Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars

. Will life ever slow down?  The moment I think it might, I'm going 100+ mph the next minute!  The calm before the storm, right?

But I can't and will not complain.  I'd almost always (almost is the key word!) be busy and going, going, going, then bored.  I may whine about the hectic-ness sometimes but in the end, I think I like 'life in the fast lane.'  Figuratively speaking.

Anywho, this week has again been craziness not only because of the CWS (if that wasn't enough!) but because I was trying to get everything ready for my parents visit this weekend!!  Which means lots of fun, relaxing times over the next couple of days, BUT it also meant crabby Jess during the week because I spent it cleaning the house, finishing laundry, and stressing out what snacks/beverages I needed to buy for my parents dad so that he doesn't lose any poundage during the visit.

My parents got into town on Thursday night and we spent the entire day today at the ball park watching a couple of fantastic baseball games.  It was also absolutely gorgeous outside, so we really couldn't have asked for more.  We decided to celebrate Father's Day this weekend as well since we all weren't able to get together last weekend.  And so far, I think my dad has had a very good time.  Baseball, good food, lots of sun...key ingredients to a wonderful weekend!

We actually just got back from one of the games but I want to get one recipe out to you for the weekend.  Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars are yet another great Farmer's Market recipe.  This treat includes a very simple, cinnamony crust, filled with strawberry jam and rhubarb (get both of these at your local farmer's markets, they're always the best from there!), and topped with a crumble made from the same crust ingredients.  A super simple bar that's easy to put together and has a very old-fashioned taste.  Once you try these, you'll get what I'm saying.  Eat up and I'll see you all in a couple days! .

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars

From the Cookie Book

Ingredients:

Filling:

1/4 c. sugar

2-1/2 tbsp. cornstarch

2-1/2 c. rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces

1-1/4 c. strawberry jam or preserves

1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. finely grated orange zest (optional)

Crust/Topping:

1-2/3 c. all purpose flour

1-2/3 c. old-fashioned rolled oats

1 c. sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 c. unsalted butter, very soft but not melted

1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1-1/2 tsp. water

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 350°F.   Generously grease 13x9-inch pan with nonstick spray.

2.  In medium heavy saucepan, stir together sugar and cornstarch until well blended.  Stir in rhubarb, jam, cinnamon, and orange zest.

3.  Bring to simmer, stirring, over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring, for 3 to 6 minutes or until rhubarb softens just slightly.  Set aside.

4.  In large bowl, thoroughly stir together flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.  

5.  Add butter and stir or knead with your hands until the mixture is well blended and crumbly.

6.  Firmly press a scant half of crumb mixture into baking dish; set aside remaining crumb mixture.

7.  Bake 13 to 16 minutes or until crust is firm but not browned.  Spread rhubarb filling evenly over crumb layer.

 8.  Stir together reserved crumb mixture and 2-1/2 tablespoons of egg mixture until streusel forms small clumps.

9.  Sprinkle streusel evenly over filling, breaking up large clumps with fork or fingertips.

10.  Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until streusel is nicely browned and filling is bubbly.  Let cool completely.

Yield: 24 bars

Bumbleberry Pie

. Hold the phones!  Literally.  You'll want to for this one.

Actually, I really don't have much to say besides the fact that this is one of the BEST pies I have ever had.  It is absolutely packed to the brim with a sweet and juicy fruit filling, which is encased in a ridiculously lovely buttery, flakey homemade crust.  Man.  This is a good one.  And guess who I have to thank for this?  None other than good ol' Marcy Goldman from her book A Passion for Baking.  I'm sure you recognize the name, I feel like she gets brought up here quite a bit.  This pie is also so, so easy to put together.  A little rolling of some dough, tossing of some fruit, and BAM!  A few slices of heaven, for sure.

And just to clear things up, bumbleberries don't actually exist [even though you'll wish they did after a bite of this].  Don't worry, it's not some magical fruit that you've gone without your entire life.  No, no.  This pie is simply an assortment of some delectable, wonderful fruits.  Like what?  Oh, just raspberries, blueberries, apples, strawberries, cranberries, and a hint of tart rhubarb.  I mean,  no big deal though.  Sounds like it wouldn't be the most delicious thing to touch those taste buds, right?  False.

So enough chit chat already.  All you really need is this recipe and my promise that you will be obsessed with love this pie!  It was a delightfully pleasant surprise and I think you will agree.  And umm, how could you not agree that this beaut' would look perfect in your Memorial Day spread? Hello, light bulb!

