June 9: Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Bars

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Bars

Filling:
1 1/2 cups frozen unsweetened rhubarb
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon key lime juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Crust:
1 1/2 cups (6.8 oz) all-purpose flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
12 tablespoons (6 oz) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and place a rack in the center. Line a 9x13 metal pan with nonstick foil.
2. Make the filling: Combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar and lime juice in a large saucepan. Cover; cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Remove the cover and cook, stirring constantly, for about another minute, or until the rhubarb has thawed and the sugar is dissolved. Add the cornstarch and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the sauce is bubbly and translucent. Remove from the heat.
3. Make the crust: Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Add the oats and pulse to mix. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the crumb mixture for the topping; press the remaining crumb mixture onto the bottom of the pan. Spread the filling over the crust. Sprinkle with the reserved crumb mixture.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool completely in the pan. Lift from the pan, set on a cutting board, and cut into 32 bars.

I switched to doing it by hand because my food processor wouldn't fit any more ingredients

1 1/2 cups crumb reserves

I used fresh rhubarb

Thoughts: These bars taste exactly how they sound like a pie. I was very surprised that they were delicious. Patrick and I both loved them. If you have a food processor that is too small, then just use a large mixing bowl. My food processor holds 4 cups, which I am finding out might be too small because this has happened to me a couple times where the food is overflowing. So I just transferred everything to a large mixing bowl and stirred it by hand. I didn't read the directions correctly so I added the cornstarch at the same time as everything else for the filling. I couldn't find frozen rhubarb so thanks to a fellow schoolmate, she gave me some from her garden.