rhubarb crisp

Spring is springing like crazy around here. Trees are cautiously budding, and despite quite a few twenty degree mornings, many of my perennials are poking their little heads up in a very brave way. When I noticed my rhubarb was making an appearance, it reminded me that there is a box in the bottom of my freezer full of beautifully packaged, pre-measured, recipe sized bags of the tart little treat, just waiting to be made into all kinds of wonderfulness. Unfortunately, along with the many similarly beautiful packages of pie cherries and marionberries, they have suffered the out of sight, out of mind fate that often befalls the occupants of a large chest freezer.

It's time to make some room in the old Kenmore.

One of my very favorite rhubarb recipes also happens to be the easiest to make. In no time at all, you can have a pan of sweet/tart bubbly goodness, just begging for a scoop of ice cream to make it's life's work complete.


(Please ignore the over sized sprig of pineapple mint. My food styling skills are still in their infancy.)

Rhubarb Crisp

1 1/2 C flour
1 1/2 C old fashioned oats
1 1/2 C brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 C melted butter

Press half of this mixture in the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 pan.

In a medium sauce pan combine the following ingredients...

1 1/4 C sugar
3 Tbs corn starch - whisk together with sugar, then add...
1 1/4 C water

Cook until clear and thickened, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat, and stir in...

7 cups of chopped rhubarb.

Place rhubarb and sauce over your base, and sprinkle remaining oatmeal mixture over the top.

Bake for 45 minutes at 350*.

I serve it very warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I like mine pretty sweet, but if you prefer a bit more pucker power, you could just drizzle a bit of cream over the top. My sister-in-law uses less sugar in the crumble mixture, so you can play with the recipe a bit depending on your sweet/sour preferences.

If I'm making this just for my family, I usually make half of the recipe and bake it in an 8x8 pan. The only hitch with that scenario is the effort involved in dividing 3/4 cup in half. Math is not my friend.

I still have a pretty good supply in my freezer, so if you have a great rhubarb recipe, I would love to hear about it.

Have a great day!