My friend, Erin, made these Go Anywhere Rhubarb Squares a while back and highly recommended them. As I still had some leftover rhubarb from my giant farmers market haul and my husband wasn’t home to ask for rhubarb crisp, I decided to give them a try!
They start with a shortbread/sugar cookie-type crust which is par-baked, then a mixture of rhubarb, sugar, flour, eggs and vanilla goes on top to form a gooey topping. They remind me a little of lemon bars with the tart/gooey topping and sweet crumbly crust. The recipe calls for 3 cups of rhubarb, but I had 4, so I just used it all. I added some extra sugar to compensate. While I would make them again, I think next time I would cut the rhubarb into smaller pieces and macerate it before mixing it with the filling. It could also use a little salt. My suggestions are in the directions below. For the original instructions, follow the link above.
Rhubarb Squares
Adapted from AllRecipes.com
Ingredients
Crust:
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup powdered sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/3 cup butter, cold
Filling:
* 1 cup sugar, divided
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 3 cups finely chopped rhubarb (I had 4 cups, so I used it all, plus more sugar to compensate)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour and powdered sugar. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or two knives until texture is crumbly. Grease an 11×7 baking dish and press the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 12 minutes at 350F.
- For filling, combine rhubarb and 1/4 cup sugar in a bowl. Set aside. In another bowl, combine 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix in eggs and vanilla.
- Remove crust from oven. Fold rhubarb into filling mixture and pour into warm crust. Bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Serve warm or room temperature. Store covered in the refrigerator.
While the husband thought they were a bit tart (hence the macerating suggestion), he liked them and deemed them repeatable. It would be a nice treat to take to a potluck or barbecue that’s less messy than rhubarb crisp!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I regularly up the amount of rhubarb. Once I used this recipe as a base to clean out the fruit drawer – rhubarb, apricots, strawberries, I think some peaches…. I just adjusted the amount of filling/sugar and guessed about how much of things to use.
Really, what was I going to do with one cup of leftover rhubarb? That would be silly. Also, I sprinkled a little salt on the last piece I ate and it helped a TON!
I feel like the majority of fruit desserts are like that. Modify the topping/spices depending on the juice/sugar content of the fruit and go to town. Add until pan is full, bake until done! Yummm. Peach desserts might be my very favorite.