First of all, thank you to everyone who came to the Crafty Wonderland Spring Show last weekend! I had such a great time and came away feeling very excited, inspired…and a little tired! I had been doing a lot of late night crafting up until the show, so I took some much needed rest the next day. I’ve been spending the last week restocking my Etsy shop and have added some new designs and colors, so be sure to pop by and check it out!

After all that hard work I decided I needed some dessert in my life, and as luck would have it my in-laws had recently brought over some rhubarb from their garden along with some tasty sounding recipes. This is no ordinary rhubarb, mind you. This is fancy pants 5th generation heirloom rhubarb we’re working with, so I knew I needed to do something special. And something quick since Joe and I were having people over for dinner in a few hours and I still had gnocchi to make, a house to clean, and I was still in my PJ’s with only one sock on. I still don’t know where that other sock went. Luckily one of the recipes they provided looked pretty easy, so I took my other sock off and put my game face on.

The whole dessert was ready in about an hour, and hands-on time was 15 minutes tops. I dressed it up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but it would be lovely on its own with a strong cup of coffee. It wasn’t too sweet and had just the right amount of tartness from the rhubarb; plus you can never go wrong with a shortbread crust! I can’t wait to try the other rhubarb recipes, and hopefully Joe and I can inherit some of this blue ribbon rhubarb and carry the torch for another generation.
xo, Holly (The Apiarist)

P.S. My next post will not be a dessert. I promise. Maybe.

Rhubarb Dessert Bars
Recipe adapted from JoAnn
I added a touch of lemon juice and vanilla for kicks, but these additions are purely optional. Next time I might grate a teaspoon of lemon zest into the crust for an extra zing. Whee!

For the Crust:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup AP flour
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (optional)

For the Filling:
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 AP flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups diced rhubarb (2-3 large stalks, diced into 1/2-inch chunks)
Squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8-inch square baking dish and set aside. Combine ingredients for crust and mix well. Press firmly into prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.

While crust is baking, combine ingredients for the filling. Pour onto hot crust and give the pan a shimmy-shake so it’s level. Bake for an additional 40 minutes until the filling is set and starting to lightly brown. Cool on a wire rack and serve at room temperature with topping of your choice. Makes 9 servings.