Strawberry Rhubarb Blondie Bars with Graham Streusel

Is there a more perfect summer combination than strawberry rhubarb? Doubtful, but a little brown butter never hurt. So in celebration of the return of weekend picnics, backyard barbecues, and pool parties, these Strawberry Rhubarb Blondie Bars are filled with sweet fruit, nutty brown butter, and crispy graham streusel just waiting to be taken along to your next get together. Make sure to leave plenty of time to let them cool (and even take a quick chill in the fridge) before you need to cut them.

The recipe is in weights, not only because it’s the most precise, but also to minimize your cleanup and maximize your togetherness time with fewer measuring cups and bowls to wash.

Recipe

Yield: 16 2 ¼ inch squares

Ingredients

For the blondie base, adapted from Cassie Vasios Mullins, original recipe found here

113g butter

190g brown sugar

½ tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

135g flour

½ tsp baking powder 

For the fruit layer

650g hulled and quartered strawberries, from about 850-900g whole strawberries

250g thinly sliced rhubarb, note the leaves are poisonous so avoid them if there are any on your stalks!

50g granulated sugar

For the graham streusel

185g graham cracker crumbs, from about 9 graham crackers

45g brown sugar

½ tsp salt

75g butter, melted

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F and line a 9x9 inch square aluminum baking pan with parchment paper. You can either double line it, with a rectangular piece of parchment going in either direction, or use a single piece that’s about 18x18 inches. Erin from @CloudyKitchen has a great easy method to do it that way! Check it out here.

In a large skillet over medium-low heat, melt and cook the first 113g of butter until it is golden brown but not too dark. Pour the browned butter into a medium heat proof bowl, scraping any solids out of the skillet with a spatula.

Wipe out the skillet, then add the strawberries, rhubarb, and sugar. Cook over medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture starts to look jammy, but with pieces of fruit intact. If there’s a lot of liquid still but the fruit is looking too cooked, just take it off the heat-- you can save the extra liquid to spoon over ice cream or combine with seltzer for a summery soda.

While the fruit cooks, assemble the blondie base. To the browned butter, add the brown sugar, salt, and vanilla and stir well to combine. Then add the egg and stir until fully incorporated. It should be nice and glossy. Next, add the flour and sprinkle the baking powder over top. Stir gently to combine.

Scrape the blondie batter into the prepared pan, and smooth it out with an offset spatula. It will look fairly thin in the pan, which is what you want.

Bake the blondie base for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, make the graham streusel topping. Add the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt, and melted butter to a medium bowl and stir well to combine.

When the blondie base is par-baked, add the fruit mixture to the top and spread evenly. I like to use a slotted spoon to take the fruit out of the skillet so there’s not too much liquid left. A bit is fine though, don’t stress about it.

Sprinkle the graham streusel evenly on top of the fruit, allowing some fruit to show through. You can press some of the crumbs together in your hand before sprinkling for bigger chunks, or leave it in smaller crumbs depending on your preference.

Bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean and the blondies no longer jiggle if you shake the pan gently.

Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove the blondies using the parchment and place the whole thing on a wire cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars. They definitely benefit from 15-20 minutes in the fridge for easier cutting, even once they’ve reached room temperature.

Store fully cooled in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a day, or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. They do better uncovered in the fridge if you can find a safe spot for them, so they don’t soak up too much of the humidity.

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