Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars

By srumbel

It’s not too often throughout the year that my local grocery store has fresh rhubarb, but when it does I always have to grab some. I absolutely love the strawberry rhubarb combination and how the sweetness of the strawberries and the tartness of the rhubarb balances each other out so perfectly. And when you pair that combination with a buttery, sweet, vanilla, oat crumble you know it’s going to be good – and let me tell you these are unbelievably delectable! It’s one of those sweets that you’ll keep finding yourself heading back to the kitchen and cutting off little square after little square until half the pan is gone because there’s just no resisting them! They are one of my all time favorite bars and that is saying something! They have the most amazing texture with a crisp toping and very bottom layer then that middle layer next to the fruity filling is kind of chewy and soft like a cookie. I will never stop dreaming about these things, and I love that they are easy to make (and no mixer is required)!
from cookingclassy.com

Ingredients

• Crumb layers
• 1 1/3 cups (188g) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/3 cups (120g) rolled old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (110g) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (170g) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Filling
• 1 3/4 cups (273g) hulled and diced strawberries (from 12 oz whole)
• 1 1/2 cups (190g) 1/4-inch thick diced rhubarb
• 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 6 Tbsp (77g) granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp (9g) cornstarch

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 by 9-inch baking dish and line with parchment paper, butter parchment (if you don't care to lift the bars out of the pan before cutting you can just butter the dish, no parchment needed).
In a mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and salt for 20 seconds. Add in oats, brown sugar and granulated sugar and whisk to blend, while using fingertips to break up small clumps of brown sugar. Whisk vanilla into melted butter then pour melted butter over oat mixture. Stir with a spatula until mixture is evenly moistened. Press 2/3 of the mixture into prepared baking dish, set aside remaining 1/3.
Add diced strawberries and rhubarb to a medium mixing bowl. Toss with lemon juice. In a small mixing bowl whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Pour sugar mixture over strawberry mixture and toss to coat. Pour strawberry mixture over bottom crumb layer in baking dish. Evenly sprinkle remaining 1/3 crumb mixture over top. Bake in preheated oven until top is golden brown and crisp and filling is bubbling, about 45 - 50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack until warm then cut into squares. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Yield: 9 bars