Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Bars – Buttercream Blondie

Looking out for an epic summer time season dessert? You have bought come to the right place! With an excessive amount of strawberries and rhubarb baked on prime of the proper shortbread, and coated with a very good trying crisp topping, these bars are my go-to for summer time season!

I am an infinite fan of fruit crisps to begin with, nonetheless pairing it with my go-to shortbread takes the dessert to a whole new stage. And in case you occur to’re not into rhubarb, it’s good to use all strawberries. Utterly as a lot as you!

The one decision you’ll need to make, is whether or not or to not prime them with the whiskey glaze, or a scoop of ice cream. Or every! It’s a no judgment zone!

Comfy baking, guys! Take note to tag me over on Instagram alongside together with your crisp bars!

Substances:

Brown Sugar Shortbread Base

• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup delicate brown sugar
• Zest of 1 orange
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tbsp. rye whiskey (see notes for substitutions)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour

Crisp Topping

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup delicate brown sugar
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 ounces unsalted butter, chilly & cubed

Strawberry Rhubarb Layer

• 16 ounces strawberries, quartered
• 12 ounces rhubarb, decrease into 1/2 inch objects
• Zest of 1/2 an orange
• 1 tbsp. rye whiskey
• 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Rye Whiskey Glaze

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 3-4 tsp. rye whiskey
• Zest of 1/2 an orange

Instructions:

Brown Sugar Shortbread

1. Preheat oven to 325 ranges. Spray a 9 x 13-inch pan with nonstick spray, line with parchment paper leaving a one inch overhang, and spray with nonstick as soon as extra. Put apart.
2. Inside the bowl of {an electrical} mixer, cream butter, sugar, orange zest and salt until delicate and fluffy.
3. Add rye whiskey and proceed to mix until blended.
4. Add flour and mix on medium low velocity until merely blended, scraping down the bowl to ensure each half is correctly mixed.
5. Press dough into prepared pan and bake for 22-25 minutes, rotating halfway via. Change to a cooling rack.
6. Enhance oven temperature to 350 ranges.

Crisp Topping

1. Whereas the shortbread is inside the oven, pulse flour, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon in meals processor merely to combine.
2. Add in cubed butter & pulse until the butter resembles coarse cornmeal.
3. Change topping to a medium dimension bowl and mix in oats. Refrigerate until ready to utilize.

Strawberry Rhubarb Layer & Assembly – Toss the fruit when you end up capable of bake it, you do not want the fruit merely hanging out!

1. Toss decrease rhubarb & strawberries with orange zest, whiskey and sugar.
2. Add flour and toss to coat fruit. Prime shortbread with fruit mixture right away.
3. Sprinkle chilled crisp topping evenly extreme and bake at 350 ranges for 25-Half-hour.
4. Change to a cooling rack and allow bars to relax totally in pan.

Rye Whiskey Glaze

1. In a small bowl, whisk powdered sugar and whiskey collectively, starting with 3 teaspoons and together with one different if glaze is simply too thick. Add orange zest and stir until simple.
2. Drizzle over totally cooled bars with a spoon or a piping bag. I like to cut the bars sooner than I glaze them, nonetheless you’ll be able to even glaze them whereas nonetheless inside the pan sooner than you chop them. Utterly as a lot as you!

NOTES:

• Put collectively the strawberry rhubarb layer when you end up ready to utilize it. You do not want it hanging out because of the juices will start to launch & that’s one time we don’t want that to happen.
• Ensure that the crisp topping is chilly when it goes inside the oven.
• Bars must be totally cool sooner than chopping. Within the occasion you try to hold them out of the pan whereas nonetheless warmth, you hazard breaking the shortbread. Nonetheless delicious, merely not as pretty!
• You can too make crisp topping ahead of time and protect it inside the freezer so that you simply’re capable of roll.
• I actually like rye whiskey on this recipe, nonetheless be at liberty to utilize your favorite whiskey, or bourbon.
• When you don’t have whiskey obtainable, it’s possible you’ll make these bars with out. Merely add 1 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste to the shortbread, add 1 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste to the fruit filling, and alternate the whiskey inside the glaze with orange juice. Current is best, nonetheless use what you’ve got obtainable!

For serving:

• I favor to let the bars set inside the pan on a cooling rack for a fantastic 2 hours. Then I usually chill them for about an hour because of chilled bars are so much less complicated to cut. I then swap them to a chopping board, decrease, and drizzle them with glaze.
• When you don’t have that so much time, or don’t want to attend, or have to eat one warmth with ice cream (merely putting it available on the market!) you can undoubtedly decrease into them as quickly as they quiet down a bit (about 40 minutes – an hour) nonetheless please keep in mind that the shortbread is further delicate whereas it is nonetheless warmth, so proceed with warning!
• Maintain bars in an airtight container inside the fridge. They’re best all through the primary 2 days. By day 3, the crisp topping will start to lose its “crisp” because of moisture from the fruit, nonetheless they’ll nonetheless be and elegance truly good!