P.S. Sorry I've been MIA, it was quite a busy week at work.  AND, Bacon-loving friend and I are actually in Minne right now visiting my parents.  We decided to make it a girls weekend and come to the Twin Cities for some much needed shopping and to just get away.  So far we've done a fair amount of damage [to our bank accounts] and we still have ALL of today to get through.  But I've been thinking about this pie for the last week and feeling awful that I hadn't shared it's fabulosity with everyone.  It's the guilt, it gets to me.  But now I feel much better, so please enjoy!  And now back to family time, have a great long weekend!! .

Bumbleberry Pie

from A Passion for Baking

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 c. all purpose flour

2 tsp. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter, cut into chunks

1/2 c. butter-flavored shortening, cut into chunks

2 tsp. lemon juice

4 to 8 tbsp. ice water

Filling:

1/2 c. ground fresh or frozen cranberries

2 apples, shredded, skins on

2 c. fresh or frozen raspberries

2 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

1 c. chopped strawberries

1 c. finely diced rhubarb

1 c. sugar

2 tbsp. all purpose flour

1 tbsp. cornstarch

Finishing Touches:

Milk, for brushing

Sugar, for dusting

Directions:

1.  For crust, place flour in food processor.  Add sugar and salt and process 20 seconds to combine.  Add butter and shortening on top of flour mixture.  Process by pulsing to break up butter and shortening until it looks crumbly.

2.  Drizzle lemon juice and ice water on top and turn machine on for exactly 15 seconds until mixture holds together.

3.  Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface.  Knead very gently for a few seconds to smooth out dough.  Pat into two flattened disks and wrap in plastic.  Chill dough for 1 hour.  

4.  Heat oven to 425°F.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper and place 9-inch pie pan on it.  Roll out one disk of dough on lightly floured surface and place in pan. 

5.  For filling, in large bowl gently toss together cranberries, apples, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, and rhubarb.  Add flour, sugar, and cornstarch.  

6.  Mound fruit into piecrust.

7.  Roll out remaining disk of dough and place on top of filling.  Crimp sides.

8.  Make air vents with paring knife.  Brush pie top and sides with milk and dust with sugar.

9.  Bake 20 minutes and then reduce oven temperature to 350°F.  Bake another 20 to 25 minutes or until fruit juices bubble out of vents in pie crust.  Let cool to warm on wire rack.

Yield: 6 servings

*My Notes:

• For the crust, you can use all butter and skip the shortening.  However, although butter results in the best flavor, shortening gives the crust that beautiful flakiness.  So it's up to you what you use depending on what you're looking for.
• I chose to use all fresh fruit for the filling, but of course frozen fruit will be just fine (and most likely cheaper...).  However, I did have to use dried sweetened cranberries because I couldn't find fresh or frozen ones at the grocery store.  Then, to ground them up, I put them in the processor and pulsed several times to get them broken down.  
• For the dusting of sugar on top of the pie crust, I used sugar in the raw.  It's a little bigger and more visible then regular granulated sugar, but either results in a pretty little pie.

Strawberry-Rhubarb & Cream Bars

. Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb.  It's consuming my baking mind and I love it ☺

I'll give it to you though, those long, red and green stalks that highly resemble celery, can be quite intimidating.  Like really, what do you do with them?!  Isn't it technically a vegetable?  Why yes, yes it is.

My mom told me that when she was younger, they (as in her friends and siblings I suppose...) would eat rhubarb right out of the ground!  Okay, gross.  My boyfriend and I decided to taste a piece of raw rhubarb the very first time I used it for baking and mmm, let's just say the chewy glob ended up in the sink.  I know some of you may beg to differ, but raw rhubarb is just plain nasty.  I honestly can not imagine picking a stalk and enjoy chomping on it.  But people were different back in those days (wink, wink, mom!)

So you can see that I don't recommend taste testing raw rhubarb [even though you should probably do it at least once, you know, for culinary purposes].  But, I do recommend cooking it down with brown sugar and strawberries and then pairing it with a crunchy pecan shortbread crust and luscious cream cheese filling.  Oh yeah, and a little topping of whipped cream.

But where would you get such a fabulous treat?! Ha, well wouldn't you know I just happen to have that recipe for you right here!  And it's easy enough that you can make it all on your own [or have someone else do the work for you, your choice].  And remember that very large bundle of rhubarb I snagged at the Omaha Farmer's Market last weekend (see above)?  Yep, here's where that bundle was put to use.  I told you I had big plans for it.

Enter: Strawberry-Rhubarb & Cream Bars...

...and my baking buddies: Tilly and Leo .

