Old Fashioned Rhubarb Squares 

I personally love these squares – the soft, cookielike dough surrounds a moist centre of seasonal rhubarb and the overall look is one of a very attractive tart. It is easy to cut into pieces – you choose the size of the squares and the final look to these! It is also OK to add in some strawberries for  delicious strawberry-rhubarb squares!

Old Fashioned Rhubard Squares:

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 1 orange
• 5 cups of chopped rhubarb
• 3 tablespoons of corn starch
• 2/3 cup of ground almonds
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons of milk
• 2 tablespoons of Demerara or coarse sugar

Pastry:

• 2-1/4 cups of flour
• 3 tablespoon of granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of unsalted butter – softened
• 1/4 cup of cream cheese, softened
• 2 tablespoon of sour cream
• grated rind of 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• 2 eggs

Directions:

1. Grate rind of orange, set aside for pastry.
2. Juice orange into  a saucepan, then combine the orange juice, rhubarb, sugar and salt.
3. Simmer over medium heat until thick and mushy – about 15 minutes.
4. Mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of wter until dissolved, stir in rhubarb mixture and simmer for couple minutes longer.
5. Let cool.
6. To Make Pastry:
7. In a bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
8. In food processor, mix together butter, cream cheese, sour cream, orange rind, vanilla and eggs until smooth. Add flour mixture, process just until dough forms loose ball.
9. On lightly floured surface, knead dough until smooth, about 30 seconds, divide in half and form 2 discs.
10. Line 15 x 10 inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper
11. Roll out one disc dough into a rectangle large enough to fit bottom of the pan plus about 1/2 inch on each side. Fit into the bottom and up sides of prepared pan.
12. Spread almonds over dough, cover with rhubarb mixture.
13. Roll remaining dough into rectangle about 1/4 inch thick.
14. Using pastry wheel, cut into 1-inch wide strips; arrange in lattice4 pattern over rhubarb mixture.
15. Mix yolk with milk; brush tops of strips with egg mixture and sprinkle with sugar
16. Bake in the bottom third of your oven at 375F until pastry is golden and filling is bubbly – 25-30 minutes
17. Let cool and cut into squares

Note:

Hope you enjoy this recipe – if you decide to add strawberries,. cut them into smaller peices and cook together with rhubarb for the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

Let me know how this recipe turned out for you – your input is always very much welcomed and appreciated!