Rhubarb Oatmeal Bars

Rhubarb Oatmeal Bars

Crust and Topping:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 cup oats

• 1/2 cup light brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Filling:

• 2 ½ cups diced rhubarb (diced fairly small, about ¼ inch cubes)

• ½ cup light brown sugar

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour

• ½ cup strawberry jam

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a square 8x8 baking dish with non-stick spray. (You could also make a thinner bar by baking these in a 9x13 pan - the baking time may also need to be lessened since thinner bars would bake more quickly.)

In your food processor, or with a pastry cutter, combine the crust/topping ingredients until pea-sized pieces of butter remain. Reserve 1 ½ cups of the crumbs for the topping (chill in the refrigerator until needed), and press the remainder of the crumbs firmly against the bottom of the baking dish. Bake crust for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a bowl toss the rhubarb with the sugar and flour until all the fruit is coated. Stir in the jam, lemon juice and vanilla.

After the crust has baked for 20 minutes, remove from the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350. Spread the rhubarb mixture over the hot crust. Bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs over the fruit and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until topping is golden brown.

Let cool on the counter for at least two hours to set before slicing into squares. These can be served slightly warm or room temperature, and are wonderful with ice cream.

Yields 16 squares.

Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen