Preheat the oven to 180℃ / Fan 160℃ / Gas 4.

Prepare the baking tin. Grease the tin
with a little butter.  Fully line the tin with greaseproof paper,
ensuring there is excess paper beyond the edge of the tin to aid the
removal of the shortbread once cooked.

Make the shortbread dough.  Place the flour and sugar into a large bowl.  Use your hand to mix together.  Add the chilled diced butter.    Rub the cubed butter into the flour and sugar between your thumb and finger tips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Add the ground almonds and gently mix until combined.   Tip the mixture into the prepared tin.   Press the mixture into the tin to compact it,  aiming to get a nice even layer.

Bake.  Place the shortbread into the oven and bake for 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the apricots.   Chop the apricots, checking to ensure that all the stones have been removed.  Place into a pan with the water and lemon juice.

Cook the apricots.  Place the pan onto the hob over a low heat.   Cook until the apricots have absorbed the liquid, whilst stirring the mixture all of the time.  Blend the apricots to create a paste.  It’s personal preference whether you make this ultra smooth or slightly chunky.

Prepare the Amaretti Biscuits.  Break the amaretti biscuits into large breadcrumbs.

Top the shortbread with the apricot mixture & crumble topping.  After the 12 minutes of baking remove the shortbread from the oven.  Spoon the apricot mixture over the shortbread.  Use the back of a spoon or spatula to gently spread this out, trying not to disturb the shortbread base beneath.  Scatter over the crumbled amaretti biscuits.  Slightly push the biscuits into the apricot mixture.  Scatter over the flaked almonds.

Finish the bake.  Return the shortbread back to the oven and bake for a further 10 minutes.

Cool and slice.  Remove from the oven and place onto a cooling rack.  Once completely cooled use the overhanging greaseproof paper to lift the shortbread form the tray.  Use a long sharp knife to slice the shortbread into squares.  We got 15 pieces from our bake.