Rhubarb Strawberry Bars

 

Lady Slippers by the Water's Edge 

Cook's notes: Dubbed the "pie plant" by author Laura Ingalls Wilder, rhubarb's most well-known preparation is rhubarb pie. BUT here's another noteworthy recipe to consider with your favorite pairing of strawberries and rhubarb some of spring's first. 

RHUBARB STRAWBERRY ALMOND BARS
Cook's Notes: As a timesaver the filling (sauce) can be made the day before or use a shortcut of a 10 oz. jar of strawberry-rhubarb preserves.
Filling Ingredients:

• 2 cups diced rhubarb and 2 cups diced strawberries
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ cup water
• 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
• ½ tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grated orange or lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon

Filling Directions:

• In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stir to dissolve sugar and water.
• Add rhubarb and simmer on low for 15 minutes, add in strawberries, cinnamon, lemon juice, and zest, and cook 10 minutes longer.
• Remove from heat and add in Grand Marnier.
• Puree in a blender or pulse a few times in a blender keeping in some fruit chunks.
• Refrigerate for several hours to thicken.

Almond Crust Ingredients:

• 4 oz. almond paste from an 8 oz. box (reserve the other half in plastic wrap and place in a zip-loc bag to store for another use)
• 2 cups flour plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
• 8 oz. cold butter, cubed

Almond Crust Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 9-inch glass pan with 2 sheets of foil. The edges will overhang. Make sure the foil corners are pressed tightly to the pan. Spray foil with cooking spray.
• Cut almond paste into pieces, place in a food processor with 1 tablespoon of flour, and pulse into crumbs. Add in flour, powdered sugar, salt, baking powder, and almond extract. Pulse briefly and add butter cubes in two batches. Process in short pulses until well mixed. The dough will be crumbly.
• Reserve 1-1/4 cups of crumb mixture and set aside.
• Press the remaining crumb mixture into an even layer at the bottom of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes until the crust is puffed and just starting to take on some color.
• Carefully spread filling in an even layer over the crust layer. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
• Bake for 30-32 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the top crust is golden. Cool to room temperature. Hold foil edges and place bars on a cutting board. Cut bars from foil and place them on a plate. 
• Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set. 

Happy Spring Day and 7 more days until the official start of summer!