Strawberry Rhubarb Oat Bars
• FOR THE FILLING:
• 1-½ cup Fresh Rhubarb, Cut Into Pieces
• 2-½ cups Strawberries, Sliced
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
• ½ cups Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Cornstarch
• FOR THE CRUST:
• 1-½ cup Flour
• 1-½ cup Uncooked Quick Cooking Oats
• 1 cup Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
• ¾ cups Butter, Softened
• ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
Preparation
1. Combine rhubarb, strawberries and lemon juice in a saucepan.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until fruit is softened. What you want here is the consistency of preserves, if not full-on jam. This can take anywhere from 8-20 minutes depending on how long you break it down. I cooked the filling for 20, so my filling was jam-consistency. If you do it for less time, you can have some fruit chunks. I think this is a matter of personal preference, but I think the bars will hold together better if the filling is more like jam.
3. Combine the sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl then stir it into the strawberry/rhubarb mixture. Now bring it up to a boil, and let it boil until thickened, which should take about 1 minute once it comes to a boil. Then take it off the stove and set it aside.
4. Make sure the oven is preheated to 350 F. Combine all the ingredients for the crust in a mixing bowl. Using a mixer, beat (on low) until you have a coarse, crumbly mixture.
5. Reserve 1-1/2 cups of the crumb mixture. Press the rest onto the bottom of a non-stick baking spray coated 9×13″ pan.
6. Spread the filling over the crust, and sprinkle the rest of the crumbs on top.
7. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown.