Strawberry-Rhubarb & Cream Bars

Adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 c. all purpose flour

1 c. chopped pecans

1 c. butter, melted

1/4 c. sugar

Strawberry-Rhubarb Filling:

1 c. light brown sugar, packed

3 tbsp. cornstarch

3 tbsp. corn syrup

3-1/2 c. chopped fresh rhubarb

2 c. sliced strawberries

Cream Cheese Filling:

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

1-3/4 c. heavy whipping cream, whipped

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 350°F.  In small bowl, combine flour, pecans, butter and sugar.

2.  Press into greased 13x9-inch pan.  Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on wire rack.

3.  In large saucepan, combine brown sugar, cornstarch and corn syrup.  Stir in rhubarb until combined.  Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring often.  Reduce heat; cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from heat; cool.  Stir in strawberries.

Break!

This is where you do as I say, not as I do.  I accidentally tossed in the strawberries too early, so I had to pick them out as best I could.

And continue...

4.  In large bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.

5.  Fold in 1 cup whipped cream.  Spread evenly over cooled crust.

6.  Top with rhubarb mixture.  Spread with remaining whipped cream.  Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours before serving.  

Yield: 24 bars

*My Notes:

• I've made these bars a couple times, with each try adjusting the amount of rhubarb and strawberries I use.  This last time, I used 3 cups of both strawberries and rhubarb but it turned out a little more runny than I would have liked.  So for this post, I put up the original amount [which I prefer] but feel free to adjust the amounts according to your preference for rhubarb or strawberries.
• The original recipe did not call for any corn syrup, but I found that when I combined the rhubarb, brown sugar, and corn starch together, there wasn't any liquid to bring to a boil! What the...so I added in some corn syrup for the moisture.  I would also suggest adding some strawberries to the mixture if you're having a difficult time with this step, since the brown sugar will make the strawberries sweat and you'll get a good amount of juices.

Tried & True Tuesday: Crumb-topped Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

. Whoop, whoop!  It's that time of the year again!  And no, I'm not talking about Christmas.

It's rhubarb season!  And I've been waiting for this since the end of the LAST rhubarb season!  For me, the season actually began the moment I laid my eyes on a HUGE bundle of rhubarb at the Omaha Farmer's Market this last weekend.  It was a sight for sore eyes, let me tell you.  I had a hunch that I would see my first rhubarb bundle soon but I went to the farmer's market trying to not get my hopes up.  But there it was: big, thick, and pinky-red.  There are some [big] plans for that bundle of rhubarb though, so we'll come back to it later this week.

But to kick of rhubarb season [and continue my current obsession with strawberry season], I'm posting a recipe near and dear to my heart.  Crumb-topped Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is actually my very first [and only, tear] recipe to be published on AllRecipes.com!  And if you've ever tried to submit a recipe there, you know how picky selective they are!  So I was more than elated when I got that e-mail saying my recipe was official.

This pie is just absolutely fabulous [and it was published on AllRecipes.com, so there].  It begins with a homemade [and super easy!] pie crust.  The crust is then filled with a heaping mound of strawberries, rhubarb and pecans, along with a wonderful mixture of cinnamon and nutmeg.  Oo, that set of spices does it for me!  Then, to top this treat off (literally), a thick layer of a classic streusel is placed all over the filling.  After baking, the filling really cooks down into a gooey loveliness of sweet strawberries and tart rhubarb.  And boy, the cinnamon and nutmeg aroma wandering through your house?  Irresistible.

Hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did!  And don't forget to leave a comment if you ever try out any of these recipes, I love to hear about it! .

Crumb-topped Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Don't let the ugly picture fool you, this pie is an amazing spring/summer goodie!

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 c. all purpose flour

1/8 tsp. salt

1/3 c. cold butter

3 to 4 tbsp. cold water

Filling:

1-1/4 c. sugar

1/3 c. all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

2 c. fresh rhubarb, sliced into 1/2-inch pieces

2 c. strawberries, sliced

1/3 c. pecans, chopped (optional)

Topping:

1 c. all purpose flour

2/3 c. sugar

1/2 c. cold butter

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°F.  For crust, combine flour and salt in large bowl; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in enough water with fork just until flour is moistened.  Shape into ball; flatten slightly.  Roll out dough on lightly floured surface into 12-inch circle.  Fold into quarters.  Place dough into 9-inch pie pan; unfold crust and press firmly against pan. Trim crust to 1/2-inch from edge of pan; crimp edges.  
2. For filling, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg, in large bowl.  Add rhubarb and strawberries; toss until well coated.  Spoon into prepared crust; sprinkle with chopped pecans.  
3. For topping, combine flour and sugar in medium bowl; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle mixture over filling.  Cover edge of crust with 2-inch strip of aluminum foil or pie crust shield.  Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until topping is brown and filling is bubbling around the edges (remove foil for last 10 minutes).  

Yield: 8 servings