Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch

I confess.  I made this for breakfast.  It has to be healthier than any store-bought anything, so I figured why not.  Everyone ate it, no one got sick or died, and if we had a little too much sugar in our breakfast food that day, no one knows.  So there.

This is a Penzey's Spices recipe, from their magazine.  I can't find a link to the recipe on their website, so I'll simply credit them here.

One Note:  I have made this recipe two ways--with strawberries and rhubarb, and with just rhubarb.  Even though rhubarb is much tarter than strawberries, I adjusted nothing else in the recipe and it was still delicious.  That's just in case your strawberries haven't come in yet, or your strawberry plants are done producing for the season.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crunch
Yield:  10-12 servings

1 cup flour
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
3/4 cup oatmeal, uncooked
1/2 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup sugar
1 to 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 cups diced rhubarb
2 cups strawberries, sliced
1 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a roomy bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, oatmeal, butter, sugar and cinnamon and mix until crumbly.  Press half of the mixture into a greased 13x9 baking pan.  Cover with the rhubarb and strawberries.

In a small saucepan, heat the water, cornstarch and vanilla over medium-low heat until thick and clear, stirring often.  (It doesn't get totally clear, just somewhat translucent, so use thickness to determine when it's done.)  This step takes about five minutes.

Pour the water/cornstarch mixture over the rhubarb/strawberry layer.  It's more like spreading it, since it's pretty thick; I use a flat bowl scraper to do this.  Top with the remaining crumb mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

A dish of pure yum.

Back to life,
Christine

Visit my photography blog
Visit my photography website