Long believed to find its origins in Siberia, China and Mongolia, rhubarb has been an important part of the human experience. For a long time, rhubarb was regarded as medicinal, but as trade routes strengthened along the Silk Road and sugar started to become more affordable, we started seeing rhubarb become increasingly popular in cooking.
These strawberry-rhubarb crumble bars are a great way to welcome spring! They make for a light way to round out a meal or as a star with a cup of tea or coffee, plus they only take an hour from start to finish.
INGREDIENTS:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 ¼ cups butter, cold and cubed
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 2 cups chopped strawberries (if using frozen, do not thaw)
- 2 ½ cups sliced rhubarb
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 orange, zested
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides of the pan.
Stir together flour, sugars, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
Add the cubed butter and, using a pastry cutter or two forks, work in the butter until all the flour is coated and resembles peasized crumbles. (You can also use a food processor if you prefer.)
In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and vanilla. Create a well in the middle of the flour-butter mixture and pour the eggs in. Using a rubber spatula. gently work the flour from the edges into the egg until the mixture resembles moist crumbly sand.
Reserve 3 cups of flour-butter mixture for the topping. Pour the remaining mixture into the prepared pan and flatten down with your hands or a spatula to form the base crust, making sure it is as even as possible. Stir cinnamon and rolled oats into the reserved flour-butter mixture.
Combine strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, orange zest and cardamom in a large bowl. Spread over the crust. Sprinkle reserved flour-butter mixture evenly over the filling, lightly pressing it into the fruit layer. (You don’t want this to be a smooth even layer—it should be more rustic in appearance.)
Bake for about 40-50 min, or until the top is lightly browned. Let cool in the pan for about one hour and then transfer to the refrigerator until completely set and chilled.
Run a knife along the sides of the pan without parchment paper. Lift the entire sheet of bars out using the parchment paper overhang. Cut into squares.
Cover and store leftover strawberryrhubarb crumble bars in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 3 months.
