Rhubarb Apple Crisp

This Rhubarb Apple Crisp is Spring meets Fall. Crisp apples mixed with fresh rhubarb, topped with a butter, crumbly topping. This makes a great dessert that is a warm, springy and perfect when served with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Are you familiar with rhubarb? Did you grow up eating it? My parents always had a big patch in the bottom of their garden, so I’ve never thought twice about eating in. I know many people see it as a sort of red celery. It’s far from that. It’s perfect when cooked until tender with a little sweetener. It is great to mix with any fruit dessert, or just to cook down and serve plain over yogurt or vanilla ice cream. Just don’t eat the leaves! They are poisonous.

Let’s talk about this apple rhubarb crisp. It is phenomenal. Both rhubarb and apples are tart and crisp, but when baked down with a little sugar, they become sweet and tender. There are only a few ingredients in the filling, allowing the fruit to shine. The topping has a beautiful crunch thanks to oats, as well as a lovely buttery flavor. This dessert is a great way to blend our favorite fruits from the fall and spring together. Now let’s talk about how to make it!

What you’ll need

• apples- I did a combination of whatever was in the my fridge
• rhubarb- find the freshest stalks from a farmers market or the grocery store. Or cut from your own patch
• granulated sugar- to make the tart fruits sweet
• light brown sugar- for a little added depth
• vanilla extract- not imitation flavor
• salt
• rolled oats- make sure it’s old fashioned oats, not the quick cook kind
• flour- all purpose, unbleached. To help as a binder in the filling
• cinnamon- you can’t have apples without cinnamon!
• unsalted butter

Let’s make the apple rhubarb crisp

This is a pretty simple dessert to make. First, start with the topping. Mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar and salt. Cut the cold butter into oat mixture with a pastry blender or two knives. The butter will have different sized pieces, but nothing bigger than an almond. Basically enough that it holds the mixture together and makes nice clumps to sprinkle over the top. Place in the fridge.

Now the filling. Chop the apples and rhubarb into 1/2-inch pieces. Toss together with the granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt and vanilla extract, just until coated. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Scoop the filling into the dish. Sprinkle the topping over the filling and pop in the oven at 400º for about 45 minutes. The topping will turn into a beautiful golden brown and the filling will be bubbling around the edges. Serve with big scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Perfection and wonderfully easy.

Notes and tidbits

Make sure to chop the fruit in roughly the same size so they cook at the same rate

Be sure to keep the butter cold before cutting into the topping. Placing the pre-made topping in the fridge while you make the filling is important to allow the butter to harden again.

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Rhubarb Apple Crisp

Yield: 8-10 servings

Prep Time: 8 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 53 minutes

Crisp apples mixed with fresh rhubarb, topped with a butter, crumbly topping. This makes a great dessert that is a warm, springy and perfect when served with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.

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Ingredients

For the topping

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks

For the filling

• 7 medium apples, cored and chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 4 cups rhubarb, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
2. To make the topping, whisk together the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, flour and salt in a small bowl until combined. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the mixture until the mixture is moist and there are no pieces of butter larger than an almond. Place in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
3. In a large mixing bowl, stir the apples, rhubarb, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt and vanilla extract until well coated. Scrape evenly into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the filling.
4. Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the topping is brown and the filling is bubbly. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Notes

Cover and refrigerate any leftovers up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 365

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