We LOVE those little apricot squares you can buy in the packets at the supermarket. I’m very quickly running out of things to sell to afford them. I’m sure I could have bought a mansion with the amount of money I have spent on them in years. Ok you get the idea. They are expensive and they don’t always have the best ingredients in them.
I often make the Apricot Balls and the Mini Fruit Balls but they just aren’t the same as those squares. Something was always missing.
I have experimented a bit with them and failing miserably at getting the same flavour but after my Mini Fruit Balls I decided to try a similar version. I think these come pretty close to the store bought version in texture and flavour. The packet ones I like do have a coating of sugar on the outside which I wanted to avoid as there is plenty of sugar as is in them with all the dried fruit. My partner says these are “spot on!”. He loves them.
Cost comparison:
- Store bought version: 450g for $7.92
- TRTLMT version*: Approx 450g for $2.16 (Apricots $1.30, Dates $0.24 , Coconut $0.62)
* Each brand will differ in cost slightly. Buying bulk will reduce the cost.
Ingredients comparison:
- Store bought version: Apricots, Sugar, Glucose Syrup (Derived from Corn), Vegetable Oil, Acidity Regulator, Emulsifier, Corn Starch, Natural Colour, Natural Flavour, Preservative 220. Taken from Coles Online. There is just over 281g of sugar in 450g of these.
- TRTLMT version*: Apricots, Dates and Coconut. There is just over 87g of sugar in 450g of these.
*Do check the packaging of your dried fruit and coconut as some brands do have preservatives added to them.
Tip: When serving children dried fruit or anything high in dried fruit, its always good to serve some cheese and veggie sticks along side it to help clean the teeth afterwards. You will often see on childcare centre menus (one of my most favourite things to create) that dried fruit will be accompanied with these.
Apricot Bites
- Total Time: 65
- Yield: 40 1x
Description
A cheaper healthier version of a store bought favourite.
Ingredients
- 300g dried apricots
- 50g pitted dates
- 100g dessicated coconut
- 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut for coating, optional
Instructions
- Place everything into bowl.
- Blitz on speed 7 for 20 seconds. Then increase speed to 10 for 30 seconds.
- Line a small loaf tin with baking paper.
- Spoon mixture in and smooth out using the back of a glass or your tmx measuring cup that has been covered with a little baking paper to avoid sticking.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Remove from tin.
- Slice into 12 bar shapes and then into pieces. I got 40 small squares from mine.
- Place squares and coconut into a bowl. Toss until coated.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container.
Notes
- If the mixture is too dry, process a little longer or add an extra date of two.
- You can use medjool dates however they are quite sweet so taste the mixture as you go.
- Prep Time: 65
Apricot Bites
- Yield: 40 1x
Description
A cheaper healthier version of a store bought favourite.
Ingredients
- 300g dried apricots
- 50g pitted dates
- 100g dessicated coconut
- 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut for coating, optional
Instructions
- Place everything into food processor.
- Blitz on high speed until combined.
- Line a small loaf tin with baking paper.
- Spoon mixture in and smooth out using the back of a glass that been covered with a little baking paper to avoid sticking.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Remove from tin.
- Slice into 12 bar shapes and then into pieces. I got 40 small squares from mine.
- Place squares and coconut into a bowl. Toss until coated.
- Refrigerate in an airtight container.
Notes
- If the mixture is too dry, process a little longer or add an extra date of two.
- You can use medjool dates however they are quite sweet so taste the mixture as you go.
What could you replace the dates with?
Sultanas or just extra Apricots will work 🙂
What would be a good substitute for the dessicated coconut? Or, can I just leave it out?
Good question. It needs to be there to bind it otherwise its too soft. You can leave it out, they will just be softer 🙂
Do you use dried or fresh dates?
Dried pitted dates
Just made these and my daughter and I rolled them into balls, they taste fabulous! Thanks 🙂
Tastes yummy!! Do you think you could freeze these or otherwise, how long would they last in an airtight container in the fridge? Thanks!
You sure can 🙂
Or two weeks in a container in the fridge.
Taste just like the store bought ones! Thanks so much for the healthier alternative.
Which dried apricots did you use? Are they the squishy orange ones with sulphites or the ones without?
I use ones with preservatives hence the strong orange colour. You can use ones without and have a brown/black bite. You may need to add extra dates or honey to add moisture to t he mix.
I finally got round to making these! They are great and I’ll be making again! Thanks for the great work you do!
Wow PETA, thank you so much for this recipe, I have spent so much money on these in the past, made these tonight and they are spot on! Yum
brilliant copy of the real thing, only better!
This is a hit with my kids. So simple to make and so much better than store bought!
I allowed my 7 year old to make this all on her own. They turned out great. Both children look forward to having these in their lunchboxes. Thanks for sharing!
Great simple recipe- I swapped the coconut for macadamias worked great. Same amount.
I used Turkish apricots and am hoping after being in the fridge they will set because it seemed slightly dry?