A simple bar (Secret Recipe Club)

How was everyone's weekend?  Mine was a busy one.  We had Bella's 3rd birthday party yesterday - a brunch gathering with immediate family.  Lots of fun, and lots of food, as usual!  I'll be showcasing a good portion of it this week, including Bella's birthday cake :)

Month 2 of participation for me in The Secret Recipe Club proved to be fun, once again.  My assignment was Yumsilicious Bakes, a blog that I wasn't familiar with until now.  Avanika is a young woman from Mumbai who has some pretty fun stuff in there that she's baked - make sure to check it out!

As I browsed through her recipes, I realized that I needed something additional to make for Bella's brunch.  Something sweet...something non-chocolaty...something to satisfy the sweet tooth with a small bite.  The bars that I chose seemed to be the perfect solution.

I made several changes to the recipe that Avanika posted, which are all reflected below.  Obviously, you can use whatever flavor preserves you like.  I chose apricot, well, just because.  And I'm glad I did.  Yum.

Apricot Walnut Bars
heavily adapted from Yumsilicious Bakes

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, slightly softened
1 cup AP flour
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (approximately) apricot preserves (I used reduced sugar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease an 8x8 square pan.  Combine all ingredients besides preserves in a bowl and mix.

Press half of the mixture into the pan, forming a crust.  Add the preserves evenly over the top.  Sprinkle remaining mixture on top.  Bake for about 35 minutes.  Cool before cutting.