A week later, I’m still loving rhubarb. I love it even more when it’s paired with strawberry and sandwiched by a gluten-free, lightly sweetened oat crust. Think of these strawberry-rhubarb bars as being like your favorite fruity granola bar but a tad more of a dessert, especially topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Then again, they suit as a morning snack perfectly as well. My preference is to eat a bar straight from the fridge, when the fruit is cold and refreshing, just lovely eaten outside on a late spring morning, preferably of course with a cup of coffee, when you feel the heat of the day beginning to press down already.

These bars aren’t fancy but they sure are satisfying. I’ve included a range of measurement for how much sweetener to use. I did four Tablespoons of honey in the filling but if you find rhubarb too tart for your taste you could up it a bit. The sweetness of the strawberries is a nice balance, so next time I might tone down the sweetness a bit and/or cut back on the amount of coconut sugar in the crust. This recipe is so super simple it’ll come together in less than 10 minutes of active time so you can have a little treat to stash away for the coming weekend ahead — or, you know, tonight.

Til next time – N x

Need substitutions? Swap sorghum flour for the oat flour and maple syrup for the honey, brown sugar for the coconut sugar.

{Gluten-Free} Strawberry-Rhubarb Bars

Recipe by Nicole SpiridakisCourse: Dessert

Servings

servings

This is an almost-vegan dessert; if you want to keep strictly vegan, swap maple syrup for the honey. If you feel like going in the other direction, an equivalent amount of melted, unsalted butter is lovely in place of the coconut oil.

Ingredients

For crust
160g/about 1 ½ cups (gluten free) oat flour
1 cup (gluten-free) old-fashioned rolled oats
¼-½ cup coconut sugar
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup melted coconut oil
For filling
2 stalks rhubarb, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 ½ cups strawberries, hulled and roughly chopped
3-5 Tablespoons honey, depending on preference
1 Tablespoons arrowroot powder
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of sea salt

Directions

Make crust
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8-inch baking dish with coconut oil and line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oat flour, oats, coconut sugar, ginger, baking soda and salt. Stir in the melted coconut oil and stir until dough begins to stick together.
Place about 2/3 of the mixture in the baking dish and press flat using a rubber spatula and/or your hands. Put the remaining crust in the fridge until ready to use.
Make filling
In a large heavy bottom saucepan, place the rhubarb, strawberries, honey, arrowroot, vanilla, and salt and stir to combine. Cook fruit over medium heat until rhubarb has broken down and the mixture is bubbling and more thick. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
When mixture has cooled a bit, pour it onto the prepared crust and spread out evenly. Remove the remaining crust from the fridge and sprinkle it evenly over the top of the fruit.
Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden.
Remove from oven, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool full, then place in the fridge. Bars can be served room temperature or cold; keep covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.