Making Rhubarb Bars

The Michigan rhubarb season does not go unnoticed at CoF. There is a period of time, usually between the middle of May and the middle of June, I find myself buying up rhubarb wherever I find it for sale. Because of its limited availability, I need to get a year’s worth of it in the freezer as soon as I can so I can stop worrying about having enough rhubarb on-hand! 

If it’s not going to be used immediately, then it gets trimmed of leaves, washed and cut into one-inch size pieces. Then it goes into a freezer container until someone gets an idea to make a rhubarb pie, crumble, coffee cake or as in this case, rhubarb bars (or “rhubars”).

These delicious bars have a very buttery, almost shortbread-like bottom crust, with a gooey sweet top that is dotted with tart bursts of ruby-red rhubarb. These are something very different and go great after dinner with coffee or just on its own.

Rhubarb Bars or “Rhubars”

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2 cups flour

2/3 cup powdered sugar

3 cups granulated sugar

½ cup flour

1 ½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

4 eggs, beaten

4 – 4 ½ cups rhubarb, chopped into one-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using an electric mixer, beat together butter, two cups of flour and the powdered sugar until a stiff dough forms. Press dough into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, or until it turns lightly golden. 

While the crust is baking, beat eggs in a large bowl and add granulated sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon and mix together well. Add rhubarb and fold it into the batter. 

When the crust is done, remove from oven an immediately pour filling batter on top of crust and return it to the 350 degree oven and bake it for 40 minutes, or until the filling begins to get brown on top. 

Remove and allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.