gProtein 1g
A general nutrition calculator was used to determine the nutritional information of this recipe, which is meant solely as an indication of the dish's nutritional values. Depending on specific ingredients, quantities used and/or serving size, the ultimate dish you end up making may have different nutritional aspects. Please consider the information provided here only as guidance and not as an absolute fact.