Serves: 32
Total Calories: 93

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup sweetened flake coconut, such as Baker's Angel Flake
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons apricot preserves or marmalade

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease an 8-by-8-inch metal baking pan with cooking spray. To remove the cookies with ease, line the pan, lengthwise and widthwise, with two 8-inch-wide sheets of parchment paper or foil, shiny side up, leaving a few inches of the paper hanging over the edges.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and pecans. Using your fingers or a pastry blender, work the butter into the flour mixture until crumbly. Transfer 1/2 cup of the mixture to a small bowl, stir in the coconut, and set aside to use as the topping. Transfer the remaining mixture to the prepared pan and press evenly across the bottom of the pan. Bake until the crust begins to brown, about 20 minutes.
3. Spread the hot crust with the apricot preserves. Lightly press the reserved topping onto the preserves, return to the oven, and bake until the coconut is well toasted, about 25 minutes.
4. Transfer to a rack to cool and set, about 11/2 hours. Use the parchment paper handles to remove and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into thirty-two 1-by-2-inch bars.


From Holiday Baking. Text copyright © 2005 by Sara Perry. Photographs copyright © 2005 by Leigh Beisch. All rights reserved. First published by Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, California.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 32
Total Calories: 93
Calories from Fat: 40

More Recipes from the Holiday Baking Cookbook:
Apricot Jam and Coconut Squares
Banana Wafer Pudding Pie
Brown Sugar Benne Cookies
Cashew Caramel Cracker Bars
Chocolate Peanut Butter Surprise Cupcakes
Church Lady's Frosting
Church Supper Carrot Cake
Cream Cheese Frosting
Kwanzaa Puzzle Cookies
Mama's Yummy Sweet Spoonbread Souffle
North African Mint Tea
Soul-Satisfying Biscuits and Gravy
Southern Comfort Sweet Potato Pecan Pie
Wild Rice and Dried Cherry Muffins