i’m back and beyond excited about this week’s Baked recipe. i now have a new favorite sweet treat that i’ll be making all summer long. these rosemary apricot bars are so unbelievably good! i know i know, i say it all the time, but you gotta trust. my husband even said these were one of the best baked goods i’ve ever made. now, that’s huge. we shared a tiny piece since we’re taking them to our family tomorrow for father’s day. now i’m dying for another piece!

i made a couple substitutions with these bars. you start out by making the shortbread crust using fresh rosemary. i’ve got an over abundance of french lavendar in my herb garden so that’s what i used. you simmer the apricots for about about an hour with sugar, honey, water and brandy. i used Dogfish Head brown honey rum in place of the brandy. yum- i loved it in this. you then puree the mixture into a smooth apricot filling, spread over the baked crust and top with a pecan-streusel topping. the flavor combo between all three layers was out of this world.

hop on over to Baked Sunday Mornings and try this amazing recipe. or better yet, get yourself a copy of Baked Explorations. it’s been a whole lot of fun working through the book so far this year. in two weeks, it’s blackberry pie. can not wait!