As many of you know, food is my “language”. For the good times and the bad, happy and sad, I often use food to remember things. And these crumble bars are no different really. Yes, just crumble bars but they are lingonberry and rhubarb. You see, a couple of weeks ago, another dear friend passed away. She was from Sweden, so that is the lingonberry connection. Rhubarb had been an inside joke of our for many years — she had once had a dream in February, that I had an over-abundance of rhubarb (in February? In New England?) so ever since then, I would make her rhubarb treats and learned to keep some in my freezer. This recipe, anything with cardamom and the Marabou brand of Swedish chocolate will forever remind me of her. She will be missed.
Ingredients
1 cup plus 4 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to just warm
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups lingonberry rhubarb jam
Directions
Create a foil or parchment sling for your 9 x 11-inch baking pan and spray generously with baking spray.
In a medium bowl, mix butter, sugar, salt, egg yolks and vanilla extract with a spoon until smooth. Add in the flour and cinnamon and mix until just combined. Remove 1/2 cup of the crust mixture (to be sprinkled on later) and press remainder into the lined pan. Set aside the remaining 1/2 cup, covered with plastic wrap, but do not put in the refrigerator. Place the pan in the freezer for 30-60 minutes or so; the chilling of the crust prevents it from expanding and rising too much during baking.
Preheat oven to 325F.
Remove the crust from the freezer and place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes, or until the sides are lightly browned. Then remove from the oven and increase oven temperature to 350F. Spread the lingonberry rhubarb jam on top on the crust, sprinkle the left-over crust dough on top. Bake another 25-30 minutes, or until the crumble is lightly browned.
Allow the pan to cool completely before taking the bars out of the pan. Remove the bars by lifting out with the sling and cut.
