Easy Apple and Rhubarb Whole-Grain Crumble Bars
These apple and rhubarb whole-grain crumble bars are a great snack to have on hand. They are full of fibre, healthy fats, and fruit! You can do almost any fruit combination for this recipe but the sweetness of the apple and tartness of the rhubarb seem to be a perfect match. Let’s make these easy apple and rhubarb whole-grain crumble bars together!
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Crumble bars are my kinda thing. They are very versatile, satiating, and delicious. I like to make a whole-grain crumble with fresh-milled organic grain for the extra flavour and fibre, it really takes it to another level.
Why Whole-Grain Crumble is the Best
Whole-grain flour adds a deep nuttiness to your crumble and has a number of health benefits. It is rich in vitamins and minerals which are usually lost in commercially processed grains. As stated in the name, whole-grain flour contains the whole grain including the bran, germ, and endosperm.
These parts of the grain provide fibre and enzymes that contribute to a robust microbiome and aid digestion. Sourcing whole-grain flour from a mill also means you’re typically getting a product that is free of preservatives or additives, offering a more wholesome ingredient for your recipes.
Not to mention, working with whole-grains is fun! Each grain offers a different flavour profile, making a whole new product with each grain you experiment with!
Where To Source Fresh-Milled Whole-Grain Flour
If you’re living in a city, you can mostly likely find a bakery or fancy grocery store that sells fresh-milled whole-grain flour. If you’re living in the country and you can source whole-grains, you may want to consider milling your own flour.
You can start without making a large investment by using a powerful coffee grinder or blender that you already own. A step up would be purchasing a KitchenAid grain mill attachment.
If you’re really enjoying working with fresh-milled whole-grains and you have a reliable source of grain, you can also consider a Harvest NutriMill which is the one I use almost everyday and love both for its beauty and practicality.
Get your Harvest NutriMill when you’re ready to invest using this link and my discount code BRONSBREAD20 at checkout to get $20 off your order!
What is Rhubarb?
What You’ll Need
For this recipe, you’ll need:
Cutting board
Sharp kitchen knife
Two medium sized mixing bowls
Measuring cups and spoons or a kitchen scale
Your hands
Wooden spoon or spatula
Ingredients For This Recipe
To make these apple rhubarb whole-grain crumble bars, you will need:
Apples: Look for crisp apples like Granny Smith or Honey Crisp to avoid mushiness in your crumble.
Rhubarb: Backyard or farmers market rhubarb is always the best.
Sugar: Any granulated sugar will work for this recipe. I used a brown cane sugar.
White Flour: I mixed the fruit with all-purpose flour because it soaks up moisture faster than whole-grain flour. I also added some to the crumble for lightness but that is optional.
Oats: I used sprouted rolled oats but regular rolled oats are good too. Avoid quick oats as they can make oatmeal.
Whole-Grain Flour: I used a blend of freshly milled whole-wheat and whole-spelt flour for the crumble.
Lemon Juice: Fresh squeezed lemon juice is best but bottled is fine too. I used the lemon juice I made after preserving lemons. Learn how to preserve lemons here.
Vanilla: A splash of vanilla makes everything taste better.
Cinnamon/Nutmeg: Both is best but one or the other is fine too. They are essential for crumbles and crumble bars!
Salt: I use a pink Himalayan sea salt but any salt works.
Butter: Butter is always better. But you can do a mix of butter and lard or coconut oil if you prefer. I did a mix of butter and lard. Make sure it’s colder than room-temperature.
How To Make Apple and Rhubarb Whole-Grain Crumble Bars
Preheat your oven to 350F.
Chop your apples in cubes removing the core and the stem. Place them in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Add your chopped rhubarb to the bowl as well.
To your apples and rhubarb, add sugar, white flour, vanilla, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix together until the fruit is all coated.
Make the crumble:
Add your whole-grain flour, white flour, oats, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg to another medium-sized mixing bowl.
Add cold butter to this bowl of dry ingredients and mix with your hand until a crumble is formed. Set aside.
Grease and flour your 8″ x 8″ baking dish or line it with parchment paper for easier removal.
Add about 2/3 of your crumble mixture to the base of the dish. Spread out evenly and press down to form a bottom crust.
With the remaining 1/3 of the crumble mixture, add a little more flour and mix in to make smaller crumble pieces.
Add your fruit mixture to the crust.
Top the fruit with the remaining crumble mixture. Spread out evenly on top.
Bake at 350F for 55-60 minutes until golden and crumble is crumbly.
Let cool completely before slicing.
Notes
You can do a full whole-grain flour crumble topping if you’d like. I added a little all-purpose flour just to lighten it up a bit.
This recipe is high in fat so it needs to be cooled down completely before slicing or it will fall apart on you. If you don’t mind that, then serve warm!
Watch Me Make These Bars!
Apple Rhubarb Whole-Grain Crumble Bars
Ingredients
Apple Rhubarb Mixture
- 2 medium/large sized apples 400g
- 2 Tbsp 30g all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp 30g sugar
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup 100g chopped rhubarb
Crust & Crumble
- 3/4 cup 100g all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup 100g whole-grain flour
- 1/2 cup 80g rolled oats
- 1/2 cup 100g sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup 180g cold butter
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Chop your apples in cubes removing the core and the stem. Place them in a medium sized bowl.
- Add your chopped rhubarb to the bowl as well.
- To your apples and rhubarb, add sugar, white flour, vanilla, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix together until the fruit is all coated.
- Make the crumble: Add your whole-grain flour, white flour, oats, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg to another medium-sized mixing bowl.
- Add cold butter to this bowl of dry ingredients and mix with your hand until a crumble is formed. Set aside.
- Grease and flour your 8" x 8" baking dish or line it with parchment paper for easier removal.
- Add about 2/3 of your crumble mixture to the base of the dish. Spread out evenly and press down to form a bottom crust.
- With the remaining 1/3 of the crumble mixture, add a little more flour and mix in to make smaller crumble pieces.
- Add your fruit mixture to the crust.
- Top the fruit with the remaining crumble mixture. Spread out evenly on top.
- Bake at 350F for 55-60 minutes until golden and crumble is crumbly.
- Let cool completely before slicing.
Notes
Recommended Reading
Howdy! This post could not be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this page to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Many thanks for sharing!