I’ve managed to post for 10 straight weeks now. Someone other than me must be proud of that. I’ve finally set myself an achievable goal (I’m pretty sure this is the longest time I’ve gone without having massive gaps between posts).

Spring is here now, which means doing things like going outside without a coat on, appreciating blossom, making spring-themed playlists, and daring to go running again (I am a fair-weather runner, I will not pretend otherwise). I’m never sure if autumn or spring is my favourite season. Maybe it’s a tie, because each time one comes around I think to myself “this is definitely my favourite season”. I definitely have a greater appreciation of spring though. The reason I am waxing lyrical about springtime is because as I was making apricot crunchies on this beautiful March afternoon, I was listening to Noah and the Whale’s ‘First Days of Spring’, which made me think about all the joyousness that spring brings. The other thing that spring brings is a new look for my blog, because I was kind of tired of the old one. So hello, new beautiful layout (which also allows you to see what I’m doing on various social media sites).

The one downside of having made a list in the first week of January of things I wanted to make is that quite frequently the options of recipes don’t always match up with what I have in my house. At the moment I’m trying to use up things that have been lingering at the back of my cupboard, and as if by magic, I found a recipe in my list that actually matched up with some of the odds and ends I needed to use up (apricots, sultanas and wholemeal flour, in case you’re wondering). So, I give you, apricot crunchies!

Apricot Crunchies (from The Hummingbird Bakery: Cake Days)

200g soft dried apricots, roughly chopped

100g sultanas

50ml orange juice

200g unsalted butter, chilled and diced

150g wholemeal flour

150g oats

1/2tsp grated orange zest

75g soft dark brown sugar

75g soft light brown sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 170C/Gas 3, and line a 22x31cm baking tray with baking parchment.

2. Mix the apricots and sultanas in a bowl with the orange juice, and leave to soak for a few minutes.

3. Place the butter in a medium bowl, along with the flour, oats and zest. Rub all the ingredients together by hand into a crumb-like consistency, then stir in both sugars.

4. Drain the orange juice from the dried fruit, and stir the fruit into the oat mixture. Tip the mixture into the prepared baking tray, pressing it down into the base and corners of the tin. Bake for 25-30mins until deep golden brown, then remove from the oven, and allow to cool in the tray before cutting into slices.